New Music Friday: The best albums out Jan. 16
Ya Tseen's new album Stand On My Shoulders features artists like Pink Siifu, Meshel Ndegeocello and Portugal. The Man. Nick Walker/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
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. This week, our guest is Portland's own Alex Newman of KMHD in Oregon, where he's on the air every morning from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. PT. (You can stream his show on-demand here.)
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. Plus we're debuting a new spotlight this week: Dora's Corner, where NPR Music production assistant Dora Levite shares her favorite albums that didn't make the podcast.
The Starting 5
Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore Rachael Pony hide caption
🎵 Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore, Tragic Magic (InFiné)
- Recommended If You Like: pastoral soundscapes, Laraaji
🎵 The Sha La Das, Your Picture (Diamond West)
- RIYL: family bands, Thee Sacred Souls
🎵 Ya Tseen, Stand On My Shoulders (Sub Pop)
- RIYL: Portugal. The Man, Bon Iver
🎵 Shaking Hand, Shaking Hand (Melodic)
- RIYL: Midwest emo, American Football
🎵 Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel, Celestun (DIY)
- RIYL: finger picking, Nick Drake
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
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Five more albums we wish we could have discussed on the podcast:
⚡ Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid, Ches Smith, Dream Archives (ECM)
⚡ Courtney Marie Andrews, Valentine (Thirty Tigers)
⚡ Diogo Strausz, Dance Para Se (Favorite)
⚡ Oxis, Oxis 8 (Boom)
⚡ Nate Smith, Live-Action Deluxe Edition
Listen to each album's best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.
Dora's Corner
XiuXiu Xiu Xiu hide caption
Dora Levite is New Music Friday's production assistant, an occasional All Songs Considered guest, and 17 years old according to her Spotify wrapped. Below are her picks for the best albums not featured on the show.
💿 Xiu Xiu, Xiu Mutha F***** Xiu: Vol. 1 (Polyvinyl)
💿 Sassy 009, Dreamer+ (PIAS Electronique)
💿 xavisphone, balança e paixão (Modern Love)
Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson • Guest: Alex Newman, KMHD (Portland) • Audio: Noah Caldwell • Producer: Elle Mannion • Production Assistant: Dora Levite • Editor: Otis Hart • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed • Executive Director: Sonali Mehta