NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out Jan. 30

Episode Date: January 30, 2026

Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon. Emily Scott Robinson. Blood harmonies from Irish brothers Ye Vagabonds. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music chats with Dre Castillo from KVNF in western Colorado about the best albums out Friday, Jan. 30.The Starting 5(00:00) Introduction(01:21) Emily Scott Robinson, 'Appalachia'(08:58) Ye Vagabonds, 'All Tied Together'(16:05) Jordan Ward, 'Backward'(21:48) Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon, 'As Of Now'(27:18) Orestes Gomez, 'No me fui porque quise'The Lightning Round- Don Toliver, 'OCTANE'- Lande Hekt, 'Lucky Now'- By Storm, 'My Ghosts Go Ghost’- Yumi Zouma, 'No Love Lost to Kindness'- David Moore, 'Graze the Bell'Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist on NPR.org/allsongs.CreditsHost: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Dre Castillo, KVNFAudio Producer: Noah CaldwellDigital Producer: Dora LeviteEditors: Otis Hart, Elle MannionExecutive Producer: Suraya MohamedSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

A quick note before the show, this podcast contains explicit language. In the quiet of the new year, we will let our old dreams go. Happy Friday, everyone from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Dre Castillo of KVNF in Western Colorado. Welcome to the show, Dre. Hi, thank you so much for having me, Stephen. I'm excited to be here. Honored to have you. We're going to talk more about KVNF, a little later in the show. But how are you doing in general? Are you watching the Grammys this weekend?

Oh, I am. Yeah, definitely. I actually am really excited. I've never been so interested in the Grammys. And I just also love this time of year for music, January. I feel like we're all still cocooning. And releases feel intentional this time of the year. Yeah, this is often a time of year where a bunch of my favorite records come out. You know, we're getting kind of the big pop star records rolling out more in kind of February and March. But a lot of the stuff that I wind up listening to all year comes out right around this time. Yeah, definitely. It's like heady, the headier stuff, in my opinion, comes out.

It is a little bit of a headier month. You know who I think should be nominated for a Grammy? Who? Our first artist. Emily Scott Robinson. Emily Scott Robinson's new album is called Appalachia. So this is So this is blue hit captured beating stints.

I lay here sleepless. Many nights I watch the start. So this is Emily Scott Robinson's fifth album. It's her third for John Prine's record label. She grew up in North Carolina. Now she's based in Western Colorado kind of in your neck of the woods. Am I right, right? Right.

Yep, she is. And I'm so excited because she's become one of my favorite songwriters that I've just fallen in love with and listening to this album. It was just such a great experience for me. Yeah, I mean, she's got this gorgeous, swooping, kind of high, lonesome voice. She also always, every time I reconnect with one of her albums, she just always has something to say. She's always writing about extremely relatable experience. She's writing on this record quite a bit about resilience and community. She, you know, she's living in Western Colorado now, but she grew up in North Carolina.

And the title track from this record, Appalachia, is inspired by Hurricane Helene and the way that neighbors leaned on each other. And so she's singing about kind of that sense of connection and community in ways that feel really relevant to the present moment. But then if you kind of scan all over this record, there's so many gorgeous songs about so many different subjects. To me, it is no surprise that her songwriting career really kind of took off here in Western Colorado. I mean, you know, so many songwriters have written their love letters to the Rockies. and, you know, I think there's a reason for that because when you're captivated by the Rockies, something changes in you.

And I think the scenery around you really allows you to kind of slow down and be present in your community. And I feel like Emily Scott Robinson really knows how to make that known and kind of romanticize that stopping and being present in your community. She really knows how to capture these small moments and make them feel super meaningful in her writing. Yeah, one thing she does really, really well is kind of take stock of the world in a way where you have your own experiences, but you're also looking around you and seeing things that are bigger than yourself,

not only the mountains that you're describing or the communities that she feels like she's a part of, but like when she's singing about like a dive bar, you know, there's a track on this record called DirtBet, saloon. And it's, it starts out, it's kind of this, you know, celebration of a local watering hole of the variety that we've heard a thousand country songs about, you know. But then as the song goes on, she's digging deeper. And the song ends up getting into gentrification and kind of the fate of this watering hole in a way that shows a willingness to look at the songwriting subject from a lot of different angles, kind of close up and then panning out. Linda's is open on Fridays and Christmas

She lives in the back It's a cash only business She charges for singles But pours you a double Everyone drinks here And no one makes trouble I mean this this hits home For me, um, living in Peonia

in this small community And this song was actually written about the local saloon here in town that's in this old rickety building. I mean, there's gunshot holes in the ceiling of this building. The bar's called Linda's. It's only open on Fridays. Wow. And one thing I love about Emily Scott Robinson's writing is that she doesn't use stereotypes

when she's writing about these people. She's really characterizing them. And it's so cool to have a song be written about this place that is just one in a million, truly. You'll never experience anything like it until you come here. And so much of Colorado is being discovered now and being gentrified. And towns like Peonia are changing rapidly. And so, yeah, this song just really exemplifies that in such a meaningful way for our community.

