Surefire Chicago rock trio Dehd are back with their fifth album, Poetry, coming May 10 on Fat Possum Records, and they’ve released the starry-eyed single “Mood Ring” as a first preview of the record. Dehd took songwriting on the road after the success of their acclaimed fourth full-length Blue Skies, leaving the Windy City in search of inspiration for the …
Cuffed Up Announce Debut Album ‘All You Got,’ Celebrate the “Finer Things” on New Single
Cuffing season may nearly be over, but Cuffed Up season is just beginning. The Los Angeles rockers have announced their debut album All You Got, coming April 5 on Hit the North Records, and shared their latest single and music video, explosive album opener “Finer Things.” Listeners keen on both melodic, emotional indie rock and propulsive, tightly wound post-punk will …
Duval Jazz Great Ulysses Owens Jr.’s Latest with Generation Y is an Impressive Merger of Mentorship and Music
The new release from Jacksonville-based drummer-educator Ulysses Owens Jr. and his ensemble Generation Y is an immediate reminder of the joy, nuance and innate humanness of jazz. Over the course the nine tracks of A New Beat, Owens Jr. and Generation Y deliver a rapturous set of hip standards and also originals penned by the assembled players. Originally written by …
Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker Gives “Sadness as a Gift,” New Single From Latest Solo Album
One of the best working songwriters alive, Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker has announced her first new solo album in four years, along with a set of 2024 North American tour dates. Lenker’s sixth solo album Bright Future (March 22, 4AD) is preceded by her new single “Sadness as a Gift,” our second preview of the LP after December’s “Ruined” — …
Khruangbin Preview First New Album Since 2020 With the Idyllic “A Love International”
Vibey Texas trio Khruangbin have announced their fourth studio album, and first since 2020’s Mordechai, sharing A La Sala’s lead single ahead of its April 5 release via Dead Oceans and Night Time Stories Ltd. “A Love International” is everything we’ve come to expect from the ever-consistent Khruangbin, a mostly instrumental meditation with the sure-handed interplay of Laura Lee Ochoa’s …
DJ and Producer Jamie xx Works His Usual Magic on “It’s So Good”
Amid chatter of a new album on the way from The xx — and a forever-feeling wait for the follow-up to his 2015 solo album In Colour — English DJ and producer Jamie xx has shared his first new single in nearly two years, the entrancing “It’s So Good.” Released this week via London’s Young (fka Young Turks), the song …
Waxahatchee Previews ‘Saint Cloud’ Follow-up with “Right Back To It,” Featuring MJ Lenderman
Indie-Americana powerhouse Waxahatchee, aka Alabama-born, Kansas City-based singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, has finally announced the follow-up to her 2020-best album Saint Cloud. Her ANTI- Records debut Tigers Blood is due out on March 22, and she announced it with a bang this week, sharing the lead single “Right Back To It,” featuring Wednesday (and solo) indie-rock star MJ Lenderman, and announcing …
Katy Kirby Considers the Pitfalls of Romantic Commitment on “Hand to Hand”
Texas-born, New York-based singer-songwriter Katy Kirby has shared a fourth (and likely final) single ahead of her forthcoming album Blue Raspberry, coming Jan. 26 on her new label, ANTI- Records. After breaking out with her irresistible 2021 debut Cool Dry Place, Kirby now returns with a second effort press notes call “an exegesis of [her] first queer relationship” that “ …
A New Six-Song EP from Duval Soul/Hip-Hop Collective L.O.V.E. Culture Maintains Their Vibrational Pull
Since 2019’s Vol. 1, the first in a series of EP’s that culminated in the January 2024 release of Vol. 3, Duval hip-hop collective L.O.V.E. Culture has made it evident that, while they were fully capable of creating dancefloor-ready songs, they were aiming for a higher aspect through lyricism, instrumentation and sonic production. While collectively the six-songs on Vol. 3 …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Nov. 10
On her debut studio album, Heaven Knows, the English singer and producer PinkPantheress navigates a heady mix of gothic horror and blissful solitude. It’s a record that reflects on the ways we survive trauma only to exist in a kind of uncertain purgatory — alive, unsure of the future and, ultimately, how it’s OK to not be OK. We open …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Nov. 3
