Episodes
Where to start with country music weirdos Souled American? The end
June 17, 2023 10:15Out of print, odd and obscure, Souled American's esoteric take on country music is now available digitally for the first time. We asked composer Sarah Hennies to pick a place to begin. (Image credit: Jeff Hamand/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
On a new Sigur Rós album, warmth and light push through the darkness
June 16, 2023 10:24ÁTTA, the band's first album in 10 years, sports an orchestra of strings, high-flying vocalism and its signature bittersweet melodies. (Image credit: Tim Dunk/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
Nu metal never died — it just took a Memorrhage to remember
June 15, 2023 10:09Musician Garry Brents has been a prolific creator of extreme metal for years, but his latest project returns to his first love, '90s nu metal, through a dystopian lens. (Image credit: Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
On the easy-going 'Joy'all,' Jenny Lewis defiantly preaches the pursuit of happiness
June 12, 2023 10:09With a new home in Nashville, the singer-songwriter's fifth solo album is a laid-back affair full of zen-like wisdom that lands as guidance for a generation. (Image credit: Bobbi Rich) * This article was originally published here
Aja Monet's debut album fuses art and advocacy, poet and performer
June 11, 2023 10:24The poet's first recording with a band, when the poems do what they do, lends an emphatic new authority to her words, which she delivers with a hypnotist's composure. (Image credit: Fanny Chu/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
With 'Fountain Baby,' Amaarae redefines herself as a pop auteur
June 10, 2023 10:15By training her eyes on multiple targets, the singer challenges listeners to widen their points of view, compelling them to place her in spaces she's found belonging, not where she's been assigned. (Image credit: Josh Croll) * This article was originally published here
Foo Fighters' 'But Here We Are' is heavy, in every sense of the word
June 03, 2023 10:15These songs ache with loss, even as they explode in full-bore rock mayhem, and that loss extends beyond the deaths of loved ones. (Image credit: Scarlet Page/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
A new CD set captures the 'Greatest Moments' of opera star Renée Fleming
May 28, 2023 10:21This set features excerpts from most of Flemming's 26 roles at the NYC Met. Fleming's studio recordings have always captured her lovely voice; these live recordings prove her magic on the stage. * This article was originally published here
Wolf Eyes still mirrors and mutates reality
May 27, 2023 10:27Dreams in Splattered Lines refines the long-running noise band's approach to cinematic horror: still gross and grueling, but painted in thicker strokes of neon gloom. (Image credit: Disciples ) * This article was originally published here
Shirley Collins is an English folk song's bridge between now and then
May 26, 2023 10:24On Archangel Hill, memories of the English countryside, Collins' family and friends are embedded in each song, just out of reach for the listener but vivid as sunshine in her mind. (Image credit: Domino Recording Co.) * This article was originally published here
Kaytranada and Aminé come full circle
May 25, 2023 10:27Kaytranada and Aminé are two artists who have had to surmount a bit of outsider's anxiety. Their new collaborative album, KAYTRAMINÉ, finds them comfortable — with themselves and each other. (Image credit: Lucas Creighton) * This article was originally published here
On 'Gag Order,' Kesha gets intensely personal
May 23, 2023 10:27Listening to Kesha's new album, Gag Order, you can't help but think about all she's been through in the past 10 years. * This article was originally published here
It's time to get on the billy woods bandwagon
May 20, 2023 10:12A longtime hero of the underground rap scene for his worldly, wily lyrics that are erudite and streetwise, billy woods has made his clearest, most engaging album yet with Maps. (Image credit: B.A. Stubbs/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
Brandy Clark is playing for keeps this time
May 19, 2023 10:15Produced by Brandi Carlile, the eponymous 11-song collection offers snapshots of Brandy Clark the person, not Brandy Clark the pen-for-hire. (Image credit: Warner Records) * This article was originally published here
At 25, Pernice Brothers' debut throws even brighter sparks — and darker shadows
May 18, 2023 10:03Threadbare demos on a new reissue of 1998's Overcome by Happiness illuminate Joe Pernice's songwriting paradox: Brill Building pop woven from homespun scruff, sarcastic but always sure-footed. (Image credit: New West Records) * This article was originally published here
Review: 'Bolero Apocalíptico' by Monsieur Periné
May 16, 2023 10:09Bolero Apocaliptico from Colombian duo Monsieur Perine, their first album in five years, shows signs of artists who are comfortable with their musical path and are expanding on it. * This article was originally published here
Jeromes Dream knits feedback into the tangled seams of 'The Gray In Between'
May 15, 2023 10:33The band recaptures a shredded tension on its second new album after a two-decade hiatus: You feel the crushing effects of the world upon humanity, and the occasional glimpse of beauty. (Image credit: Iodine Recordings) * This article was originally published here
Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' tour remixes her archive for an intergalactic future
May 14, 2023 10:03After releasing no accompanying videos, last night in Stockholm Beyoncé finally unveiled Renaissance's visual universe. (Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Parkwood) * This article was originally published here
Everything but the Girl's Tracey Thorn writes lyrics that capture women's inner lives
May 13, 2023 10:27The married British duo Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt — aka Everything but the Girl — have their first album in 24 years. Ken Tucker reviews Fuse, then we listen back to a 2018 interview with Thorn. * This article was originally published here
NPR's Stephen Thompson's top Weird Al songs, 40 years after the parody genius' debut
May 12, 2023 10:18Weird Al Yankovic has made a name for himself with spot-on song parodies. 40 years into his career, a look at some of his best tunes reveals the expertise and creativity it takes to do what he does. * This article was originally published here
Joy Oladokun sings for everyone — especially herself — on 'Proof of Life'
May 11, 2023 10:09In Oladokun's new songs, facets of who she is and what she's lived, seen and imagined provide entry points to her homey pop music. (Image credit: Verve Forecast / Republic Records) * This article was originally published here
Here are the standout tracks in Ed Sheeran's new album 'Subtract'
May 09, 2023 10:06Rolling Stone music critic Maura Johnston reviews Ed Sheeran's new album, Subtract. Fresh off the heels of major copyright win, his newly released music is personal. * This article was originally published here
On 'Jackman,' Jack Harlow is aggrieved and ready to let everyone hear about it
May 04, 2023 10:33The rapper's third album is a string of prickly songs that spend more time exposing his neuroses than truly analyzing them. (Image credit: Julian Buchan) * This article was originally published here
A forgotten opera premieres 280 years late
May 03, 2023 10:30A Jean-Philippe Rameau opera, left unfinished at time of his death and recently completed by a musicologist, gets its premiere 280 years later, with extravagant costumes. (Image credit: Keren Carrión/NPR) * This article was originally published here
Al Green's landmark R&B album 'Call Me' turns 50
April 29, 2023 10:28Green is widely considered one of the greatest pop singers ever. In 1973, he constructed this superb nine-song album for Hi Records in Memphis, in close collaboration with co-producer Willie Mitchell. * This article was originally published here
Collection features almost all the music Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes danced to
April 26, 2023 10:12In 1909, the Russian impresario came to Paris and created a sensation with a company he called the Ballets Russes. A new 22-disc set revisits the music of Diaghilev's legendary ballets. * This article was originally published here
Walter Smith III sounds right at home on 'return to casual'
April 22, 2023 10:06Everything's in balance on the tenor saxophonist's new album: Smith's pliable expressive tone is neither too heavy nor too light as he exploits the tension between the composed and the improvised. * This article was originally published here
JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown are here to blow up your function
April 14, 2023 10:03The joyously chaotic rap team-up Scaring the Hoes is less Watch the Throne and more Wedding Crashers: a pair of motormouthed eccentrics running wild trick plays and daring you to stick around. (Image credit: Carlo Cavaluzzi/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
Feist holds a mirror up to her 'Multitudes'
April 13, 2023 10:12On her best album to date, Feist mines age and experience, love and loss to shape 12 songs about the hard-earned insights of simply existing. (Image credit: Sara Melvin & Colby Richardson/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
Wednesday's 'Rat Saw God' is fearlessly, chaotically, grimly American
April 08, 2023 10:30The Asheville, N.C., band's new album blends country and shoegaze influences in a thrilling set of songs that capture youthful debauchery and local lore against a backdrop of strip malls and highways. (Image credit: Zachary Chick) * This article was originally published here
100 years ago today, Louis Armstrong wrapped his first recording session
April 07, 2023 10:30The 21-year-old Armstrong, on cornet, was a protégé of New Orleans fellow cornetist and band leader King Joe Oliver. On April 5, 1923, they went into a Richmond, Ind., studio for a two-day session. * This article was originally published here
Lana Del Rey's ambitious new album is her riskiest to date
April 05, 2023 10:19Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. is filled with dense compositions about family lore and romantic entanglements. * This article was originally published here
On 'the record,' boygenius honors how friendship shapes our very sense of self
March 31, 2023 10:09The friendship shared by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus isn't just the backdrop for their album as boygenius: It's the subject of many of these songs, built into their very structures. (Image credit: Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
Yves Tumor's disruptive pop-cultural synthesis
March 29, 2023 10:19Rather than proclaiming the present sick on their fifth record, the sensitive Tennessean glam-punk wraps themselves up in its language — pop music. (Image credit: Isabella Corderas) * This article was originally published here