Do you have any other favorites on this record? Yeah, you know, I really love. time traveler which was interesting I think because I mean listening to this song really intentionally made me cry

someone walked into my office while I was like listening and I was like oh my gosh this is making me very emotional and I think it touches on something that everyone experiences by growing old or if you have the luxury of growing old

and if you know somebody who experiences dementia and just describing this person as a time traveler in their mind, and I just think that's such a beautiful way to put it. Today you're back in 1953, and a dress and heels on a football field, homecoming queen. Grandpa throws the winning pass for Webster Groves, and you tell me you're in love, your mother doesn't know. Yeah, I was really struck by that song.

It's definitely one of the big standouts. My immediate reaction was I was a little uneasy about its metaphors for dementia, but it's so heartfelt and it's so pretty. And again, it's a case of taking a subject that has certainly come up in songs before, that is certainly, you know, fairly well-worn subject matter, that as you said, so many of us deal with, you know, loved ones who've been through this. But she's really exploring it more deeply. She really is looking for ways in and ways to talk about this in new ways.

That's Emily Scott Robinson. Her new album is called Appalachia. Next up, another terrific record by the Irish duo Ye Vagabonds. It's called All Tied Together. Bells ringing in the buttered yard. Evicted this morning thought you might have heard. Five in the morning They put their way in

We were singing in the kitchen When the bailiffs chart We were the young ones While things played Barefoot dancing in the concrete doors Swimming in a river of smoke And serotonin So Ye Vagabonds

This is their fourth album I think they maybe penetrated Some of the public's consciousness more in 2023 when they sang the parting glass with Boy Genius on one of their wonderful kind of holiday singles. This is just beautiful Irish folk music. It's so sweeping. It's so graceful.

And at times it's deeply, deeply rousing. You get a track like The Flood that has this big swooping fiddle attached to it. But you also, really what these songs are all about are these two voices and the way these two voices blend. Their harmonies almost feel a little bit restrained, which I think brings more emotional weight to their songwriting. This album was also a heady listen for me.

I really had to sit with the album and listen to it a couple of times to really absorb it. And, yeah, a lot of emotion. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, kind of like the Emily Scott Robinson record, songs that are really reaching inward for kind of deeper reflection. The song, Forget About the Rain, is closing this record, you know, with these kind of deep observations about storms that we've weathered and how we come out the other side of them. I always forget about the rain. Never prepared for the downpour. You're flying to the eye of every storm

Somehow You think we'd know by now I really love Mayfly And the idea of impermanence And how everything is temporary It almost encourages the listener To appreciate things a little bit more Because we know that it's not going to last

and it just allows us to be a little bit more present in life's brief moments, which I really love. I'm waking from a strange dream. I wonder what it all means. See her tomb in a free fall. Or she really there at home? I agree with you that these songs are kind of arranged in such a way that you really stop and hone in on their voices and what they're saying. You know, at times the arrangements are extremely spare.

There's a track called Gravity, just atmospheric beauty, very spare, almost acapella in spots. And it kind of reminded me of the wonderful late Irish singer Talos, you know, who had that same kind of deep, swooping voice where like subtle inflections in the voice are able to convey this deep, deep well of emotion. Don't ask what is for. I read that the album was recorded entirely live in a house in Galway, which I think adds a lot of that atmosphere to the album. You feel like you're in the room with them listening, and you can almost hear the air in the room. And definitely you can feel that with gravity.

And I also love just the all-around theme of the album, all tied together, also touching. on the idea of community and how, you know, ultimately we all stay connected and those connections loosen over time, but it's not presented in a tragic way. It's almost like it's being expressed through memory and acceptance. We are all down, science.

We're faster than speed of silence. That is ye. vagabonds. Their new album is called All Tied Together. We've got some more terrific records we're going to talk about this week. But first, let's take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Dre Castillo of KVNF in Western Colorado. Drey, tell me about the station. What's going on? Oh gosh, I feel like this is a moment in time for KVNF. We've got this really great team. So it feels like we got to harness that energy and we've got live sessions and videos coming up.

