It's Friday, and that means we've reached our final 2025 episode of New Music Friday. While most of the music internet is looking backward (including the latest episode of All Songs Considered), we here at New Music Friday didn't want to ignore the musicians who still had something new to say. After all, a critic favorite this list season is Cameron Winter's Heavy Metal, which came out ... the first week of December last year.
Each week, we welcome a member of the NPR Music Network of public-radio stations to the show. and this week's guest is Erin Wolf of Radio Milwaukee. She joined NPR Music's Stephen Thompson to discuss their five favorite albums out today, plus a lightning round of other worthy music.
Keep scrolling to see our long list of albums out today and sample the best via our New Music Friday playlists.
The Starting 5
- Dove Ellis, Blizzard (RIYL: Geese, Jeff Buckley)
- Melody's Echo Chamber, Unclouded (RIYL: Stereolab, Air)
- Tom Smith, There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn't There In The Light (RIYL: Editors, Travis)
- TEED, Always With Me (RIYL: The xx, Four Tet)
- Voices from the Lake, II (RIYL: Jon Hopkins, Orbital)
The Lightning Round
- HTRK, String of Hearts (Songs of HTRK)
- Ben Marc, Who Cares Wins
- Isobel Waller-Bridge, Objects
- Mother Soki, Fantasy EP
- Prins Thomas, Thomas Moen Hermansen
The Long List
Rock/Alt/Indie
- Annie DiRusso, Super Pedestrian Deluxe
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Live God
- Anna of the North, Girl In A Bottle
- Ólöf Arnalds, Spíra
- Bill Fay, From the Bottom of an Old Grandfather Clock (A Collection of Demos and Outtakes 1966-70)
- Crumb, Live!
- Depeche Mode, Memento Mori: Mexico City
- Happy Mondays, The Factory Singles
- Joanna, Hello Flower
- Kira Metcalf, Lessons in Majestic Humiliation
- Lettuce, Cook
- Meet Me @ The Altar, WORRIED SICK EP
- Mercyland, Mercyland (Reissue)
- Nick & June, New Year's Face
- Retail Drugs, Factory Reset
- Sam Fender, People Watching (Deluxe Edition)
- The Waterboys, The Waterboys Present: Rips From The Cutting Room Floor
- Various artists, Passages - Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers
Pop
- Jade, THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY! THE ENCORE
- Kylie Minogue, Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped)
- Milk & Bone & Chromeo, A Little Lucky EP
Rap/Hip-Hop
- Erick Sermon, Dynamic Duo's Vol. 1
- redveil, sankofa
- Stove God Cooks, GOAT STAMP
Country/Blues/Americana
- Zac Brown Band, Love & Fear
- Ryan Charles, Jiggy Buckaroo
- Zeelie Brown, the apocalypse is not the end but the unveiling
Classical
- Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Jane Austen's Piano
- Christine Baranski, Skylark A Christmas Carol
- Kronos Quartet, Forgive Us
Electronic/Out There
- Extrawelt, DYSTORTION
- Alison Wonderland, GHOST WORLD
- Alex Nut, Present Under Construction EP
- Confidence Man, Active Scenes Vol. 1 EP
- Disiniblud, Remixes EP
- DJ Love, DJ Danz and DJ Ericnem, Budots World: 3-Hit Combo!
- Essvus, What Ails You
- Filtrack, Anxiety...My Old Friend EP
- Charles Hayward and Dälek, HAYWARDxDÄLEK
- Infinite Coles, SweetFace Killah
- LEYA, I Remember Nothing (Remixes) EP
- Mr. Tophat & Art Alfie, KVK1200
- Peals, Seltzer
- Soreab, CU
- V/A, TRIBAL 2025 (N.A.A.F.I Records)
- Viiaan, Taiko
- Will Hofbauer, Somewhere Between
Global
- Shallipopi, Auracle
- Bhavi, NO TE ENAMORES DE UN ARTISTA
- Ozuna and Beéle, Stendhal
Gospel
- Maverick City Music, Love Made a Way
Jazz
- Out Of/Into (Gerald Clayton, Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, Matt Brewer), Motion II
- Magnus Carlson & The Moon Ray Quintet, Shadows
- Thomas Strønen, Time is a Blind Guide
Credits
- Host: Stephen Thompson
- Guest: Erin Wolf, Radio Milwaukee
- Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
- Digital Producer: Elle Mannion
- Editor: Otis Hart
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Copyright 2025 NPR
