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PRESS PLAY: New Albums out January 2026

Chill out with the last new albums of the month…

January 09, 2026

JOSEPH | photo by Abby Stanford, courtesy of the artist

Press Play

While you continue to hunker down, thaw out, or trudge through the world, give a listen to January’s final batch of new releases.

Now down to a duo, Portland combo JOSEPH counter heartbreak with the kind of resilience that can only come from sibling support on Closer to Happy. Tyler Ballgame’s debut, For the First Time, Again, is a baroque-pop confection that centers the Rhode Island singer’s expressive, acrobatic voice.

On No Love Lost to Kindness, their fifth LP, New Zealand’s Yumi Zouma deliver sugary melodies with heavier production that still sparkles and gleams. With production by garage rock auteur Ty Segall, Waking Up is an electrifying statement from Annabelle Chairlegs, the Austin project fronted by Lindsey Mackin.

Listen for spotlights on new records like these (and more) every week on the XPN Morning Show and Indie Rock Hit Parade.

PRESS PLAY on these new releases

JOSEPH –
Closer to Happy

CHECK OUT: “Ready to Let You Down”
“Bye and Bye”

Tyler Ballgame –
For the First Time, Again

CHECK OUT: “I Believe in Love”
“Matter of Taste”

Yumi Zouma –
No Love Lost to Kindness

CHECK OUT: “Cross My Heart and Hope to Die”
“Phoebe’s Song”

Annabelle Chairlegs –
Waking Up

CHECK OUT: “Concrete Trees”
“Heavy Sleeper”

The PRESS PLAY-list

FURTHER LISTENING

Barry Walker Jr. – Paleo Sol, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Howl (20th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set), Blackwater Holylight – Not Here Not Gone, By Storm – My Ghosts Go Ghost, Cast – Yeah Yeah Yeah, Dogpark – Corporate Pudding EP, Enduser – Unquiet, Francis Rossi – The Accidental, Geologist – Can I Get a Pack of Camel Lights?, GUV – Warmer Than Gold, IAMEVE – Legacy, Joel Ross – Gospel Music, Joyce Manor – I Used to Go to That Bar, Kula Shaker – Wormslayer, Lande Hekt – Lucky Now, Large – Marine Life, Radium Dolls – Wound Up, Sam Quealy – JAWBREAKER, Sam Wenc – Language at an Angle, Sanford: – Big Tent Revival, Sébastien Tellier – Kiss the Beast, Silver Liz – III, Softcult – When a Flower Doesn’t Grow, Steve Poltz – Joyride, Toad the Wet Sprocket – RINGS: The Acoustic Sessions, Tony DV – I Know Trash People Who Keep the Oceans Clean, Toni Geitani – Wahj, Trembler – Total Sorry EP, Triples – Every Good Story EP, Ty Segall & the Muggers – “LIVE” “AT” “THE” “BBC” 

PRESS PLAY BACK CATALOG

Artist to Watch Kashus Culpepper’s full-length debut, Act I, demonstrates uncommon songwriting talent from the Alabama-born singer who, just a few short years ago, never contemplated a career in music. The Format make their much-anticipated reunion official with Boycott Heaven; the Arizona duo’s first album in 20 years arrives after Nate Ruess’s successful stint leading the band FUN. and eclectic film and solo work by Sam Means. Teaming with Mavis Staples, Norah Jones, and Brittney Spencer, Lucinda Williams ruminates on the state of society on her 16th LP, World’s Gone Wrong.

The latest in his series of covers collections, Marc Broussard ably tackles vintage jukebox favorites on S.O.S. V: Songs of the ’50s. Fusing psych-rock, city pop and tropical rhythms into his own distinctive blend, Shintaro Sakamoto’s Yoo-Hoo is a sumptuous sonic adventure. Take Me as I Am is as much a coming out party for powerhouse vocal trio Dames Brown as it is a loving tribute to its late producer, Detroit legend Amp Fiddler.

Kashus Culpepper – Act I

CHECK OUT: “Believe”
“After Me?”

The Format – Boycott Heaven

CHECK OUT: “Holy Roller”
“Right Where I Belong”

Lucinda Williams –
World’s Gone Wrong

CHECK OUT: “The World’s Gone Wrong”
“So Much Trouble in the World”

Marc Broussard –
S.O.S. V: Songs of the ’50s

CHECK OUT: “Hallelujah, I Love Her So”
“Stagger Lee”

Shintaro Sakamoto – Yoo-Hoo

CHECK OUT: “Dear Grandpa”
“Numb”

Dames Brown – Take Me as I Am

CHECK OUT: “What Would You Do?”
“Glory”