We're looking to collaborate a little bit more with our local theaters and a local production company for the live music series that are coming into our town. We're also kind of in the beginning stages of maybe planning our first music festival in our listening area. We're going to call it punk on the Unk, the Uncompagre River. So, yeah, we'll see. We're in the beginning stages of it. It's supposed to happen in September if we're lucky. Wonderful. I would imagine Western Colorado probably a pretty decent place to visit in September.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah, it's beautiful. All of the fall colors start to really pop out at the end of September. There's so many harvest festivals to attend. I'm excited. I feel like this. year. I mean, despite it all, I feel really good about this year. I feel really good about the team here at KVNF. And I think we've got some good momentum going. Excellent. Well, let's get back to the show. Our next album is Jordan Ward. His new album is called Backward.

Down L.E.S. My bed's up town. Rose led me crash this time around. Ten more minutes till the train touching down. Through the tunnel, like any of the sound. So I'm making it last Down here soaking it in Hoping to come home My better man Feeling inspired again Oh, Change scenery

Change of scenery Change scenery Change scenery Everything So Jordan Ward is a singer-songwriter You know, grew up in St. Louis. First became known as like a backup dancer for artists like

Justin Bieber. He's since kind of made his own name as a progressive R&B singer, performed a terrific tiny desk concert back in 2023. And for his new album, it's his second album. He's described a desire to seek inspiration from kind of the all-time greats as a way of leveling up his own game. So he's inspired by, you know, and obviously this only, you know, this comes through in wildly varying ways, but he's inspired by people like Joni Mitchell, Donnie Hathaway, Roberta Flack, kind of trying to level up his own songwriting in songs that are really taking R&B in kind of warped and progressive and experimental new directions. Yeah, I love it.

I feel like he has really taken R&B and pop and hip hop to the next level without it sounding restless, not that it ever does for me. I love R&B. but backward feels emotionally fluid and it's super groovy. And I just, this is an album that I can definitely find myself going back to, just to groove too. I really enjoyed it. Yeah, I think emotionally fluid is a really nice phrase to describe what's going on here. And kind of speaks to how versatile this sound is.

You know, you have, you know, there's one of the singles from this record is called Smoking Potna. which is a duet with the singer Sailor with Two R's. And, you know, it's this kind of warped, pitch-shifted R&B totally hits like a weed pen, right? And it's about weed. It's about smoking weed with your person. But it's using that as a jumping off point. It's using that as a metaphor for intimacy. And I think that that is like, that's a smart way to take, as we've kind of discussed with a couple of these other albums,

even though this is a very different record that we're talking about here, you're talking about somebody who's taking well-worn materials, but finding new angles, finding new perspectives, and finding new ways to make it sound. I also love how he's come off from his previous records. I really enjoyed Valley Hopefuls. it was released in 2019. And I feel like you can really hear his confidence in this new record.

And I know that he really set intentions when writing it, I think due to a knee injury that he had. And so he was able to be still and really kind of lean into this record. And you can just really tell that his songwriting has totally evolved. And yeah, this is just a new era for him. Yeah, and I appreciate the way, you know, he can do this kind of stylish mid-tempo, chopped up experimental R&B, but he can also take some of those same ingredients and kind of amp them up a little bit. There's a track called High Functioning, you know, where his, the vocals are just sliding around, you know, warped and modulated.

And the song just has this kind of kinetic feeling to it, where he's able to do kind of classic R&B that just sounds like it's, it's tweaked slightly. But then you take a song like high functioning, and it's more aggressive in the way that it kind of chops everything up. I also really love one of the other lead singles, Juicy. Oh, yeah. And I love. So catchy and so smooth. It is. And I love the idea of, like, smoking a joint and being a bit disposable in a way or temporary or functional.

And I think so many artists, especially in this genre, deal with this feeling of having to constantly perform and being in this competitive industry when it comes to making music. And I feel like his writing style sort of rejects succumbing to that, like, by having this humor of being a disposable joint, you know. Well, these are not disposable joints. No. That is Jordan Ward.

His new album is called Backward. Next up we've got the rapper Lord Jamante Ogban. His new album is called As of Now. Okay, I'm posted at the function in the corner. They don't even know. What I'm about to do, I ask my boo, can we keep it low? Dugging like pocket to me y'all six feet below. 30,000 feet in the air looking see below.

I don't fuck with everybody got my reasons, though. Yeah, do you like reason for no reason, bro? Look how they did me, thought I wouldn't blow. Now what's up forever and it's on the flow. So Lord, get it on the floor, get it on the floor. Last night, I swear to God, a half a million on the floor.