After releasing her self-titled debut studio album in 2016, rapper and singer Tkay Maidza felt stuck. She was writing songs that, Maidza says, she didn’t even like. So she walked away from music-making and took half a year to untether herself from the things holding her back. But Maidza eventually hit reset and returned to the studio to make Sweet …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Oct. 20
U.K. singer-songwriter Sampha has become a go-to guest vocalist for artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Alicia Keys, Frank Ocean, Solange and Stormzy. Naturally, he’s got a distinctive, genre-blending style as a solo artist, too: Sampha’s second full-length album, LAHAI, showcases his vulnerability, growth and gorgeous vocals, which can sound both timelessly familiar and futuristic, often simultaneously. We’ve also got …
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Preview Their Umpteenth New Album With “Theia / The Silver Cord / Set”
Anyone who tells you they know what’s next for Australian experimental-rock sextet King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard is lying, with one exception: The hyper-prolific band is never not announcing a new album. This week, they unveiled The Silver Cord (Oct. 27, KGLW), previewing the synth-driven set with the lead single and video triumvirate of its album openers, “Theia / …
On “Eggman,” West Coast Psych-Rock Gadfly Ty Segall Takes a Crack at More Bad Trips
Ty Segall continues to morph and mop up the competition of current psych-rock-what-have-you. “Eggman” arrives on the heels of his recent doom-dirge single, “Void.” Over a rumbling bed of drums, octaved-electric guitar and strumming acoustic, Segall serves up cryptic lyrics (“Hey / do you hear what I say? / Would you look at your face? Your mouth’s / agape and …
Public Radio’s Favorite New Musicians Of 2023
With autumn upon us, we decided it was time to poll NPR Music’s Member station partners to find out the new musicians who caught their hosts’ ears this year. We had one question: Identify your favorite artist who entered 2023 without a full-length album. We received 13 answers, and the results spanned rock, Americana, soul, jazz and electronic music. Enjoy …
Hip-Hop Legends Little Brother Share Two New Songs, “Wish Me Well and “Glory Glory”
Little Brother, the beloved North Carolina hip-hop duo, have released “Wish Me Well” and “Glory Glory,” their first new music in four years. Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh remain the poster boys of grown-man rap. Seasoned, independent, well-respected; their rhymes serve as references for artists looking to follow suit. “Wish Me Well” finds Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh taking turns …
On “Electric Like An Eel,” The Serfs Offer to Rock and Rule the Dystopian Age
Judging by the music of the Serfs, the band’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio is a destroyed, post-industrial wasteland. While they are retro to the point of the antediluvian, the trio of Dylan McCartney (vocals, percussion, guitar, bass, electronics), Dakota Carlyle (electronics, bass, guitar, vocals) and Andie Luman (vocals, synths) enshroud their latest single “Electric Like an Eel” into more of a post-punk …
Wiz Khalifa, Big K.R.I.T., Smoke DZA & Girl Talk “Eurostep” Back Into the Spotlight
After first teaming up for 2022’s Full Court Press, the low-key hip-hop supergroup featuring emcees Wiz Khalifa, Big K.R.I.T. and Smoke DZA, and producer Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) have returned with their first new music of the year, Tuesday’s effortless “Eurostep.” To a casual basketball viewer, the Euro step seems almost unfair, like the ball handler is getting away …
As Eureka Springs, Cory Driscoll Expands His Sonic Vision with New Single, “The Mirage”
Eureka Springs have released their second single, a downtempo, jangly meditation called “The Mirage.” Some housekeeping first: Eureka Springs is the full-band project of Jacksonville singer-songwriter Cory Driscoll, whose 2022 album is also called Eureka Springs. Driscoll also has a song called “Eureka Springs” from the album Eureka Springs which–what with the artist, song and album–approaches The-1975-levels of meta. In …
On “Hits,” Jacksonville’s BlissFund Utilizes a Reductionist Approach to Blend Folk and Rock
Jacksonville’s BlissFund was started in 2018 primarily as a writing project by G.A. Mallinson. “Hits,” the opening track from his new full-length release Revelator, finds Mallinson deploying a plain-spoken, talking-folk-blues approach. Simple chords strummed over abstract guitar swells, a drumbeat that is minimal and tentative, and the song’s narrator dealing out ambiguities in a love story that he considers “lighting …
