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New Music Friday For Jan. 18: 7 Albums You Should Hear Now

By Stephen Thompson,
Robin Hilton
Published January 18, 2019 at 5:00 AM EST
Maggie Rogers' <em>Heard It In A Past Life </em>is on our short list for the best albums out on Jan. 18.
Courtesy of the artist
Maggie Rogers' Heard It In A Past Life is on our short list for the best albums out on Jan. 18.

Welcome to a brand-new season of New Music Friday! After a few quiet weeks, the flood gates are opening and we've got a whole bunch of essential albums dropping on Jan. 18 to tell you about. This includes the smart, sparkling pop of singer Maggie Rogers, swooning love songs from James Blake, deep introspection from Pedro The Lion's first new album in 15 years, pure joy from Toro y Moi and much more. Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson for this quick sprint through the essential releases for Jan. 18, the first busy drop date for the new year.

Feature Albums:

  • Maggie Rogers: Heard It In A Past Life
    Featured Song: "Fallingwater"

  • Toro y Moi: Outer Peace
    Featured Song: "Ordinary Pleasure"

  • Deerhunter: Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared?
    Featured Song: "What Happens To People?"

  • Pedro The Lion: Phoenix
    Featured Song: "Quietest Friend"

  • James Blake: Assume Form
    Featured Song: "Can't Believe The Way We Flow"

  • Buke And Gase: Scholars
    Featured Song: "Pink Boots"

  • Frances Cone: Late Riser
    Featured Song: "Unravelling"

    • Other Notable Releases For Jan. 18: Crane Like The Bird: Crane Like The Bird; Future: The Wizrd; Juliana Hatfield: Weird; Malibu Ken: Malibu Ken; Mike Posner: A Real Good Kid; Sharon Van Etten: Remind Me Tomorrow; Tender: Fear Of Falling Asleep; The Twilight Sad: It Won't Be Like This All The Time

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Different Radio Music
    Stephen Thompson
    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. 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.)
    See stories by Stephen Thompson
    Robin Hilton
    Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
    See stories by Robin Hilton