Here's all the music news you missed over the Christmas/New Year break

While the rest of us were alternating between being drunk and hungover for two weeks straight, the music industry was keeping busy as usual. There's been a tonne of music news announced over the past few weeks, and just in case you've been too busy living it up to keep up to date with what's been going on, we've got a handy guide to everything you may have missed. Check out all the latest stuff below:

Coachella's insane 2018 line-up announcement:

Californian festival Coachella are notorious for giving everyone mass amounts of FOMO every April, and after dropping their 2018 line-up, it looks like this year will be no different. Beyoncé, Eminem and The Weeknd lead the unusually pop/hip-hop-focused line-up this year, with a golden undercard full of some of music's best (and most promising) ensuring another quick sell-out in 2018. Props to Vance Joy, Tash Sultana, Alison Wonderland and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever for flying the Australian flag too.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA soundtracking Black Panther:

One of Marvel's biggest forthcoming releases in 2018 is Black Panther, the studio's latest big-budget superhero flick which is set to open in February. News arrived last week that esteemed hip-hop figure Kendrick Lamar would be soundtracking the film, with the soundtrack's first single promising some big, big things. It's a collaboration with fellow 2017 stand-out SZA, with the two TDE juggernauts perfectly blending together on what is sure to be one of 2018's most significant partnerships.

New full-lengths from BROCKHAMPTON, Charli XCX, King Gizz and more:

In true end-of-year fashion, this New Years period was crammed with last-minute album releases from some of 2017's biggest and best, with everyone from Charli XCX to Francis And The Lights treating us to new records. BROCKHAMPTON's final Saturation record, Saturation III, proved that the hip-hop 'boy-band' are one of 2017's best success stories, with the group bringing their flavoursome hip-hop sound to the front for what is easily their most accessible record yet. Just try not get swept up in the album's thumping leading single BOOGIE – it's impossible.

After continuing her left-field reinvention with the bubbly Number 1 Angel and list-topping year highlight Boys, Charli XCX ended her 2017 with her second mixtape of the year, teaming up with another horde of special guests from Pop 2. The ten-track mixtape hosts some of pop music's best anthems for 2017, with names including Carly Rae Jepsen, Tove Lo, CupcakKe, Mykki Blanco and others joining the pop queen for another brilliant release en route to her third album this year.

At the start of 2017, Melbourne psych-rock group King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard promised to release five albums in twelve months, and on New Year's Eve, they finally fulfilled their promise. Gumboot Soup is their fifth and final release for 2017, with the internationally loved Australian outfit further expanding on their expansive sound for another record full of treats. Take a bit of R&R this year guys; you've all deserved it.

Released a stroke before the new year, one of 2016’s big buzz acts Francis and the Lights surprise-released a follow-up to his much-hyped 2016 record Farewell, Starlite. Francis’ music is unique in that it persuades with energy all while packing an intimate punch, with his new record, Just For Us, leading much the same story. Touching upon love, loss and time, the album features a swagger of big-name contributions with production credits to Cashmere Cat, Benny Blanco and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), and is definitely one to check out in case you missed it.

Camp Cope taking over Falls Festival:

As a response to the reported sexual assault at Marion Bay's Falls Festival leg and the general lack of women on the line-up, Melbourne three-piece Camp Cope adjusted a line from their empowering and passionate latest single The Opener to read "It's another man saying we cant fill up a tent, it's another f**king festival booking only nine women." This, of course, opened a massive divide about the representation of (or lack thereof) women on our festival line-ups (something which shouldn't even be deemed a 'controversial opinion' in 2018), with a whole heap of undeserved hate being thrown against the talented group for simply standing up and speaking out against Australia's promoters and their bias towards white male acts. "We're Camp Cope and we've made a lot of people mad this week," said lead singer Georgia "Maq" McDonald as she opened their set at Falls Downtown this week, with Georgia, Kelly and Sarah all wearing a specially-printed tee created by the group to stand against sexual assault. Luca Brasi, Bad Dreems, Alex Lahey, Stella Donnelly, The Hard Aches, DZ Deathrays, Thundamentals, Total Giovanni, Ecca Vandal, Cosmo's Midnight and all of Camp Cope's road crew (plus others) also repped the tees over the Fremantle event last weekend.

New singles from James Blake, The Vaccines, First Aid Kit and heaps more:

Albums aside, we were also treated to a bunch of fantastic new singles over the break. The Vaccines teased their forthcoming 2018 record with a sensational new single titled I Can't Quit, which arrives ahead of Combat Sports' release on March 30. First Aid Kit also further previewed their upcoming new album Ruins with any tasty single in Fireworks, which further cements the sister pairing as a must-see when they're here in a few months playing their new album which is out in two weeks. James Blake surprised us with a beautiful and emotive cover of Don McLean's Vincent Van Gogh tribute, while Manu Crooks, Cardi B, Migos and others gave us plenty of new hip-hop to dive into over the break.

Daniel Johns & Luke Steele teaming up to form Dreams:

And speaking of this year's Coachella line-up, one act that notably caused a stir was Dreams. Positioned just above Perfume Genius and Moses Sumney on the festival's Friday billing, the elusive artist has no presence online – no singles, no social media, nothing – making its positioning above two of 2017's stand-out acts quite questionable. As it turns out, it appears that the act is actually a new pairing between Empire Of The Sun's Luke Steele and Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, with their debut single (teased on their social media accounts) set to arrive sometime this month (maybe).