Victoria Monét is back with SZA and Bruno Mars on speed dial, Miranda Lambert just named an album after a can of shortening, and The Chicks are finally letting fans hear songs they kept in the vault for 20 years. This week’s new music Friday (October 2, 2026) is one of the most stacked release days of the fall.
From R&B and country to Viking metal and ambient synth, here are the albums worth hitting play on this weekend – what each one is, which songs to start with and why it matters.
New Music Friday at a Glance: October 2, 2026
| Artist | Album | Genre | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Monét | Frequency of Love | R&B | Lovett Music/RCA |
| Miranda Lambert | Crisco | Country | MCA |
| Gavin Adcock | The Day I Hang It Up | Country | Thrivin Here/Warner Records Nashville |
| Meshell Ndegeocello | Synonym | Soul/genre-blending duets | Blue Note |
| Johnny Marr | The Age of Everything | Rock | – |
| Blossoms | Songs From the Wedding Cake | Indie pop | ODD SK/Distiller |
| Amon Amarth | The Allfather Awakens | Metal | Metal Blade |
| Emily A. Sprague | Cyano | Ambient/electronic | RVNG Intl. |
| The Chicks | Taking the Long Way (20th Anniversary Edition) | Country (reissue) | Legacy |
| Tom Waits | Small Change (50th Anniversary) | Reissue (vinyl) | Anti- |
Victoria Monét – Frequency of Love
This is the big one. Frequency of Love is Monét’s sophomore album and her first full-length since the Grammy-winning Jaguar II era. It arrives via Lovett Music/RCA Records.
The guest list is loaded. According to The Source, the tracklist features SZA, Bruno Mars, Leon Thomas, Bryson Tiller, Chlöe and Lucky Daye. The lead single “Reach Out” was produced by longtime collaborators Kaytranada and D’Mile and comes with a Sean Bankhead-choreographed video.
The momentum is real, too. Earlier single “Let Me” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart in June, and Monét spent the summer opening for Bruno Mars’ Romantic Tour in Europe and the U.K.
Start with: “Reach Out,” then “Let Me.”
Country Leads New Music Friday: Miranda Lambert and Gavin Adcock
Miranda Lambert – Crisco
Yes, it’s really called Crisco. The 12-track album, out on MCA, was co-produced by Lambert and Jesse Frasure and written with longtime collaborators like Natalie Hemby, Ashley Monroe and Waylon Payne, according to MusicRow.
“I’ve always loved every corner of country music,” Lambert said when she announced it. “Making this record reminded me that those things don’t have to be separated.”
She has already previewed the title track, “Till The Going’s Gone” and “A Song To Sing” with Chris Stapleton.
Start with: “A Song To Sing (with Chris Stapleton).”
Gavin Adcock – The Day I Hang It Up
Adcock is one of country’s most prolific new stars. MusicRow reports this is his third album in three years, following 2025’s 24-track Own Worst Enemy, which pulled more than 25 million U.S. streams in its first week. His catalog has passed 2.4 billion global streams, and Pandora named him a 2026 “Country Artist to Watch.”
Despite the title, he is not retiring. In his announcement, Adcock made it clear he plans to keep making music for the rest of his life. He is currently on his headlining The Day I Hang It Up Tour.
Country fans have had a huge year – just look at how Ella Langley’s ‘Choosin’ Texas’ broke the Hot 100’s biggest record. This Friday adds two more big contenders to the conversation.
Meshell Ndegeocello – Synonym
If you only take one musical risk this weekend, make it this. Synonym is Ndegeocello’s third album for Blue Note, and it is a 15-track album of reimagined covers sung as duets.
The guest list is wild: Cynthia Erivo, Chaka Khan, Cat Power, Brandi Carlile, Bill Callahan, Chris Thile, Robert Glasper, ANOHNI, WILLOW, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney and more. The songs span decades – from George Michael and Aretha Franklin’s “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” to Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream” (here with Chaka Khan) and Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” (with WILLOW).
Each duet pairs artists who identify within the same gender spectrum. In Blue Note’s announcement, Ndegeocello described the project as “an expression of queer liberation as a synonym for liberation of all kinds.” It also reunites her with David Gamson, producer of her 1990s classics Plantation Lullabies and Peace Beyond Passion. Her last two Blue Note albums each won a Grammy.
