All Songs Considered: New Music Friday – The Best Albums Out Jan. 16, 2026

Podcast: All Songs Considered (NPR)
Episode Date: January 16, 2026
Host: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Alex Newman (KMHD, Portland, Oregon)

Overview

This episode of All Songs Considered’s “New Music Friday” series highlights the most notable albums released on January 16, 2026. Host Stephen Thompson and guest Alex Newman delve into a sonically diverse set of new releases, discussing standout tracks, artist backstories, and the overall vibes of each project. From genre-defying collaborations to throwback soul, ambient explorations, and fresh takes on indie rock, the episode is a celebration of music’s ever-evolving landscape.

Key Albums and Discussions

A$AP Rocky – Don’t Be Dumb

• A$AP Rocky’s Current Moment (00:41)
  • Stephen notes Rocky’s pervasive cultural presence: “Not only does he have this new album dropping, he is in two movies that are central to awards season, highest to lowest, and if I had Legs, I'd kick you. This dude's everywhere.”
• Sound and Creative Direction (01:07)
  • Alex admires the high energy and range between the album's two singles, emphasizing Rocky’s refusal to be boxed into a single genre, veering into punk and emo influences.
  • “He's not letting the fame and fortune slow down his creativity.” – Alex (01:20)
• Lack of Album Advance and High Expectations (01:44)
  • The hosts discuss not having early access to the full album, noting the excitement and unpredictability based on the diversity of the singles.
  • “It's really hard to even tell... what all the, like, common threads are that run through this record because they're so different.” – Stephen (01:44)
• Blending Genres (02:07)
  • Alex reflects on Rocky’s genre-crossing: “It's always interesting when you see, like somebody who might be considered a rap artist or a hip hop artist sort of veer into different genres like punk or emo or however you might describe it... but I thought it was done very depthly.” (02:07)

Juliana Barwick & Mary Lattimore – Tragic Magic

• Project Overview (02:45)
  • Collaboration between harpist Mary Lattimore and ambient artist Juliana Barwick, recorded in Paris using rare, historic instruments from the Musée de la Musique.
  • Stephen describes their work as “beautiful, swooping ambient music.” (03:53)
• Patience and Immersiveness (04:25, 04:58)
  • Alex: “I feel like this whole record is just not in a rush... they're just occupying so much space and patience with every composition. It feels very insular, but sort of blasting outward, which is like a really tricky balance to hold.” (04:25)
  • The track “Stardust” is highlighted for its synth crescendo and futuristic, retro vibe.
• Blade Runner Influences & “Full Enya Moment” (05:43)
  • Stephen connects the sound to Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack: “‘Stardust’... sounds like it's taken from the Blade Runner soundtrack. You know, it's kind of futuristic, but it's retro at the same time.” (05:43)
  • The first track, “Perpetual Adoration,” builds up to a “full Enya” moment: “At the four minute mark… they just go, full Enya. Yeah, together. And I am so here for it.” (05:43)
• Live Anticipation & Playful Banter (06:30)
  • Both are excited to see the material performed live; Alex jokes about Stephen’s “harp strings and heartstrings” note, adding: “It's okay sometimes to have a little bit of SAP in your stew, so to speak.” (07:38)

The Sha La Das – You’d Picture

• Band Story and Atmosphere (08:36)
  • The Sha La Das are a father-and-sons family act rooted in Staten Island, channeling classic doo-wop and soul.
  • Stephen describes the vibe: “This is music that is trafficking in memory. Right. They're singing music that evokes the doo wop era, but it's also evoking like, you know, images in your mind of these four, you know, kind of with the boys growing up on Staten island, you know, performing doo wop songs on their front stoop.” (10:25)
• Timeless Lyricism and Modern Touches (11:18)
  • Alex: “There isn't any mention of sort of the modern world in it as well... This is sort of the lyrics and the approach to it is errorless. You know, it could... have been back in the 50s or 60s.” (11:18)
• Preserving Lost Sounds (12:28)
  • Stephen notes the record could “just as easily have been a lost treasure from some dusty archive,” but is in fact freshly recorded music with vintage spirit.

Yá Tseen – Stand on My Shoulders

• Collaborative DNA and Evolution (18:05–19:12)
  • Yá Tseen, a revolving collaborative project led by Nicholas Galanin with guests like Portugal. The Man, Meshell Ndegeocello, and Pink Siifu.
  • Alex: “Now it seems like there's almost this like shape shifting between the voices and the sensibilities and it, it just like works really, really well for me.” (18:59)
• Expansive & Experimental Sound (19:12)
  • Stephen: “There are so many sensibilities woven into this sound and that really makes this record feel extremely expansive.” (19:12)
  • Personal backstory highlighted: Galanin’s Tlingit roots, a transformative accident, and his boundaryless musical approach.
• Genre-Defiance and Accessibility (20:36–21:56)
  • Alex recounts his daughter’s question about the music’s genre: “My 8 year old daughter... said, what kind of music is this? And I, and my reaction was like, I think yes, you know, that's your genre right there.” (20:36)
  • Stephen calls out “Taste on My Lips” for its genre-melding accessibility, saying: “...a wild, funky, danceable freak out that is... very approachable, very accessible and identifiable as like funk slash disco slash indie pop slash, you know, et cetera, et cetera.” (21:19)
• Standout Tracks (22:14–23:33)
  • “Urshinrot,” with its myth-inspired story, and “Twilight,” noted for dynamic build and a cameo from Pink Siifu.

