The 2026 album releases you need to know about

New album releases and announcements are constant, and keeping track of them all can be difficult. Now with our regularly updated release guide, you won’t have to. January sets the tone for another rewarding and packed year of alternative music, featuring projects from Poppy, Joyce Manor, I Promised The World, Draag, Softcult, and more. See which albums are coming out this month below.

Read more: 50 best albums of 2025

Jan. 1

V/A – Stranger Things: Soundtrack From the Netflix Series, Season 5 (Legacy)

Jan. 9

Dry Cleaning – Secret Love (4AD)

The Cribs – Selling A Vibe (PIAS)

The Kid LAROI – BEFORE I FORGET (Columbia)

Jan. 16

I Promised The World – I Promised The World EP (Rise)

Madison Beer – Locket (Epic/Sing It Loud)

Oxis – Oxis 8 (Boom)

Peaer – Doppelgänger (Danger Collective)

Sassy 009 – Dreamer+ (PIAS/Heaven Scent)

Sleaford Mods – The Demise of Planet X (Rough Trade)

Vienna Vienna – Entertain Me EP (Pulse)

Westside Cowboy – So Much Country ‘Till We Get There EP (Nice Swan)

Wormy – Shark River (Rose Garden)

Jan. 21

Maria Somerville – Luster Remixes EP (4AD)

Jan. 23

Alan Vega – Alan Vega (Deluxe Edition) (Sacred Bones)

Alan Vega – Collision Drive (Reissue) (Sacred Bones)

Cam Kahin – CHUG (Dine Alone)

Cat Power – Redux EP (Domino)

Draag – Miracle Drug EP (Smoking Room)

The Format – Boycott Heaven (The Vanity)

Louis Tomlinson – How Did I Get Here? (BMG)

Poppy – Empty Hands (Sumerian)

Pelican – Ascending EP (Run For Cover)

Shintaro Sakamoto – Yoo-hoo (Zelone)

Victoryland –  My Heart Is A Room With No Cameras In It (Good English)

Jan. 30

Blackwater Holylight – Not Here Not Gone (Suicide Squeeze)

GUV – Warmer Than Gold (Run For Cover)

Joyce Manor – I Used to Go to This Bar (Epitaph)

Softcult – When A Flower Doesn’t Grow (Easy Life)