Mark Ronson
TITLE TBD JUNE
LOWDOWN: “When I make a record, I draw on inspiration I get from other people,” says producer Mark Ronson, who invited members of Kaiser Chiefs and the Zutons, and former Pipettes singer Rose Elinor Dougall, among others, to collaborate on his third solo album. The disc — recorded in New York and London over the past year — reveals Ronson’s newfound fascination with vintage keyboards. (He fell in love with them while producing Duran Duran last summer.) The synths brought out Ronson’s inner studio geek and helped him find a new way to channel his influences into songs that are both retro and futuristic. “There are all these synth plug-ins for your computer,” he says, “but I believe in the real shit, if you can get your hands on it.”

LAST TIME:
• Review: Version (2007)
July and Beyond

Jamey Johnson
THE GUITAR SONG JULY
LOWDOWN: Country outlaw Jamey Johnson will release two albums in 2010: A “white album,” due first, will focus on upbeat material, including the hard-rocking singalong “California Riots” and the title track, which is sung from the perspective of old guitars hanging on a wall. (A more somber “black album” — featuring songs about money troubles — will follow in the fall.) Johnson says the abundance of material reflects a hot streak he’s been on for the past year or so. “It’s an epic journey through honky-tonk-ville,” he says. “If I record all this material, I fully intend to get it out.”

WATCH IT:
Exclusive: Jamey Johnson covers Kris Kristofferson in the Rolling Stone offices
LAST TIME:
• Review: That Lonesome Song (2008)

Christina Aguilera
BIONIC SPRING
LOWDOWN: On her fourth LP, Christina Aguilera didn’t want to sound like herself. “I’m not interested in giving it this ‘Christina’ sound,” she says. “I want to make my voice more relaxed, less soulful.” So Aguilera invited synth-punk trio Le Tigre, Ladytron, singer Sia and M.I.A. producers Hill and Switch, among others, to her L.A. studio, where they cut tunes packed with futuristic synths and singsong chants. Aguilera got sentimental on “All I Need,” a ballad written for her two-year-old son: “It’s a sweet, sweet song.”

LAST TIME:
• Review: Back to Basics (2006)

Katy Perry
TITLE TBD SUMMER
LOWDOWN: “I want to evolve like Madonna,” says Katy Perry. “If I had to be the fruity pinup girl another day, I would jump off the Hollywood sign.” Perry’s follow-up to 2008’s smash One of the Boys has her re-teaming with hitmakers Dr. Luke and Max Martin and delivering more hypercatchy pop in the vein of “Hot N Cold” and her Number One single, “I Kissed a Girl,” while also delving into deeper matters: “My faith, my conviction and awe of the supernatural world.” And thanks to her recent engagement to Russell Brand, the album also boasts its share of love songs — 50 percent, by her estimate. Still, the pop tart hasn’t gone totally chaste. In the Prince-influenced “Dressing Up,” Perry coos, “You wanna pet my kitty?” “You’re such a dirty doggie” and “My cookie monster wants a taste,” of which Perry says, “I think those lyrics are cute!”

LAST TIME:
• Review: One of the Boys (2008)

Ra Ra Riot
TITLE TBD SUMMER
LOWDOWN: Chamber-pop six-piece Ra Ra Riot moved to an upstate New York peach farm to write their self-produced second album. They spun plenty of Wings and Genesis — and added more synth to their sound. The disc also features a collaboration with Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij. “It sounds like another version of Ra Ra Riot,” singer Wesley Miles says. “It’s got a bit of Rostam’s personality and a bit of ours.”

LAST TIME:
• Review: The Rhumb Line (2008)

The Walkmen
TITLE TBD SUMMER
LOWDOWN: For their sixth album, New York indie-rockers the Walkmen holed up in Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth’s studio in Philadelphia to cut a disc inspired by classic artists like Elvis, Roy Orbison, Fats Domino and Johnny Cash. “All those guys plus Jane’s Addiction,” adds singer Hamilton Leithauser. “That influence came out of left field, but we all loved Jane’s when we were younger.” Of the roughly 25 tunes the Walkmen have written, Leithauser is stoked for the tentatitvely-titled “Eating Puppies” (“It’s got a surf rock vibe”) and the horn-powered “Heffer” (“That one bounces around”). Leithauser also hopes that leftover tracks will make it onto a pair of EPs following the album’s release. “We’ll have some quality shit leftover,” he says.

LAST TIME:
• Review: You & Me (2008)