# Through the Wall
**Through the Wall** is the third studio album by the British-Canadian singer and songwriter Rochelle Jordan, released on September 26, 2025 through EMPIRE. It is a 17-track, roughly 59-minute set that fuses house music, 1990s R&B, UK garage, and funk, built around a steady, mid-tempo club sound that critics received as her strongest work to date.[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/) • [2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/through-the-wall/1824330589)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / album | Rochelle Jordan, *Through the Wall*, her third album[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/) |
| Release | September 26, 2025, on EMPIRE; 17 tracks, 59 minutes[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/through-the-wall/1824330589) |
| Genre | Pop/R&B, described as house music with pop polish and R&B steering[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/) |
| Main producer | KLSH, Jordan's collaborator since 2009, with contributions from Terry Hunter, KAYTRANADA, DāM-FunK, Byron the Aquarius, Initial Talk, Machinedrum, and others[3](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-by) • [4](https://metacritic.com/music/through-the-wall/rochelle-jordan) |
| Critical reception | Metascore of 90 from 5 critic reviews, all positive; ranked the #2 album of 2025 by The FADER[4](https://metacritic.com/music/through-the-wall/rochelle-jordan) • [5](https://www.thefader.com/2025/12/08/the-50-best-albums-of-2025) |
| Singles | "Doing It Too," "Crave," and "Sweet Sensation"[6](https://rochellejordan.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-wall?from=discover_page) |
| Title meaning | Music heard through her brother's bedroom wall in childhood, and the walls of impostor syndrome she broke through to make it[7](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/03/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-album-cover-story) |
## Background
Jordan grew up in East Toronto after being raised between London and East Toronto by British-Jamaican parents, and she is now based in Los Angeles. She has released music independently throughout her career: the debut mini album ROJO in 2011, *Pressure* in 2012, *1021* in 2014, and *Play With the Changes* in 2021, the album this record follows.[3](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-by) • [8](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/03/rochelle-jordan-best-songs-guide) Her 2014 single "Lowkey" went viral in 2023 after spreading on TikTok, reaching 21 million streams on Spotify alone, and the renewed attention built the audience that greeted *Through the Wall*.[9](https://www.roughtrade.com/en-us/product/rochelle-jordan/through-the-wall)
Jordan announced the album in July 2025 as her first release since 2021, with the singles "Crave" and the title track "TTW" leading the rollout.[10](https://pitchfork.com/news/rochelle-jordan-announces-new-album-through-the-wall-shares-new-song-listen/) The album title came to her in 2022, a year after she felt listeners had finally understood *Play With the Changes*.[7](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/03/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-album-cover-story)
## Title and themes
The title carries two meanings. Literally, it recalls Jordan's childhood, when her older brother played jungle, drum 'n' bass, [UK garage](https://www.edgepedia.org/uk-garage), and house in his bedroom and the rhythms seeped through the walls into hers.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/through-the-wall/1824330589) Figuratively, it names the barriers she says she dismantled in making the record, with impostor syndrome described as the last of her walls.[2](https://music.apple.com/us/album/through-the-wall/1824330589) • [11](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-interview-3900624) Jordan has called the album "a dedication to God and myself for the journey I've been on, a celebration of the artist I've become."[12](https://defpen.com/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/)
Thematically the songs move between celebration, romance, and reflection. "Doing It Too" flips relationship gender roles; "The Boy" is a lovesick tribute; "Crave" captures the emotion after a passionate fight; and "Eyes Shut" questions connection in a digital world.[13](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/featured-music/feature-albums1/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-review/105905918) The record opens its confident tone with a spoken line at the start of "On 2 Something": "Don't be afraid to take up space."[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/)
## Production and music
**Production.** Jordan's longtime creative director and producer KLSH, whom she found through Myspace in 2009 and who has led production on every release since her 2010 mixtape *Alien Phase*, helmed the album, with additional work from [Terry Hunter](https://www.edgepedia.org/terry-hunter), Byron the Aquarius, DāM-FunK, Initial Talk, KAYTRANADA, Jimmy Edgar, Machinedrum, Hamdi, WaveIQ, and Rob Araujo.[3](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-by) • [14](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-17/rochelle-jordan-australia-tour-through-the-wall-lowkey/106684458) The critic Gio Santiago, writing for Pitchfork, describes the record's curation as mapping "a dance diaspora of contemporary pop, Chicago and Detroit house, and UK garage"; "Crave" is produced by [Chicago house](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-house) veteran Terry Hunter, "Bite the Bait" carries an electro sheen from Jimmy Edgar, and "Around" draws on Hamdi's UK bass sensibility.[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/)
**Sound.** The record favors controlled, mid-tempo, four-to-the-floor rhythms over eruptive club peaks, and its reviewer consensus centers on restraint: Jordan does not belt, she breathes, using precise phrasing and reserved falsetto rather than vocal pyrotechnics.[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/) • [13](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/featured-music/feature-albums1/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-review/105905918) Critics compared its feel to 1990s R&B dance pioneers like [Janet Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/janet-jackson) and placed it alongside contemporary records by [Jessie Ware](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessie-ware), Amber Mark, and [Victoria Monét](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-monet).