The Music Sorce: January Albums

The Music Sorce is a recurring monthly column by Staff Writer Matt Sorce covering new releases from the past month.

As the new year begins, artists both established and emerging waste little time making their voices heard. From hip-hop to folk, January’s music scene refused to sit still.

As we flip the record to February, let’s take one last look at January’s standouts The Phoenix missed coverage on.

“On the Outline” — link3

An obscure undercurrent in the lo-fi indie scene, link3’s second album “On the Outline,” released Jan. 6, traces a quiet path toward poised artistry.

The LP’s acoustic underpinning lays a tranquil, intimate bed for collaborator sunniva’s delicate vocals to rest across tracks “In Her Wake” and “Animal, animal,” while creator James Barry threads his own voice throughout in an unobtrusive breath akin to early Alex G..

“On the Outline” inhabits a lyrically desolate landscape of unrequited love along with the fragile optimism of starting over. Songs like “At the Start Again” wear their transparency openly, and it’s this raw rapport that makes “On the Outline” a standout within the folk scene.

“Jana Horn” — Jana Horn

Situated between the ambient folk melodies of Hana Stretton and murmured, candid vocal twang of Whatever, Dad, slowcore singer-songwriter Jana Horn released her self-titled record Jan. 16.

The album is notably more stripped back than Horn’s previous releases, allowing its narrative to flourish within a quiet sense of abreaction. Faint echoes of guitar ring beneath her equally uneasy lyricism, which frequently grapples with the loss of loved ones — both physically and emotionally.

From the start, the self-titled release boasts unconventional production, with tracks like “Go on, move your body” functioning as fragmented soundscapes accompanying lyrics that read more like poetry. 

Irregular by design, “Jana Horn” marks an experimental step forward for slowcore.

“Don’t Be Dumb” — A$AP Rocky

Officially announced back in June 2024, hip-hop mainstay A$AP Rocky took his own advice with the Jan. 16 release of his highly anticipated fourth album “Don’t Be Dumb.” 

Packed with fervent skits and interludes, the first half is narrative-heavy with Rocky asserting  himself as a dominant, innovative voice in hip-hop. However, by the sixth track, “PLAYA,” the narrative dissipates and leaves listeners with a truly experimental release.

While still reined by Rocky’s signature cloud-rap finesse, the record’s final half incorporates elements of jazz, psychedelic rock and Dominican dembow. “ROBBERY (feat. Doechii)” emerges as a distinctive standout, shedding the traditional structure of previous releases, unfolding like a freeform jam.

Little detracts from the quality of “Don’t Be Dumb,” which proved worthy of the eight year wait since Rocky’s last release.

“e.t.d.s. A Mixtape by .idk.” — IDK

Released Jan. 23, “Even The Devil Smiles” is the fifth mixtape from British-American rapper Jason Mills, professionally known as IDK.

While mixtapes are typically informal collections of songs, this release has a clear throughline, with each track bleeding seamlessly into the next, creating a surprisingly polished experience.

“Even The Devil Smiles” confronts the reality of incarceration head-on, reflecting the rapper’s own journey through the prison system at just 17 years old.

Tracks like “LiFE 4 A LiFE” articulate the gravity of confinement, as Mills recounts his dream of becoming a rapper from behind bars, while cuts like “CLOVER” relieve the tension with high energy boom bap reminiscent of the early ‘90s.
IDK’s latest release is a love letter to ‘90s hip-hop culture, channeling the grit and confidence of the genre’s golden age and confirming the rapper’s position in modern hip-hop’s vanguard.