Interestingly, the streaming era has resurrected old physical music formats. We’ve seen recent albums released on cassette and more physical formats.
Even if digital music still accounts for the bulk of music sales, it cannot be denied that physical formats like vinyl records and cassette tapes are contributing well.
For today’s article, we will be taking a look at the 2022 albums that have been released on cassette tapes.
And in case you’re interested, we have an audio casette tape duplication service! We offer 10% discount for indies. Email us if you want to know more.
Table of Contents
#1. DAWN FM by THE WEEKND
Dawn FM is The Weeknd’s fifth studio album released almost a year after his 2021 album The Highlights.
The standard album has a total of sixteen songs which is what’s inside his two versions of cassette tape.
The album’s concept, as per the singer-songwriter, depicts a journey to “the light at the end of the tunnel.” This serves as the sequel to his 2020 album After Hours, the former being in a state of purgatory while the latter being in the state of sin.
This explains the artwork for the cassette versions. The Standard Cassette version features the Weeknd looking at the camera with graying hair, mustache, and beard.
The Collector’s 02 Cassette version depicts what seems to be a rising sun against a half blood red half black galaxy background.
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#2. CAPRISONGS by FKA TWIGS
Two sets of cassette tape duplication were done for FKA Twigs’ newest album Caprisongs, one in pink and one in orange. Though typically not an album, since this is a mixtape, we cannot help but add this to the list.
The awesome artwork and the cool cassette tape colors along with great music is just too hard to pass up.
It has seventeen tracks inside and features a lot of other fellow musicians like the Weeknd, Shygirl, and Daniel Caesar.
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#3. DRAGON NEW WARM MOUNTAIN I BELIEVE IN YOU by BIG THIEF
American band Big Thief released Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You last February 11 as a double album through 4AD.
The 20-tracked album is available in three different physical formats: CD, vinyl (black and brown), and cassette tape (white).
It gained recognition after its release and has entered the top 40 across countries including Ireland, the United States, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
The simple album cover for this album is another thing to be excited about. The sketch of a dinosaur encircling a bonfire together with an owl, a bird, and a bear playing the guitar is very intriguing.
If you look closely though, you’ll find something much more intriguing — a human face — between the dinosaur and the owl.
Related Articles:
15 Of The Prettiest Vinyl, Cassette, And CD Bundles
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#4. FTHC by FRANK TURNER
The album title FTHC is the ninth studio album from Frank Turner and are initials standing for Frank Turner Hardcore.
It was a longtime project that started its recordings in 2020.
It was released on February 11 this year, and has peaked at number 1 in both UK and Scottish Albums Chart monitored by UK’s Official Charts.
The 14-tracked album has two cassette tape versions one in transparent blood red and the other in opaque royal blue.
It also includes a 4-panel j-card that mentions people Turner wants to thank and includes pictures of himself.
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#5. THE TIPPING POINT by TEARS FOR FEARS
Tears for Fears sold so much of The Tipping Point’s vinyl record version and had sold just a handful of the cassette tape version.
The cassette tape in white is still a great physical album to have. It’s got the original artwork for the album with chairs stacked from the center and seem to be tipping over.
It’s one of the most acclaimed albums of the year so it would not hurt to have a cassette version, especially if you have a cassette player.
Related Article:
Most Expensive Cassette Tapes Ever Sold
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#6. DANCE FEVER by FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Florence and the Machine came back with their fifth studio album Dance Fever which was a commercial success in Europe, the United States, and Oceania.
The theme of the whole album is medieval and it can be seen in the way Florence Welch is dressed in medieval clothes for the album cover.
And just like the medieval theme of the album, it is also reflected on the cassette version of the album.
The Dance Fever cassette is pale pink in color with intricate medieval designs embellishing it in mauvish-magenta.
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#7. MR. MORALE AND THE BIG STEPPERS by KENDRICK LAMAR
Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is Kendrick Lamar’s first studio album following Damn, his last one in 2017.
The standard version has a total of 18 tracks which is what’s inside the physical albums including the cassette tapes. There is a digital bonus track though.
The album was an acclaimed one topping charts in a lot of countries in Europe as well as in the United Kingdom and United States.
Interscope Records has secured an exclusive cassette version for the album called Mr. Morale Exclusive Black Cassette housed inside a case with the original cover for the album.
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#8. HARRY’S HOUSE by HARRY STYLES
Harry Styles’ Harry’s House is another successful album from the former member of one of the most successful British boy bands in history.
Though the vinyl album versions were much more popular than the cassette tape versions, they are not to be taken for granted.
The cassette tapes are limited editions and there are two variants first is the White Cassette and the other is the Blue Cassette.
Both are stored in Norelco boxes with a 5-panel j-card.
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#9. GOLD RUSH KID by GEORGE EZRA
The release of the album Gold Rush Kid on June 10 replaced Harry Styles’ album from the top of the UK Albums Chart.
It is his third studio album and is his third consecutive number-one album in the UK.
The color scheme of the album is blue, yellow, and green and its cassette tapes are just the same.
The first is a blue cassette and the other is a yellow cassette both having green background for the names and other texts.
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#10. SURRENDER by MAGGIE ROGERS
Surrender was released on July 29 this year by Maggie Rogers and it was a commercial success topping the US Top Tastemaker Albums Billboard Chart.
It is a self-produced album that had that “feral joy” sound, as what Rogers called it.
The cassette tape album of the album is available and will be shipping this November 15.
And that’s the end of our list!
I hope you found something you want to buy or get inspiration from for your very own cassette tape album.
I suggest you have them in small limited quantities for now. It has quite a small audience at the moment but
I believe they’ll be increasing in the years to come so just be ready.
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James Hill is a veteran of the music industry. He first worked at Warner Reprise Records then later joined Interscope/ Geffen Records where he managed producers and songwriters and got his first platinum record for Keyshia Cole’s The Way It Is. He is now helping indie artists with branding and manufacturing through his company Unified Manufacturing, a CD/DVD/vinyl and merch company in LA.