FURTHER LISTENING

Alan Vega – Alan Vega (Reissue + Deluxe Edition) / Collision Drive (Reissue), Ari Lennox – Vacancy, Becca Hannah – Tonight in My Dreams, Carolina Chocolate Drops – Genuine Negro Jig (15th Anniversary Edition), Cat Power – Redux EP, The Damned – Not Like Everybody Else, Delaney Bailey – Concave, Department – Audacity Files, Draag – Miracle Drug EP, Enduser – Unquiet, Erik Hall – Solo Three, Fairmont – Everything is Fleeting, Few of a Kind – Few of a Kind, Greg Weeks – If the Sun Dies, Goldfinger – Nine Lives, Jo Passed – Away, Katie Tupper – Greyhound, Louis Tomlinson – How Did I Get Here?, The Paper Kites – If You Go There, I Hope You Find It, The Power Station – The Power Station (40th Anniversary Edition), PVA – No More Like This, Reba McEntire – Starting Over (30th Anniversary Edition), Searows – Death in the Business of Whaling, Ski Team – Burnout/Boys, T. Gold – Life is a Wonder and it’s Cruel, Tom Hamilton – I’m Your Vampire, Victoryland – My Heart is a Room with No Cameras in It, Yes – Symphonic Live 

Courtney Marie Andrews’ Valentine shows off the sunny country melodies of the Arizona songwriter, along with fine-tuned lyrics that stand proudly alongside her published collections of poetry. Working with Greta Van Fleet’s Sam Kiszkla, regional troubadour Langhorne Slim reinvents his anthemic style on the plugged-in and amped-up The Dreamin’ Kind. Staten Island family combo The Sha Da Las deliver tender vintage soul on their second LP, Your Picture.

NYC-via-Austin musician Jana Horn’s hushed compositions fall somewhere between folk and jazz, and her self-titled album is brimming with ghostly charm. For over a decade, Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel have crossed paths as members of Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket; on Celestun, they expand upon home recordings that were originally conceived during the pandemic. On another standout collaboration, Tragic Magic, choral vocalist Julianna Barwick and innovative harpist Mary Lattimore journeyed to Paris to record using a collection of rare vintage instruments.

Courtney Marie Andrews –
Valentine

CHECK OUT: “Cons and Clowns”
“Keeper”

Langhorne Slim –
The Dreamin’ Kind

CHECK OUT: “Rock N Roll”
“Dream Come True”

The Sha La Das – Your Picture

CHECK OUT: “Stop Using My Love”
“Do You Remember When”

Jana Horn – Jana Horn

CHECK OUT: “Go on, move your body”
“All in bet”

Tyler Ramsey and Carl Broemel – Celestun

CHECK OUT: “Celestun”
“In the Willows”

Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore – Tragic Magic

CHECK OUT: “Perpetual Adoration”
“Melted Moon”

FURTHER LISTENING

Archy Marshall – A New Place 2 Drown (10th Anniversary Edition), A$AP Rock – DON’T BE DUMB, Barry Adamson – Scala!!! (Original Score), Cavetown – Running with Scissors, cub – Come Out Come Out (30th Anniversary Edition), Gylt – In 1,000 A Doppelgänger gonies, I Exist EP, The James Hunter Six – Off the Fence, Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs – Pigus, Drunkus, Maximus, Local Weatherman – Right One EP, Peaer – Doppelgänger, Richard Marx – After Hours, Sassy 009 – Dreamer+, Sleaford Mods – The Demise of Planet X , Sylvia Black – Shadowtime, Westside Cowboy – So Much Country ‘till We Get There EP, WOO – Whichever Way You’re Going (Expanded Edition), Wormy – Shark River, Xiu Xiu – Xiu Mutha Fuckin’ Xiu: Vol. 1, Ya Tseen – Stand on My Shoulders

While working on what would become Secret Love, Dry Cleaning scrapped more than an album’s worth of material before teaming up with producer Cate Le Bon; she encouraged South London combo to explore sounds outside their trademark post-punk idiom. Oklahoma songwriter Zach Bryan dispatches a generous quantity of material on his sixth LP, With Heaven on Top, including his striking (and controversial) single “Bad News.”

Liberian-born Janjay Lowe was adopted into an American family at a young age; as Mon Rovîa, Lowe showcases wise-beyond-his-years folk ruminations on his sophomore full-length, Bloodline. Wakefield trio The Cribs return with their ninth album of energetic indie rock, Selling a Vibe; following their self-produced 2020 release Night Network, the Jarman brothers recruited former Chairlift member Patrick Wimberly to add glossy sheen to their power pop anthems.

Dry Cleaning – Secret Love

CHECK OUT: “Hit My Head All Day”
“Cruise Ship Designer”

Zach Bryan – With Heaven on Top

CHECK OUT: “Bad News”
“Plastic Cigarette”

Mon Rovîa – Bloodline

CHECK OUT: “Heavy Foot”
“Old Fort Steel Trail”

The Cribs – Selling a Vibe

CHECK OUT: “Summer Seizures”
“A Point Too Hard to Make”

FURTHER LISTENING

Isaac Martinez – Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, Jenny on Holiday – Quicksand Heart, Pullman – III, Robert Stillman – 10,000 Rivers, Sis & the Lower Wisdom – Saints and Aliens