On her new (and wildly anticipated album) GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo dives deep into comical wordplay, deadpan lyricism and a whole lot of guitar noise. We kick this week’s show off with a listen, talk about the ways Rodrigo deftly walks the line between intimate beauty and gut-punch rock — with a bonkers amount of hooks — and all the ways the album sinks its claws in.
We’ve also got surreal dance-floor beats from James Blake, a staggeringly ambitious work from the singer Anjimile, Black Classical Music from Yussef Dayes and more. WBEZ and Vocalo Radio’s Ayana Contreras joins critic and reporter Cyrena Touros, Radio Milwaukee’s Tarik Moody and host Robin Hilton as they share their picks for the best releases out on Sept. 8.
Featured Albums:
- Olivia Rodrigo — GUTS
Featured Songs: “get him back!” “all-american bitch,” “ballad of a homeschooled girl,” “the grudge” - Jalen Ngonda — Come Around and Love Me
Featured Songs: “Come Around and Love Me,” “It Takes a Fool,” “Give Me Another Day” - Anjimile — The King
Featured Songs: “Mother,” “Genesis,” “Black Hole,” “The King” - James Blake — Playing Robots Into Heaven
Featured Songs: “Big Hammer,” “If You Can Hear Me,” “Fall Back,” “Fire The Editor,” “I Want You to Know” - Yussef Dayes — Black Classical Music
Featured Songs: “Afro Cubanism,” “Marching Band (feat. Masego),” “Birds of Paradise,” “Black Classical Music (feat. Venna & Charlie Stacey),” “Early Dayes,” “Cowrie Charms (feat. Leon Thomas & Barbara Hicks)”
Lightning Round:
- Allison Russell — The Returner
- Romy — Mid Air
- Sparklehorse — Bird Machine
- Sylvester — Private Recordings, August 1970
Other notable releases for Sept. 8:
- A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie — B4 BOA
- Apollo Brown & Planet Asia — Sardines
- Ashley McBryde — The Devil I Know
- Blind Boys of Alabama — Echoes Of The South
- The Chemical Brothers — For That Beautiful Feeling
- Courtney Barnett — End of the Day
- Gaika — Drift
- Irreversible Entanglements — Protect Your Light
- Laufey — Bewitched
- Róisín Murphy — Hit Parade
- Teezo Touchdown — How Do You Sleep At Night?
- Tinashe — BB/ANG3L
- Tyler Childers — Rustin’ in the Rain
- V — Layover
- ZZ Ward — Dirty Shine
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