New Music Friday: The Top 8 Albums Out On Jan. 22
Willie Jones. His latest full-length, Right Now, is on our shortlist of the best new albums out on Jan. 22. Gordon Clark/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The Queens, New York rapper Pharoahe Monch is a lyrical wonder perhaps best known for the 1999 song "Simon Says." His latest project, Th1rt3en, is a trio making fiery, fearless music that takes an unflinching look at society's collective sins, particularly the plague of racism. We open this week's show with a spin of the group's debut album, A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism and talk about how and why Monch decided that "love will win" is "nonsense."
We've also got the bawdy, debut full-length from Atlanta rapper BRS Kash, a surprise release from the band Typhoon, country hip-hop singer Willie Jones, the electronic artist Yu Su, Rhye, Remy Banks and more. Music critics and contributors Jewly Hight and Christina Lee join NPR's Marrisa Lorusso, WXPN's John Morrison, Stephen Thompson and host Robin Hilton as they share their picks for the best albums out on Jan. 22.
Featured Albums:
- Th1rt3en — A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism
Featured Song: "The Magician" - Yu Su — Yellow River Blue
Featured Song: "Klein" - BRS Kash — Kash Only
Featured Song: "Do It" - Remy Banks — The Phantom Of Paradise
Featured Song: "Tomorrow" - Rhye — Home
Featured Song: "Black Rain" - Typhoon — Sympathetic Magic
Featured Song: "Empire Builder" - Palberta — Palberta 5000
Featured Song: "Fragile Place" - Willie Jones — Right Now
Featured Song: "American Dream"
Other notable releases for Jan. 22: Alina Kalancea — Impedance; Bicep — Isles; CARM — CARM; Elio — Can You Hear Me Now; Elori Saxl — The Blue of Distance; Erik the Architect — Future Proof; Groupie — Ephemeral; James Yorkston and the Second Hand Orchestra — The Wide River; Jeremiah Fraites — Piano Piano; Lande Hekt — Going to Hell; Logic1000 — You've Got The Whole Night To Go; Thee Conductor — Spirit of a Ghost; Widowspeak — Honeychurch.