I was sleeping in the trap with just a pillow on the floor. Now I'm backstage, Roger seen Willow in his home. So Lord Jamante Agbond is an underground rapper from Charlotte, North Carolina. He got his start blogging about local rap. And then kind of over time has, you know,

kind of found his own voice and developed his own sound in a series of self-released material, including, you know, mix tapes and whatnot. This is kind of, you know, his first album for like a, you know, for like a bigger label. And you just get a sense of somebody who is so kind of intellectually and lyrically lively. And this has been a recurring theme as we've talked about the songwriting across these records in very different genres. But you just have another example here of somebody who is really throwing himself into these songs, these wordy, funny, strange, surprising songs

full of, you know, rich production and old samples and spoken words skits and songs that unfold like conversations. This is definitely an album that I really leaned into. It wasn't a casual listen. This isn't the type of hip-hop that you listen to casually. This is something that you sit down and really engage with, which I love. Yeah, this album was recommended to us by my dear colleague, Sheldon Piers, And one thing about Sheldon is when he recommends a hip hop record, first of all, take notice because he has, I think, just impeccable taste.

And he's gotten me into so much great music. But, like, he is a guy who loves music that is bursting with ideas. And this record is bursting with ideas. There's a track. It's called Flewed Out, like F-L-E-W-E-D, Flued Out. All expenses is paid for. And the track is so emblematic of, what I love about this record.

First of all, you've got these kind of funny and conversational song titles. He has this rapid fire flow where he is just able to fit together these kind of wild, knotty bundles of words that flow together so beautifully. But there's also something in this track and on so many tracks on this record that I just welcome so much, which is the injection of women's voices into the mainstream. mix and how many of these songs are conversations, you know, with women, you know, whether they're spoken or rapped or sung, it's really noticeable after a while. How much space he gives on this record for somebody who is so able, so conversant, so able to fill every second with his own words,

how much space he makes on this record for perspectives other than his own. I really love knocking niggas out, so please don't ask me for no favors. I can't sit up on your phone and get along, just we ain't neighbors. I ain't looking for a friend. I need a bin's. I need some paper. I really love the introspection of it, especially with a 360 photo booth, like the idea of being on surveillance at all times from every angle and the anxiety that goes into being seen

are perceived now that the doors have opened for you in this scene. I also love the track, Okay, I know who my twin-flame in a photo booth. Got her right in no time, she won't blow the roof. Bitches lying on me, but you know the truth. She was in my campaign, got a voter proof. I also love the track, Okay, I know who my twin flame is. And the way this song unfurls as a conversation, again, platforming women, he's kind of viewing this song as kind of a conversation that unfolds into a reflection.

And I just think that is such a smart way to craft the songs on this record. Copy, chop in the top of painting. I'm your last option-name. Oh, this is just an observation. Fantasia got me waiting. Why are you testing popper spaces? When I got boo-co motion, or you post another niggas? Like, that's who you promoting.

Okay, you muted, noted. Of the way you view it goaded, don't tell too much, can't hold it. Got pissed, but can't upload it. Chicago trips you bogus. About to drop my magnum opus. Now our lens on focus. That is Lord Jamante Ogban. His new album is called As of Now.

We've got one more record we want to talk about in depth, as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, January 30th. But first, let's take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Dre Castillo of KVNF in Western. Colorado. Before we get to our lightning round of some of the other best albums out today, January 30th, we are going to talk about one more record in a little bit more depth. Arrestus Gomez has a new album called No Me Fui, Because Kisei.

So Arrestas, I'm Yoveni Bonita, but no, respectan, you're gonna' Jopold. So, Arrestes Gomez, is a Venezuelan

never more, what you think in the other I go to me do the Mara Venezuelan Venezuelan

Venezuela, me have compared to all the world, so you're Maris, I'm a world. So,

Estuptu So Orrestes Gomez is a Venezuelan percussionist originally from Caracas. He's now

based in Mexico City. And if you're looking for Arrestus Gomez's, you know, kind of voice on this record or his role on this record. He is a percussionist, but vocally, he turns everything over to a huge array of guests, you know, rappers and singers. You know, for songs that incorporate Afro-Latin music, hip-hop, and jazz, and you just have so many

different voices and sounds percolating across this record. I really loved this album. It was so much fun. It was, yeah, definitely one of my top two of the albums that we're talking about today, especially because I think it really highlights sound as environment and percussion as melody. And the album blurs the line between composition and atmosphere. And there's just so much to absorb in it. Yeah. And if you want to talk about a track that's really, emblematic of what he's going for here. There's one, it's called Mata, featuring Nina Fresh. And you get these rich polyrhythms.

