New Music Friday: The best albums out Jan. 9

Welcome to New Music Friday, NPR Music's podcast dedicated to sharing the best albums out each week. We listen to dozens of new releases in advance, identify the ones we think you need to hear, and highlight our favorite five in a brisk mix of clips, context and commentary.

The podcast is hosted by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, and each episode features a member of the NPR Music Network of public radio stations. Our first guest of 2026 is Nashville's own Celia Gregory of WNXP, where she's on the air every morning from 6-10 a.m. CT.

Scroll down to see which albums we discussed this week and links to our New Music Friday playlists, where you can hear singles from each album.

The Starting 5

🎵 Dry Cleaning, Secret Love (4AD)

• Recommended If You Like: speak-singing, Cate Le Bon

🎵 Jenny On Holiday, Quicksand Heart (Transgressive)

• RIYL: Alt-Pop, CHVRCHES

🎵 Mon Rovîa, Bloodline (Nettwerk)

• RIYL: Singer-songwriters, Sufjan Stevens

🎵 Home Star, A Binding Life (Born Losers)

• RIYL: Pop-punk, Modern Baseball

🎵 Kris Davis and the Lutosławski Quartet, The Solastalgia Suite (Pyroclastic)

• RIYL: Climate activism, jazz-classical hybrids

New Music Friday is a feature of NPR's All Songs Considered podcast. Hear the discussion on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Lightning Round

Six more albums we wish we could have discussed on the podcast:

⚡ Sault, Chapter 1 (Forever Living Originals)

⚡ Zach Bryan, With Heaven on Top (Warner Records)

⚡ The Cribs, Selling A Vibe (Play It Again Sam)

⚡ Pullman, III (Western Vinyl)

⚡ Clémentine March, Powder Keg (PRAH)

⚡ Rawayana, ¿Dónde es el After? (Rimas)

Listen to each album's best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.

_{Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson • Guest: Celia Gregory, WNXP (Nashville) • Audio: Noah Caldwell • Producer: Elle Mannion • Editor: Otis Hart • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed • Executive Director: Sonali Mehta}