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New Music Friday: The best albums out Jan. 31

By Stephen Thompson,
John Morrison
Published January 31, 2025 at 9:26 AM CST
Cymande, one of the most sampled funk groups ever, is back with a new album this week.
Dean Chalkley
/
Courtesy of the artist
Cymande, one of the most sampled funk groups ever, is back with a new album this week.

The Weeknd may be the biggest release of the week, but is it the best? We run down five other albums you should hear, with NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and John Morrison, host of Culture Cypher Radio on partner station WXPN.

Featured albums for January 31

  1. Cymande, Renascence
  2. Ambrose Akinmusire, honey from a winter stone
  3. Lilly Hiatt, Forever
  4. Pink Siifu, BLACKIANTIQUE
  5. Damon Locks, List of Demands

Other notable albums out January 31

Pop

  • Kim Wilde, Closer
  • Qing Madi, I am the Blueprint
  • The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow

Rock/indie/alternative

  • Adrian Quesada, Home Free OST
  • ASkySoBlack, Touch Heaven
  • Assistant, Certain Memories
  • Charlie Houston, Big After I Die
  • Circa Waves, Death & Love Pt. 1
  • Freckle, Freckle
  • Geologist & D.S. (from Animal Collective), A Shaw Deal
  • Kawala, Kawala Collection
  • L.S. Dunes, Violet
  • Last Train, III
  • The Laughing Chimes, Whispers in the Speech Machine
  • Manic Street Preachers, Critical Thinking
  • moe., Circle of Giants
  • Prison, Downstate
  • Quicche, Frisia
  • RØRY, Restoration
  • Sweet Pill, Unraveled

Hip-hop

  • EST Gee, I Aint Feeling You
  • FearDorian, Leaving Home
  • Madvillain, Madvillany Demos
  • MIKE, Showbiz
  • Tyga, NSFW

R&B/soul

  • Brooke Combe, Dancing at the Edge of the World
  • Eddie Chacon, Lay Low
  • V/A, Eccentric Soul: The Cobra Label

Country/folk/Americana

  • Bonnie "Prince" Billy, The Purple Bird
  • Heather Maloney, Exploding Star
  • Penny & Sparrow, Lefty
  • Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers (Deluxe Edition)

Jazz

  • Isaiah Collier, William Hooker, William Parker, The Ancients
  • Joe McPhee, I'm Just Say'n
  • Johanna Summer / Jakob Manz, Cameo
  • Joona Toivanen Trio, Gravity
  • Julia Hulsmann, Under the Surface
  • Julian & Roman Wasserfuhr, Safe Place

Classical

  • Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Khachaturian: Piano Concerto
  • Ludovico Einaudi, The Summer Portraits
  • Max Richter, The Blue Notebooks (20 Year Edition)
  • Renaud Capucon, Petr Popelka, Seiji Ozawa, Richard Strauss

Global

  • Jupiter & Okwess, Ekoya
  • Khalil Harrison, Uzwile Bathini
  • Nyron Higor, Nyron Higor

Electronic/other

  • Architectural, Good Night, Whatever That Is
  • Decius, Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience)
  • General Magic, Bosko
  • Les Rallizes Dénudés, 屋​根​裏 YaneUra Sept. '80
  • Maribou State, Hallucinating Love
  • Memory Pearl, Cosmic-Astral
  • Ocean Moon, Ways to the Deep Meadow
  • Peter Rehberg, Liminal States
  • Radart, Blips & Bleeps
  • Sectra, Through the Static
  • Shackleton, In the Cell of Dreams (Live)
  • Wojciech Rusin, Honey for the Ants

Copyright 2025 NPR
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New Music All Songs Considered
Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist and guest host on All Songs Considered. Thompson also co-hosts the daily NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created with NPR's Linda Holmes in 2010. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
John Morrison
John Morrison is a writer, DJ, and sample-flipper from Philadelphia. As a writer, his work has appeared in NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, Jazz Tokyo, Grammy.com, and more. He is also the host of Culture Cypher Radio, a hip-hop radio show on NPR member station WXPN. [Copyright 2025 XPN]