The voice of Jessye Norman soars again in trove of unreleased recordings
March 25, 2023 10:21A new collection of recordings finally freed from the vaults offers a chance to hear one of opera's greatest artists sing Wagner, Strauss, Berlioz and more. (Image credit: Decca Archives) * This article was originally published here
Songs by Iris DeMent, Sunny War and Margo Price speak urgently to the current moment
March 22, 2023 10:06Whether it's the folk-protest music of DeMent, the cutting-edge blues of War or the hard-charging Americana of Price, these three artists create music that stands out. * This article was originally published here
At Adele's Vegas residency, intimacy is the ultimate luxury
March 21, 2023 10:12The pop star has always been an uneasy match for the demands of touring. In the controlled stillness of a Las Vegas theater, she may have finally found her place. (Image credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AD) * This article was originally published here
Esperanza Spalding teams up with pianist Fred Hersch in this 'Vanguard' recording
March 15, 2023 10:03When Hersch invited jazz, pop and opera composer Spalding to perform three nights with him at the Village Vanguard, he thought she'd bring her bass. Instead, Spalding just wanted to use her voice. * This article was originally published here
Caroline Polachek's new album pulses with the sound of exhilaration and relief
March 14, 2023 10:12Desire, I Want to Turn Into You was recorded during a time when many were emerging from pandemic isolation, and, intentionally or not, it taps into the upheaval and disorientation we've lived through. * This article was originally published here
Fever Ray's 'Radical Romantics' explores love in all of its freaky, complicated forms
March 10, 2023 10:06The experimental pop artist's new album is interested in love not as a destination but as an ongoing process, in all of its bravado, vulnerability and experimentation. (Image credit: Nina Andersson) * This article was originally published here
Missy Mazzoli is a symphonic composer with a photographer's eye
March 04, 2023 10:06On her new album, Dark with Excessive Bright, the vibrant, young composer coaxes unusual sounds from a symphony orchestra. (Image credit: Caroline Tompkins/courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
On 'This Is Why,' Paramore emerges from our collective fever dream
March 03, 2023 10:09For a world hell-bent on erasing the memory of the last three years, Paramore approaches hard times with a refreshing sense of self. (Image credit: Zachary Gray/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
The meditative, ambient calm of Kelela's 'Raven'
February 23, 2023 10:18If the singer was taking herself apart before, she is now presenting a unified and independent version of herself, all while actively maintaining a sense of distance from the audience. (Image credit: Photo by Alima Lee) * This article was originally published here
Bob Dylan's 'Time Out Of Mind' remains eerie and vital in a newly released version
February 17, 2023 10:06Columbia Records' new release provides an extensive look at Dylan's 1997's Grammy-winning album. This package of five CDs offer a wealth of new ways to experience some of Dylan's most moving music. * This article was originally published here
Intrusive thoughts and mixmaster madness in Liv.e's 'Girl in the Half Pearl'
February 16, 2023 10:28The Dallas-born, LA-based artist's shape-shifting 2020 debut, Couldn't Wait to Tell You, emulated a series of journal entries. Her sophomore album taps the energy of a drug-fueled club night. (Image credit: Photo by qlick) * This article was originally published here
Caroline Polachek ponders 'Desire' at pop's outer limits
February 15, 2023 10:09Desire, I Want to Turn Into You is a natural next step in the adventurous songwriter's series of evolutions, one that embraces ridiculousness and beckons pop toward a rigorous, maximalist sound. (Image credit: Nedda Afsari/Courtesy of the artist) * This article was originally published here
The 2022 Oscars' Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked
February 08, 2023 10:20This year, Billie Eilish's Bond theme tries to fend off Beyoncé, Van Morrison, perennial candidate Diane Warren and word-of-mouth juggernaut Encanto. (Image credit: YouTube) * This article was originally published here
Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis and Shirley Scott heat things up in their 'Cookbook' sessions
February 03, 2023 10:24Tenor saxophonist Davis and organist Scott had one of the great jazz partnerships in the late 1950s. A new anthology focuses on their Cookbook series of albums. * This article was originally published here
Dazy's exhilarating 'OUTOFBODY' sustains its quality all the way through
January 24, 2023 10:06Virginia-based musician James Goodson — aka Dazy — sings most often in a voice that's high and urgent. His version of power pop is noisy, ragged, full of feedback and clatter — and irresistible. * This article was originally published here
NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron shines playing solo on 'The Source'
January 17, 2023 10:02Barron previously recorded most tunes on his album, a few more than once. Now he gives them layers of new meaning and an allusive texture — with occasional hints at Afro-Cuban rhythms and gestures. * This article was originally published here