FEATURE:
One for the Record Collection!
IN THIS PHOTO: Ringo Starr
Essential January Releases
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THE first month of a new year….
IN THIS PHOTO: Moonchild Sanelly/PHOTO CREDIT: Vicky Grout
I am looking ahead to January and the best albums out. There are some really great albums due, so I will highlight them here. Even though other months of the year will be busier, it is worth shining a light on what is out next month. The first great batch of albums for 2025. I am starting with 10th January. I would recommend people pre-order Franz Ferdinand’s The Human Fear. If you have not heard about the album, here is some more detail:
“Produced with Mark Ralph, who previously worked with them on their 2013 album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, the album showcases Franz at their most immediate, upbeat and life-affirming, unashamedly going for the pop-jugular in classic Franz style. Recorded at AYR studios in Scotland, the 11-songs on The Human Fear all allude to some deep-set human fears and how overcoming and accepting these fears drives and defines our lives.
Ever since their beginnings, throwing illegal parties in condemned Glasgow buildings, Franz Ferdinand have been defined by a fresh, unfading, forward-facing outlook, a transgressive art-school perspective, but with a love of a big song and The Human Fear undoubtedly continues in this tradition; distinct yet new, musically, and creatively it’s a record eager to push forward. Pretty much all written before they hit the studio, the idea was to have a songbook ready before they started recording and once in the studio it was all quickly executed - a lot of it recorded live with the band in the room and many of the vocals on the album being the original takes.
The first studio album to feature members Audrey Tait and Dino Bardot, the record also sees Julian Corrie step forward to collaborate with Alex Kapranos and Bob Hardy on song writing and creative duties.
A band for whom the aesthetic and style is almost as important as the sound, as ever the importance of this is reflected in the cover artwork which was inspired by Hungarian artist Dóra Maurer’s self-portrait 7 Twists - Maurer’s work appealed because it does exactly what they want from their music: a striking immediacy that is impossible to ignore, but with a depth and vulnerability that bears many returns and satisfactory repetition. Maybe this is a set of songs about fear, maybe this is a set of bangers from an era-defining band continuing their unquestionably living legacy. Is that something to be afraid of?”.
Another great album out on 10th January is Moonchild Sanelly’s Full Moon. A tremendous artist who everyone should know about, this is going to be an album that you will want to pre-order. I am a fan of Moonchild Sanelly, so I am excited to hear what is coming. An artist who should be commanding big stages, Full Moon is going to offer up plenty of treats. Although there are not a lot of details available about the album, Rough Trade have put together a little bit of information regarding Full Moon:
“New album from the South African musician and creative visionary, known for her vibrant, inimitable style and affirming lyricism. Full Moon is a collection of 12 songs which displays Sanelly's unique sonic fingerprint, joyous attitude, distinctive vocals and genre-bending hits.
Recorded in multiple locations while on the road, Full Moon is an introspective yet kinetic display of her versatility. "I can make any genre, I have fun creating music because I'm not limited," she says. Its club-ready beats oscillate between electronic, afro-punk, edgy-pop, kwaito, and hip-hop sensibilities”.
There are a lot of artists moving from genres like Pop into Country. The legendary Ringo Starr is the latest example. His new album, Look Up, is one that is going to be fascinating. Featuring some excellent guest artists, I think this is going to be one of the best albums of next year. Even though many might associate Starr with The Beatles, he is a brilliant solo artist. I would urge people to pre-order this upcoming album:
“Throughout his career, Ringo Starr has received nine Grammy® Awards and has twice been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - first as a Beatle and then as solo artist. Now, he releases a brand-new country music album, Look Up, produced and co-written by T Bone Burnett. This stunning collection features 11 original songs, recorded this year in Nashville and Los Angeles.
1. Breathless (featuring Billy Strings)
2. Look Up (featuring Molly Tuttle)
3. Time On My Hands
4. Never Let Me Go (featuring Billy Strings)
5. I Live For Your Love (featuring Molly Tuttle)
6. Come Back (featuring Lucius)
7. Can You Hear Me Call (featuring Molly Tuttle)
8. Rosetta (featuring Billy Strings and Larkin Poe)
9. You Want Some
10. String Theory (featuring Molly Tuttle and Larkin Poe)
11. Thankful (featuring Alison Krauss)”.
From a megastar and one of the best-known artists ever to someone who might not be on your radar, Sophie Jamieson’s I still want to share is out on 17th January. An album that is definitely worth pre-ordering, I am going to check it out. An artist with an interesting biography (“Sophie Jamieson doesn’t shy away from discomfort, or life’s ugly truths. The subjects of her songwriting are put to unflinching examination, often revealing aspects of the human character that most would rather turn away from. Need, desperation and anger simmer through her songs, but are balanced by an unsentimental acceptance of life’s painful contradictions. All of this is carried by a deep, raw voice which pivots from wobbling vulnerability to soaring, pent-up longing unleashed. On stage, Sophie digs deep into the darkest corners of the human spirit. Her performances are inescapably intimate and intense, earning her supports for the likes of Father John Misty, Ezra Furman and Marika Hackman to name a few. Her debut album, “Choosing” received widespread critical acclaim for its candid examination of the self-destructive urge, with high praise from the likes of Uncut, Mojo and The Financial Times”), do go and investigate this album:
“Co-produced by Guy Massey (Spiritualised, The Divine Comedy, Kylie) and Sophie Jamieson, I still want to share is an album exploring the push and pull, merry-go-round nature of anxious attachment and how it weaves, cuts and steals through familial and romantic relationships.
