<span class="s1"><strong>Muse<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s2"><strong>The 2nd Law</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">Friday</span> <span class="s4">What they say: </span><span class="s3">"It feels like it's time to move on and do something radically different," said Muse's bassist Christopher Wolstenholme.</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">Arguably this year's most-anticipated rock release, the record's lead single <em>Madness</em> finds the British trio embracing a more subtle pop sound, while the Olympic theme song <em>Survival</em> is suitably epic.</span> <span class="s2"><strong>Taylor Swift<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s5"><strong>Red</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">October 22</span> <span class="s4">What she says: </span><span class="s3">"From intense love, intense frustration, jealousy, confusion, all of that, in my mind, all those emotions are red. There's nothing beige about any of those feelings."</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">Swift promises a warts-and-all outlook with her fourth album. We wonder if any of these songs contain another kiss-off to John Mayer.</span> <span class="s2"><strong>Soundgarden<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s5"><strong>King Animal</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">November 13</span> <span class="s4">What they say: </span><span class="s3">"It re-establishes that we still rock, we're still heavy, and we're still a little weird," stated the band's guitarist Kim Thayil to <em>Rolling Stone </em>magazine.</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">The reformed Seattle grunge legends recently released a 37-second snippet of the lead track <em>Worse Dreams</em>, and it sounds poppy and polished. Here's hoping their music hasn't lost all its sludgy beauty.</span> <span class="s2"><strong>Robbie Williams<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s5"><strong>Take the Crown</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">November 5</span> <span class="s4">What he says: </span><span class="s3">Announcing the album on his website, Williams says his "main priority was to write what I consider, and hopefully what the world would consider, to be hits. I'm very excited."</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">Williams hopes this album will be his big comeback after his 2009 lacklustre effort <em>Reality Killed the Video Star</em>. His recent Take That reunion is already paying off, with his fellow member Gary Barlow producing this album's summery lead single <em>Candy</em>.</span> <span class="s1"><strong>50 Cent<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s2"><strong>Street King Immortal</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">November 13</span> <span class="s4">What they say: </span><span class="s3">"He's taking it back to the old 50," Hitboy, 50 Cent's producer, told MTV. "And he had some new records that were some different-sounding stuff, too. I'm excited to see how people react to it."</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">50 Cent experienced a flop record in 2009. With the hip-hop game generally moving so fast, it will be interesting to see if fans will still be interested in what Fiddy has to say.</span> <span class="s1"><strong>Alicia Keys<br/> </strong></span><span class="s2"><strong>Girl on Fire</strong></span> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">November 27</span> <span class="s4">What she says: </span><span class="s3">"The album represents a new me in every way," Keys told CNN.</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">Keys will talk about being a new mother, but the album is not full of sleepy ballads – we think the R&B star is too classy for that.</span> <span class="s2"><strong>Green Day<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s5"><strong>¡Uno!</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">tomorrow</span> <span class="s4">What they say: </span><span class="s3">the band's lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong declared the album as "the best music we've ever written, and the songs just keep coming".</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">This is the first of a trio of albums to be released over the next three months. Judging by the tracks <em>Kill the DJ </em>and <em>Let Yourself Go</em>, the group ditched their rock-opera vibe for a punchier sound.</span> <span class="s2"><strong>Tinie Tempah<br/> </strong></span><em><span class="s5"><strong>Demonstration</strong></span></em> <span class="s3">Release date: </span><span class="s4">mid-October </span> <span class="s4">What he says: </span><span class="s3">"I think it's time to take it to that next level and make it even bigger and better."</span> <span class="s4">What we say: </span><span class="s3">So far, the signs are good. Tempah already recorded collaborations with Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris. Sadly, a hook-up with Adele was quashed after the soul singer suffered vocal problems.</span> <span class="s3"><a href="mailto:sa.saeed@thenational.ae">sa.saeed@thenational.ae</a></span>