[1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/) One noted production detail is that the baseline of the title track "TTW" sounds slightly muffled, as if the song were being heard through a literal wall.[15](https://alexyapsmusic.substack.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-x-rochelle?action=share)
## Reception
Professional response was uniformly positive. Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 90, "universal acclaim," based on 5 critic reviews with no mixed or negative scores; The Line of Best Fit and AllMusic each scored it 90, Pitchfork gave it 83, Consequence 83, and The Quietus 80.[4](https://metacritic.com/music/through-the-wall/rochelle-jordan) A review-aggregator consensus across five professional reviews put the score at 85.2/100, praising vocal dexterity, minimalist arrangements, and the fusion of house and alt-R&B.[16](https://chorus.reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall) [The FADER](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-fader) ranked it the #2 album of 2025, and AllMusic placed it among its favorite R&B albums of the year.[5](https://www.thefader.com/2025/12/08/the-50-best-albums-of-2025) • [17](https://www.allmusic.com/album/through-the-wall-mw0004573591) The Associated Press listed it among its 2025 albums to check out.[18](https://apnews.com/article/a9afd2a0f4a3c27e22e2f83fef884f75)
"Ladida" was the most repeatedly singled-out track, with "Doing It Too," "TTW," "Sweet Sensation," "The Boy," and "Crave" also named among the album's best songs.[16](https://chorus.reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall) • [15](https://alexyapsmusic.substack.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-x-rochelle?action=share) The main criticism, raised by the reviewer [Anthony Fantano](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-fantano) and others, was that the album's flow can feel like a playlist with little definition between songs, and that some of the 17 tracks fade into the background.[19](https://rosetta.to/u/theneedledrop/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-album-review) • [15](https://alexyapsmusic.substack.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-x-rochelle?action=share)
## Legacy and touring
Jordan has described the record as a declaration of the artist she wants to be, and in December 2025 she announced a 2026 North American tour in its support.[12](https://defpen.com/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/) • [20](https://exclaim.ca/artists/rochelle_jordan) One source calls it her sixth studio album, counting releases that other reviews treat as mixtapes or mini albums; most coverage identifies it as her third album.[21](https://www.last.fm/music/Rochelle%2BJordan/Through%2Bthe%2BWall%2B%282025%29) • [1](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/)
## References
1. [Gio Santiago, "Rochelle Jordan: Through the Wall Album Review," Pitchfork, October 2, 2025](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/)
2. ["Through The Wall," Apple Music album page](https://music.apple.com/us/album/through-the-wall/1824330589)
3. [Tabia N. Mullings, "Album Review: Through the Wall by Rochelle Jordan," Shatter the Standards, September 28, 2025](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-by)
4. ["Through The Wall," Metacritic](https://metacritic.com/music/through-the-wall/rochelle-jordan)
5. ["The 50 best albums of 2025," The FADER, December 8, 2025](https://www.thefader.com/2025/12/08/the-50-best-albums-of-2025)
6. ["Through The Wall," Bandcamp](https://rochellejordan.bandcamp.com/album/through-the-wall?from=discover_page)
7. ["Cover Story: Rochelle Jordan's slow burn," The FADER, March 3, 2026](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/03/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-album-cover-story)
8. [Tobias Hess, "A guide to Rochelle Jordan's best songs," The FADER, March 3, 2026](https://www.thefader.com/2026/03/03/rochelle-jordan-best-songs-guide)
9. ["Rochelle Jordan - Through The Wall," Rough Trade product page](https://www.roughtrade.com/en-us/product/rochelle-jordan/through-the-wall)
10. [Matthew Strauss, "Rochelle Jordan Announces New Album Through the Wall, Shares New Song," Pitchfork, July 11, 2025](https://pitchfork.com/news/rochelle-jordan-announces-new-album-through-the-wall-shares-new-song-listen/)
11. [Gary Ryan, "Rochelle Jordan interview," NME, October 21, 2025](https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-interview-3900624)
12. [Ryan Shepard, "Rochelle Jordan Returns With Her New Album — 'Through The Wall'," Def Pen, September 27, 2025](https://defpen.com/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall/)
13. [Dan Condon, "Rochelle Jordan — Through The Wall," Double J (ABC), October 20, 2025](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/doublej/featured-music/feature-albums1/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-review/105905918)
14. ["Rochelle Jordan on Through The Wall, critical acclaim and learning to love her own music," ABC News, May 17, 2026](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-17/rochelle-jordan-australia-tour-through-the-wall-lowkey/106684458)
15. ["Album Review: Through the Wall x Rochelle Jordan," Alex Yap's Music, October 26, 2025](https://alexyapsmusic.substack.com/p/album-review-through-the-wall-x-rochelle?action=share)
16. ["Through The Wall," Chorus.Reviews](https://chorus.reviews/albums/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall)
17. ["Through the Wall," AllMusic, review by Andy Kellman](https://www.allmusic.com/album/through-the-wall-mw0004573591)
18. ["AP's top albums of 2025," Associated Press, December 3, 2025](https://apnews.com/article/a9afd2a0f4a3c27e22e2f83fef884f75)
19. ["Rochelle Jordan - Through the Wall ALBUM REVIEW," theneedledrop via Rosetta](https://rosetta.to/u/theneedledrop/rochelle-jordan-through-the-wall-album-review)
20. ["Rochelle Jordan," Exclaim! artist page](https://exclaim.ca/artists/rochelle_jordan)
21. ["Through the Wall (2025)," Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Rochelle%2BJordan/Through%2Bthe%2BWall%2B%282025%29)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › R&B and soul albums › 2020s R&B albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license