Good news to Australian music fans, some of the most celebrated artists in music such as Jay-Z, 311, and Elliott Smith are releasing brand new albums this July.

Legendary rock act 311 will release their much-awaited tenth record "Universal Pulse" on the 19th, and fans are more than excited to hear the band's signature funky sound. "We're making music for them to listen to and dance to. They feed off of the energy as much as we do, and that's the core of what we do. The album was meant to support that rather than the other way around" says vocalist and guitarist Nick Hexon in an interview posted at ArtistDirect.com. "Songs will be hatched in many different ways, and the lyrics will also come up in many different ways" adds Hexon in the same interview. "Universal Pulse" is 311's next release since 2009's "Uplifter" album.

Meanwhile, hip hop lords Jay-Z and Kanye West are rumored to drop a joint record called "Watch the Throne" on Monday, July 4th. The alleged collaborative venture between the two artists was first announced in the site AllHipHop.com, claiming the album will be a digital-only release on Monday. According to Kanye West's Twitter posts, the album is a "top secret" project recorded in various NYC hotel rooms in the past year. One track called "H.A.M" is already released, an acronym for the explicit phrase "Hard as a Mother-" (listen to the song below).

Indie fans have a lot to cheer about with the release of Greyday Record's 3-disc compilation called "Live from Nowhere Near You". The mega 3-disc album includes news songs from hundreds of musicians collaborating to improve support awareness for street musicians and performers. Artists who have tracks in the record include Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, Modest Mouse, The Shins, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, grunge legend Daniel Johnston and many more.

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