Shaking Hand – Shaking Hand

• Band Background & Sound (24:25)
  • Manchester trio tapping into 90s alt-rock/post-rock. “This record is somehow so aware of like post rock and 90s alternative rock... but even in that awareness, they're sort of out here creating their own expression.” – Alex (24:25)
• Youthful Revivalism & Influences (25:21–26:23)
  • Stephen: “Did this band like listen to my college radio station in 1993 and they're babies.”
  • Songs like “In For a Pound” and “Up the Antelope” (or “Up the ante(lope)”) demonstrate both reverence to and reinvention of 90s indie and post-punk sounds.
  • Alex: “They have a sound, you know, they have a sensibility which I think is just challenging in general for young musicians. But they found something.” (27:58)

Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel – Celestún

• Collaboration and Sonic Vibe (31:34)
  • Ramsey (Band of Horses) and Broemel (My Morning Jacket) put together acoustic-based, largely instrumental collaborative album spanning North Carolina and Kentucky.
  • “These beautiful songs, many of them instrumental, performed on acoustic guitars, but with voices that pop up at opportune moments. I don't know, you just get this kind of gorgeous, easygoing vibe throughout this record.” – Stephen (31:34)
• Chemistry and Vocal Highlights (32:12–33:44)
  • Alex praises their “big wet kiss to John Fahey” and the unexpected seamlessness despite recording at a distance.
  • “Flying Things,” written for Ramsey’s daughter with vocals from The Secret Sisters, is a highlighted standout.
    • “That is a Tyler Ramsey song... He wrote it for his daughter. It's about kind of imagination and dreams. They bring in the Secret Sisters to provide extra vocals and it is so beautiful. That's one my partner kind of called from the next Room. Like, what is this? Send it to me now.” – Stephen (33:19–33:44)
• Lived-In Quality and Timeliness (34:01–35:20)
  • Both hosts comment on the album’s timeless, familiar quality, feeling like “a children's song I never came across or... some like old folk song that I've never heard.” (34:01)
  • “Nevermind,” about social media breaks: “Let me tell you something, I don't know when he wrote that song, but he could have written that song this past weekend for how timely it feels.” – Stephen (34:20)

Lightning Round: Other Notable Releases

(35:53–39:45)

• Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid & Ches Smith – Dream Archives
  • Complex trio jazz exploration, culminating in a Jerry Allen cover. “A beautiful melding of these acoustic masters and they find a really intricate and spellbinding level of interaction.” – Alex (35:53)
• Courtney Marie Andrews – Valentine
  • Americana/folk with the most sonically adventurous production of her career. “Always held together by a timeless voice that sings about shared humanity, grief and hard won love.” – Stephen (36:55)
• Diego Strausz – Dance Parése (Dance Paris)
  • Brazilian-born, Paris-based disco artist fusing Patrick Adams’ underground sound with Nile Rodgers’ sheen. “A beautiful and healthy slice of disco heaven.” – Alex (37:48)
• Aksis – Aksis 8
  • Dreamy electro-pop with aquatic themes; “catchy, low key bedroom pop, but the bedroom… is a dark and distant seabed.” – Stephen (38:32)
• Nate Smith – Live Action (Deluxe Edition)
  • A jazz/funk drummer’s expanded album, including a standout with Braxton Cook. “Probably your favorite drummer's favorite drummer.” – Alex (39:13)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It's okay sometimes to have a little bit of SAP in your stew, so to speak.” – Alex Newman, on music criticism sentimentality (07:38)
• “My 8 year old daughter Paloma... said, what kind of music is this? And I... was like, I think yes, you know, that's your genre right there.” – Alex (20:36)
• “...like a Pavement song that didn't like smoke weed out of a pop can.” – Alex, on Shaking Hand’s fresh take on indie rock (25:40)
• “If it feels like it's a, it's sort of plucked out of the universe where it's been living for 80 years, but it's new, that's really a remarkable feat to pull off.” – Stephen, on the timelessness of Ramsey & Broemel’s collaboration (34:20)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:41] – A$AP Rocky – Don’t Be Dumb
• [02:45] – Juliana Barwick & Mary Lattimore – Tragic Magic
• [08:36] – The Sha La Das – You’d Picture
• [18:05] – Yá Tseen – Stand on My Shoulders
• [24:25] – Shaking Hand – Shaking Hand
• [30:44] – Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel – Celestún
• [35:53] – Lightning Round: Craig Taborn/Tomeka Reed/Ches Smith, Courtney Marie Andrews, Diego Strausz, Aksis, Nate Smith

Episode Tone & Final Thoughts

The tone throughout is playful, vibrant, and deeply appreciative of artists willing to push sonic and emotional boundaries. Host chemistry shines both in the depth of their musical references and their quick humor. The episode is an ideal listen for musically curious audiences keen to both discover new music and gain insight into what makes each project unique.