New Music Friday: 13th Floor New Album Picks: January 26, 2024

New Music Friday is here and we’ve got some goodies for you as The 13th Floor pick five new release we think will tickle your ear buds.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda picks these five new releases for your consideration:

1. The Smile – Wall Of Eyes (XL) Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood team up with Tom Skinner on this, their second studio album. Its as close as we’re gonna get to a new Radiohead album for a while. Featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra and recorded at Abbey Road, Wall Of Eyes features some of Yorke’s finest vocals yet. Check out the Sound Listening podcast for more in-depth discussion.  

2. Admiral Drowsy – Industrial Consistency (Melted Ice Cream) The second album from Ōhinehou/Lyttelton based artist Luke Redfern Scott aka Admiral Drowsy. Interestingly, the sound and vibe is, at times, not unlike The Smile album, providing some Industrial Consistency for your New Music Friday.   The Admiral says, “The album features a contrasting blend of ethereal and coarse analog synth which underpins emotive vocal layers, ” and is “a move towards a more sonically diverse and challenging listening experience.”

3. Sarah Jarosz – Polaroid Lovers (Rounder) Sarah’s 7th album finds her in a collaborative mood, co-writing with some of Nashville’s finest. And the title?  “What I love about a Polaroid is that it’s capturing something so fleeting, but at the same time it makes that moment last forever,” she explains. “It made sense as a title for a record where all the songs are snapshots of different love stories, and there’s a feeling of time being expansive despite that impermanence.” Watch for a 13th Floor interview soon.

4. Chatham County Line – Hiyo (Yep Roc) The 10th album from this North Carolina bluegrass band finds them expanding their sonic palette.  “The best music is made with complete total freedom,” says singer/guitarist Dave Wilson. “We spent a lot of years pushing at the fences, but with this album, we’ve finally busted out of the corral.” Find out more by watching the 13th Floor interview. 

5. New Model Army – Unbroken (earMUSIC) Its the veteran British rockers’ 16th album and they haven’t lost the spark that set them in motion over 40 years ago. According to the band, “Full of guitars, searing vocals and with the emphasis on bass and drums which characterizes all our work, Unbroken sounds a lot like New Model Army, but different again.” And again, watch for a 13th Floor interview with band leader Justin Sullivan.