The sun is coming out again and is bringing long-awaited releases.

Music icons are blooming this spring with exciting new projects. With themes of self-reflection, love and heartbreak, the upcoming LPs bring a variety of sounds and genres, with guitar-backed pieces shining through the mix.

Read on for the Daily Bruin’s list of this season’s anticipated albums.

“The Great Divide” by Noah Kahan

Almost four years after “Stick Season” made him a global folk-pop sensation, Noah Kahan is finally ready to bridge “The Great Divide” between eras.

Though Kahan is typically associated with long, gloomy winters, the release of his fourth album, “The Great Divide,” on April 24 will determine whether his signature songwriting can translate to the sunny springtime just as well. If the album’s two singles and the songs Kahan has teased in the past few years are any indication, fans will find that the 17 tracks awaiting them are more than worth the wait.

The “Noah Kahan: Out of Body” Netflix documentary will be released April 13 and is set to provide insight into Kahan’s headspace on the road and in the studio before listeners press play on the project later in the month. The stakes and anticipation are high, but Kahan seems to be on the right track as he remains determined to keep writing about what he knows best – his home state of Vermont.

With the wait for “The Great Divide” diminishing by the day, fans won’t have to leave the “Porch Light” on waiting for Kahan much longer.

– Kiara Mack

[Related: Music Video Roundup: Genre-spanning artists, intricate music videos steal the winter season spotlight]

“Middle of Nowhere” by Kacey Musgraves

Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves is returning from the “Middle of Nowhere” with a brand new album.

The Texas-born country singer, known for her hits “Follow Your Arrow” and “Butterflies” among many others, will release her sixth studio album May 1. The 13-track project was co-written and produced by Musgraves, Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk and will hit the music scene over two years after her highly streamed 2024 album, “Deeper Well.” The first single, titled “Dry Spell,” was released March 11 and acts as an excellent introduction to the album’s honest themes of heartbreak, transition and self-reclamation.

Named after a sign in her small hometown of Golden, Texas – with a population less than 300 – that states, “Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere,” the album will feature collaborations with several folk-country greats, including Miranda Lambert, Gregory Alan Isakov, Willie Nelson and Billy Strings. According to Musgraves, “the bulk of this record was made during the longest single period of (her) life” and is based on the sounds and tales of her upbringing in the Lone Star State. Embracing a mixture of Texas dancehall rhythms as well as genres such as bluegrass, pop and Zydeco, Musgraves’ latest musical undertaking is likely to add true emotional depth and sonic creativity to her immensely successful discography.

For listeners who are feeling lost in their music tastes, “Middle of Nowhere” will be the perfect place to find a new sound.

– Eleanor Meyers

“MAITREYA CORSO” by Maya Hawke

Maya Hawke is set to surprise and soar with her fourth studio album release.

“MAITREYA CORSO” is set to release May 1. The successor to her 2024 album “Chaos Angel” will feature Hawke returning to longtime collaborators Christian Lee Hutson and Benjamin Lazar Davis. According to Hawke, Maitreya Corso is a fictional character who struggles to fit in with the world around her. The character’s isolation allows Hawke to explore ideas about creativity and selfhood across 13 tracks.

On March 2, Hawke released the first track from her new album across streaming services. The single, “Devil You Know,” balances rap and instrumentation, conveying the importance of separating excess ambition from the process of creation. To accompany her album release, Hawke announced a 13-stop tour across the United States. “The Maitreya Corso Tour” began March 3 in New York City and ends May 2 in Manhattan.

Across 13 tracks and 13 stops, Hawke is poised to sing her way through her exploration of earnestness and identity.

– Julia Kinion

[Related: Album review: Robyn’s ‘Sexistential’ gives listeners ‘Dopamine’ despite 29-minute runtime]

“everyone for ten minutes” by Bleachers

Get in “the van,” put on a “dirty wedding dress” and get ready for Bleachers’ new album coming this spring.

The Jack Antonoff-led six-piece rock group will release its fifth studio album, “everyone for ten minutes,” via Dirty Hit on May 22. Although Antonoff hasn’t gone a single Grammys ceremony unnominated since 2017, Bleachers’ upcoming record is not expected to mimic the synth-pop or rap tracks the artist often produces with Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar or Sabrina Carpenter. The singles released ahead of “everyone for ten minutes” are anthemic pop-rock tracks, simultaneously contemporary while infused with Bleachers’ nostalgic, layered, New Jersey sound.

The band announced the album in February alongside lead single “you and forever” and a music video starring Antonoff and his wife, actress Margaret Qualley, dancing in her apartment as he sings about the depths from which love pulled him. On subsequent singles “dirty wedding dress” and “the van,” the Bleachers’ lead vocalist croons about love, upheaval and the strange beauty of being changed by both. The “BLEACHERS FOREVER” tour kicks off in Chicago this June, with five shows set for Los Angeles’s Troubadour.

With an album en route and a tour on deck, Bleachers is setting up a season steeped in longing, love and full-volume feeling.

– Abby Shewmaker

“Dinner Party” by Niall Horan

This spring, everyone will want a seat at Niall Horan’s “Dinner Party.”

The Irish singer-songwriter’s fourth solo studio album is set to release June 5, arriving three years after his previous record, “The Show.” Horan announced the project March 18, quickly followed by the release of its lead single and title track, “Dinner Party.” The guitar-backed pop song details the true story of how Horan met his girlfriend Amelia Woolley, featuring sentimental lyrics such as, “I’m done looking for somebody.”

The former One Direction member said the words “dinner party” became the center of the 12-track LP in an Instagram post preluding the single. Following the album’s release, Horan will embark on a multileg tour supporting the record, starting in England on Sept. 22. Within the tour’s announcement, the pop musician said “Dinner Party” was created with the live experience in mind.

As longtime Horan fans already know, listeners are sure to be well-fed from this album’s feast.

– Victoria Munck