PRESS PLAY: New Albums out January 9th
Discover the first must-listen albums of the new year…
Dry Cleaning | photo by Max Miechowski. courtesy of the artist
A new year has dawned and it’s time to get acquainted with another 52 weeks of fresh releases. Here are the first records to spend time with in 2026:
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.
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
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”
The PRESS PLAY-list
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