He's really pouring a lot of his, like, percussive chops into this song. But then the vocals have this big chanted call-and-response quality to it, and that song is so vibrant. I kind of I kind of touch a little bit on the album title No Me Feuette because it translates to I didn't leave because I wanted to

or it wasn't my choice to leave which I think really sets the mood or tone of the album because he has a little bit. these guests and I feel like there's just so much Latin pride in it and there's just so much movement and the drums are by far my favorite instrument to admire and you could just tell that Gomez eats, sleeps and breathes drums. I think he, if I read correctly, he learned how to play at the age of three. So you can really tell in his abilities. And he's able to kind of use that skill in so many ways, in so many settings to set so many different tones.

The track Invierno, which features Sabino, Ferkassias, and Ferraz, it kind of has this kind of loping kind of round-robin feel. It's kind of swapping vocalists in and out. And it has like this kind of easy, vibeer quality to it. It's not, this record doesn't always have its foot all the way on the gas. But then elsewhere on the Pagerie Wra, which is the most boni-

Manic, RAPE But then, elsewhere on the record, you get a track like Pagadiera, featuring R.K. Wavy, which is just frantic, manic, rapid fire, frenetic, rowdy, just voices and loops,

kind of maximalist quality to it, and you just can't look away from it. He does such a great job on this album to work with such a diverse arrangement of artists and vocalists. And it almost feels like these are pieces of dialogue that he has with each person that he's showcasing on this album. Feels like a conversation between percussion and whoever steps in to sing or improvise or rap. And I love that. There's so much diversity here. Yeah.

That is Orestes Gomez. His new album is called No Me Fue. Because Ikeke. Now, Drey, we could not possibly get to all the terrific albums out today, January 30th. From here on out, basically every week is going to have more albums than we can fit on this show. So we wanted to do a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums. I'm going to kick us off with Don Tolliver. Don Tolliver is a huge star in the worlds of hip-hop and R&B. His last album, Hardstone Psycho, was a chart-topper. It marries trap beats to timeless R&B. Now, Don Tulliver is back with a new

album full of rich production, smartly chosen samples, and lyrics that tap into Don Tulliver's deep love of cars and racing. This is road trip music, whether you want to go fast or not. Don Tolliver's new album bears the appropriate title, Octane. So Landy Hecht brings us to stand under. Let's go heat hot, you know my t-pot. Shottie on the trip truck, which I come with thunder. So Landy Hecht brings us lucky now.

And this album feels emotionally light, but still incisive. Her songwriting is so diary-level honest, but there's more air and momentum to this album. It's like indie pop with a punk rock heart, melodic, candid, and unpretentious. This album sounds like someone who's come out the other side of something. That's Landy Hecht, and her new album is Lucky Now. For about a decade, the experimental hip-hop group Injury Reserve was the source of a string of beloved mixed tapes and albums, but sometime after member Stepa J. Grogs died in 2020. The surviving members decided to regroup as By Storm.

After a couple of singles last year, they're finally releasing a new album under the Bystorm name. It is called My Ghosts Go Ghost. Damn. Look up in the sky, it's all in your loss, but no problem. Look up in the sky, it's all in your loss, but no problem. So this next So this next album

So this album is by And this album is very dry-coded It's emotionally distant on the surface But quietly deep underneath And the songs sort of linger And I love the way the music on this album makes me feel the emotions kind of sneak up on you. That's Yumi Zuma, no love lost to kindness.

Okay, so I know y'all need something peaceful and soothing to take into your weekend, something to slow the blood and soothe your anxiety. It can't just be me who's looking for this. So there is a wonderful ambient group called Bing and Ruth, which made some of my favorite head-filling instrumental music. Their stuff is so stately and beautiful, built around the lush, and moody piano of bandleader David Moore. Now David Moore has a solo record.

It's just as lovely as all those descriptors would suggest. I will be listening to it all weekend, until the Grammys, of course, and then I'll be listening to it as a way of detoxing once the Grammys are over. David Moore's new album is called Graze the Bell. That is our show for this week. Thank you, Drey Castillo,

for taking time out of your week at KV. VNF in Western Colorado. Thank you so much, Stephen. I'm so happy that I got to do this with you. It is a pleasure to have you. You have been fantastic. If you enjoyed this week's show, we always appreciate a positive review on Apple or Spotify

or whatever app you're listening to right now. This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and edited by Otis Hart with an assist from the great El Manion. The executive producer of NPR music is Soraya Mohamed. We'll be back next week to discuss new music with Aaron Wolfe, from Radio Milwaukee. Until then, take a moment to be well, never go anywhere without earplugs, and treat yourself to lots of great music.