Start with: “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” with Cynthia Erivo.
Rock and Indie Picks: Johnny Marr and Blossoms
Johnny Marr – The Age of Everything
The former Smiths guitarist’s fifth solo album has 10 tracks, many of which he road-tested on tour. Lead single “Spin” was already a staple of his live sets, and he followed it with “It’s Time.”
“This is the record that’s been the most cathartic,” Marr told Official Charts. He said the title reflects a “sense of overwhelm in the culture brought about by technology,” but also “a sense of possibility.” His last album, 2022’s Fever Dreams Pts 1-4, was his highest-charting solo release in the U.K.
Blossoms – Songs From the Wedding Cake
The Stockport, England, band’s sixth album is named after a local nickname for the Victorian town hall where frontman Tom Ogden got married. It was recorded with producer Shawn Lee.
Singles include “Joke About Divorce” and “Meet Me In Love,” which features backing vocals from Declan McKenna and a video starring Maya Jama. The band has also teased appearances from Rick Astley and Inhaler’s Elijah Hewson.
Metal, Ambient and Anniversary Reissues
Amon Amarth – The Allfather Awakens
The Swedish Viking-metal giants are back with their 13th album, a 10-song set produced by Jacob Hansen, according to Metal Blade Records. The band wrote and finished one song at a time, treating each track like a single.
Lead single “Gjallarhorn” is a fast, riff-heavy opener, while “Upphaf” is the band’s first-ever acoustic track. A European arena tour kicks off in the U.K. on October 9.
Emily A. Sprague – Cyano
On the opposite end of the volume knob, the Florist frontwoman’s fifth solo album on RVNG Intl. imagines an entire planet through modular synths and voice. It is her first solo record to feature singing, and it was inspired in part by cyanotype photography and the work of 19th-century botanist Anna Atkins. Lead single: “Sing To.”
The Chicks – Taking the Long Way (20th Anniversary Edition)
Twenty years ago, this album debuted at No. 1 and went on to win five Grammys, including Album, Record and Song of the Year for “Not Ready to Make Nice.” The new edition from Legacy Recordings adds five bonus tracks: demos of “Not Ready to Make Nice,” “So Hard” and “Flowers,” plus the rarities “Thin Line” and “Live Wire,” which are hitting streaming for the first time.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years,” the trio said in a statement shared by MusicRow. Their anniversary tour, where they play the full album live for the first time, kicked off in Detroit on September 30.
Tom Waits – Small Change (50th Anniversary)
Anti- Records is reissuing Waits’ 1976 classic on limited-edition 180g colored vinyl. The album includes fan favorites “Tom Traubert’s Blues” and “The Piano Has Been Drinking,” and it is widely considered the high point of his early career.
More New Music Friday Releases to Know
Official Charts’ release schedule also lists these October 2 drops:
- Quavo – Qröme Life
- Mac Miller – The Divine Feminine (10th Anniversary)
- Kodaline – We Were Only Young
- Twin Atlantic – Separation from the Animals
- Vacations – Pursuit of Anything
- Dexter and the Moonrocks – Friends That I Don’t Like
Still riding the pop wave from earlier this fall? Catch up on Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore and the big moments from the 2026 VMAs.
The Bottom Line: Your New Music Friday Game Plan
Short on time? Here is the playlist-friendly cheat sheet:
- R&B fans: Go straight to Victoria Monét’s Frequency of Love.
- Country fans: Pair Miranda Lambert’s Crisco with Gavin Adcock’s latest, then revisit The Chicks’ anniversary edition for those vault tracks.
- Adventurous listeners: Spin Meshell Ndegeocello’s Synonym from start to finish.
- Rock and metal: Johnny Marr for jangle, Amon Amarth for thunder.
- Wind-down mode: Emily A. Sprague’s Cyano with headphones on.
Albums typically go live on streaming services at midnight local time on Friday. Build your playlist tonight, then come back and tell us which new music Friday release you have on repeat. We’ll be tracking how these albums do on the charts next week.