Throughout the record is a perpetual longing to belong, a yearning to learn how to love and let go, and a continual missing of the mark. Each song clings tightly to the possibility of home, but never arrives there. The album was recorded in North London between Guy's studio and Konk Studios, with string arrangements from Josephine Stephenson (Daughter, Ex:Re, Lisa Hannigan) and drums from Ed Riman (Hilang Child)”.
The final album from 17th January I want to highlight is The Weather Station’s Humanhoon. Once more, there is not a lot of detail about this album out there. However, go and listen to music from the band. They are well worth investing in. Humanblood is an album shaping up to be very special. One that I will definitely be keeping an eye out for:
“The Weather Station returns with new album, Humanhood, following up 2021's Critically acclaimed album, Ignorance, and its companion piece, How is it That I Should Look at the Stars. In the fall of 2023, Tamara Lindeman gathered six musicians at Canterbury Music Company, where she had recorded Ignorance and How Is It That I Should Look at the Stars. Several of these players - drummer Kieran Adams, keyboardist Ben Boye, percussionist Phillippe Melanson, reed-and-wind specialist Karen Ng, and bassist Ben Whiteley - had worked together but never in this specific arrangement or context. Much of Humanhood is a riveting and real document of what it means to be lost, to be hamstrung by confusion, unease, and grief for a period so long you begin to wonder if there is an end”.
There are four albums from 24th January that I want to cover off. The first is Anna B Savage’s You and i are Earth. This is an album that I am very keen to hear. An artist I have been following for a long time now, go and pre-order this album. A tremendous artist that everybody should listen to:
“Linking music and literature, building a bridge between the written and the sung–only the greats have managed to do this in the past. Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, and Patti Smith were just some of the shining stars that Anna B Savage orientated herself towards as a teenager. Born on the anniversary of Bach’s death, the young musician spent her birthday every year in the Green Room of the Royal Albert Hall watching her parents perform compositions by the grand master. That shaped her. Today, thanks to albums such as her debut, A Common Turn (2021), and the incredibly sensual art-pop opus in|FLUX (2023), the singer-songwriter is one of the truly exceptional talents on the British independent scene. In her music, otherworldly vocals nestle up against chamber orchestral compositions, delicate arrangements rise up and blow away, and the musician’s highly eclectic sound grows song by song into an experience that lingers for days and weeks. Potentially life-changing. A sense of rootedness is at the heart of Anna B Savage’s third record You and I are Earth, a record that is as much about healing as it is an unbowed sense of curiosity, and, more simply, “a love letter to a man and to Ireland.” Following on from her critically acclaimed records A Common Turn and in|FLUX, You and I are Earth manages to convey a sense of intimacy, while also being open-ended. Gentleness is as radiant a touchstone on the record as earthiness, something that Savage attributes to the place she finds herself at present, both geographically and emotionally. And quite literally the record bears witness to a particular piece of earth-Ireland, and Savage’s relationship to it as her new home. That process is brilliantly rendered on Agnes, a complicated piece of work featuring AnnaMieke that turns on tropes of duality and transformation. It mirrors an unsettling experience that Savage had through meditation, which ultimately ended in an immersive, beautiful feeling, “I felt like I was part of the earth, completely connected to the mycelium network, felt like I was where I was meant to be.”In many ways, that experience framed the album’s artwork, a photograph taken in some woodlands in Co. Sligo, with Savage looking up at the trees, their fractals reflected in her eyes, mirroring something she had felt in her meditation, bringing us back full circle, and to that sense that we are essentially in unison, or at least striving to be, that “you and I are earth”.
With one of the most striking covers from all the albums I will recommend, FKA twigs’ EUSEXUA. The new album from an iconic modern artist, this is another that is going to be among the best-reviewed of the year. There may be some who have not heard of FKA twigs. I would recommend people check this album out. It is going to be tremendous:
“FKA twigs releases her highly-anticipated third studio album, EUSEXUA via Young Recordings. Eusexua is a state of being. A feeling of momentary transcendence often evoked by art, music, sex, and unity. Eusexua can be followed by a state of bliss and feelings of limitless possibility. Also used to refer to: ‘The pinnacle of Human Experience’. It is united through any moment in which we are fully embodying ourselves, present in the moment, disconnected from technology, synthesized with those around us. It was moments of Eusexua that birthed EUSEXUA the album, as twigs cites her late nights in the underground techno scene of Prague”.
Before moving on, it is worth providing some background about EUSEXUA. I have been a fan of FKA twigs since she released her debut album, LP1, in 2014. Her new album is sure to sit alongside the very best of 2025:
“Twigs first began teasing the album in January 2024 through a string of posts on her Discord. Having relocated to Prague "a couple summers" prior to work on The Crow (2024), she fell in love with techno; while she explained that the album would not consist of that genre but would bear its "spirit", and she described it as "deep but not sad". She further revealed that she had teamed up with electronic duo Two Shell who helped her craft the era from scratch after 85 of her demos were leaked in October 2023. In an interview with British Vogue in March 2024, she explained the meaning behind the word "eusexua", saying that she came up with it to describe the "sensation of being so euphoric" that one could "transcend human form”.
The penultimate album from 24th January that I want to bring to your attention is from Larkin Poe. Bloom is an album that I would definitely suggest people pre-order. A fantastic duo that have a distinct sound. A new album that is going to be one you’ll not want to miss out on:
“Larkin Poe’s new album Bloom sees the dynamic sister duo venturing further along on their evolving musical journey with a collection of songs that resonate with introspection, authenticity, and a profound connection to their roots in American music. Produced and largely co-written by Megan, Rebecca, and Tyler Bryant, the album marks a significant evolution for Larkin Poe, reflecting a synergy that extends beyond mere musical partnership. Already hailed for the sincerity of their songcraft, the Lovell sisters now place an even greater spotlight on their gift for storytelling, delving deep into personal narratives with universal themes of self-acceptance and individuality against a backdrop of contemporary blues and rock influences. With their distinctive blend of masterful instrumentation and soulful harmonies, each track unfolds like a chapter, with lyrics that wind deeper and deeper towards the heart of Larkin Poe”.
Before moving on to 31st January and a few great albums out that week, the final one from 24th January I am spotlighting is Mogwai’s The Bad Fire. A wonderful album looms from the band. One that you should pre-order and add to your collection:
“Mogwai’s The Bad Fire was recorded at Chem19 studios in Scotland with American Grammy Award winning producer John Congleton (St Vincent, Angel Olsen, John Grant) joining the band in the studio for their eleventh album. A Scottish colloquialism for Hell, The Bad Fire draws inspiration from a series of tough personal moments that the band found themselves in following on from their chart-topping tenth album, As The Love Continues. All vinyl comes packaged in a gatefold sleeve, with MP3 download code and etching. The photo booklet in the box sets includes a series of photographs taken by producer and Chem19 studio owner Paul Savage (Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Arab Strap ) during the band's recording sessions”.
I think I will round off with two more albums. The penultimate album I want to recommend is Lilly Hiatt’s Forever. Go and pre-order an album that should be on your radar. This may be another artist you do not know about, though the album will definitely blow you away:
“Forever was a record that was written and recorded one track at a time with my husband Coley. After scrapping about 20 songs or so I had written the last few years, I wanted to get to the heart of things. I had a great talk with a friend on the phone and she mentioned she just wasn’t sure where I’d been. I realized I wasn’t really certain of that either. It’d been a foggy few years after 2020, and the pieces seemed to just be starting to be picked up. I had fallen in love, gotten married, had a dog, a house…things I had always dreamed of. But it took my quite some time to accept them as my life. For a bit, I felt like an outsider watching myself stumble though everything, and was constantly critiquing myself, to the point where I could hardly leave the house for a bit. But then I realized my life was passing me by, and the love I was living in required presence to accept. I started to do the little things you have to do to just show up for people: listen, grow, change, write….get outside of my own problems. Time is flying, and I want to be here for it all rather than lost in my thoughts all the time. My love is forever. When I was a kid I used to say to my mom and dad “I love you forever and always” then neurotically changed it to “I love you forever and always and it’s true and I mean it”…because I wanted to make sure they knew how much I wasn’t messing around! I still feel that way when I say “I love you” to anyone and hope it comes across on this record. Love y’all forever!”.
The final album I am recommending is from one of the all-time best bands. Manic Street Preachers’ Critical Thinking is out on 31st January. Go and add this album to your collection. A great album to end the month with. Here is where you can pre-order it:
“The Manic Street Preachers return with their most urgent album in years. This is a record of opposites colliding - of dialectics trying to find a path of resolution. While the music has an effervescence and an elegiac uplift, most of the words deal with the cold analysis of the self, the exception being the three lyrics by James (Dean Bradfield) which look for and hopefully find answers in people, their memories, language and beliefs”.
There are other albums out in January that you can pre-order. It is a busy year. Though there will be more choice from February onwards, there are some gems from January that you will want to own. I have selected a few that are well worth pre-ordering. It goes to show that 2025 will get off to…
A strong start.