Animal Collective Are of Two Minds on Hypnotic New Single “Gem & I”
The latest mind-bender from avant-pop veterans Animal Collective is nearly here, and our final preview of their new album Isn’t It Now? (Sept. 29, Domino) arrived last week in the form of “Gem & I,” a track the band has been performing live since 2019. The third single from Isn’t It Now? after this summer’s “Soul Capturer” and “Defeat,” “Gem …
“The Long Journey Home” is a New Kind of Blues for Buffalo Nichols
A cut from his second full-length release, The Fatalist, “The Long Journey Home” finds contemporary alt-blues-agitator Buffalo Nichols continuing his excursions into deconstructing and rebuilding folk forms. Driven by banjo and a minimal Roland TR-808 beat—a machine that is 50 years old, and one which Nichols considers to be a now-folk instrument—the proverbial trouble in mind that he explores is …
Big Thief Are Back Again With the Beautiful “Born For Loving You”
Big Thief got bigger than ever in 2022, raking in acclaim (not to mention a Grammy nomination) with their sprawling double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, and rather than resting on those laurels, the indie-folk four-piece returned Wednesday with “Born For Loving You,” their second new tune of the year. Like this summer’s “Vampire Empire” and …
Steep Canyon Rangers Bring Their Deep Take on Bluegrass to the Florida Theatre
The Steep Canyon Rangers will return to the Florida Theatre on Saturday, November 4. Over the course of two decades, the group has collaborated with banjo-playing comedy legend Steve Martin, singer-songwriter Edie Brickell and a whole host of others on their way to be being heralded as one of the finest bluegrass outfits working today. And while the Rangers have …
Free Jazz Quartet Mendoza Hoff Revels Lures Listeners Into the Music Abyss
There is always room for one more supergroup and we surely have one in Mendoza Hoff Revels. Granted, if you can handle the Scoville burn, the flavor of this particular power-quartet is heavy on the free-jazz-rock seasoning. Taken from their forthcoming album Echolocation, the five-minute slice of “Diablada” assures us that Mendoza Hoff Revels really like the whole-tone scale and …
The Rolling Stones Announce ‘Hackney Diamonds,’ Their First Album in 18 Years
The Rolling Stones are releasing their 24th album, the rock ‘n’ roll band’s first in 18 years. In a live conversation Wednesday with late-night host Jimmy Fallon, the British group — comprised of lead vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Ronnie Wood, writer and guitarist Keith Richards and drummer Steve Jordan – announced Hackney Diamonds will come out Oct. 20. Wood said …
On ‘Rabbit Rabbit,’ Speedy Ortiz Returns with the Kind of Rock Record We (and They) Need Right Now
Ten years after Major Arcana, the breakthrough record that made indie-rock darlings out of Sadie Dupuis’ Speedy Ortiz, the band is back with a new record: Rabbit Rabbit. The group’s return has been much-anticipated. The smattering singles released prior to the September 1 drop date earned praise from The New York Times and Pitchfork among others, foreshadowing the kind of …
The Gear That Gave Jax’s Ducats the Grungy Sound They Needed to Record Their Latest Single, “Painless”
“Our songs are pretty pop/melody driven,” says Trent Holton, leader of the Jacksonville-based lo-fi garage act Ducats. “But we like to make noise and sound ugly sometimes in practice. We just drone and wail. The essence of music-making, for me, is represented in those loose moments: creation, destruction, spontaneity, grit, grime, happy, sad, pure energy.” That playful, throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall approach shines …
Unearthed Danger Mouse and Jemini Collab is Firmly Grounded in Soul-Hop Grooves
Originally recorded in 2004, Born Again was created by Danger Mouse and Jemini the Gifted One, following the release of Ghetto Pop Life, their 2003 studio collaboration. Ghetto Pop Life was a critical and fan hit. Danger Mouse and Jemini toured in support of the album and ultimately recorded the tracks now released as Born Again. Their momentum was squashed …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Sept. 1
Speedy Ortiz‘s music may sound jagged around the edges, but it comes bundled with glimmers of sunny pop, clever lyrics and smartly deployed lap steel. The band’s new fourth album, Rabbit Rabbit, finds singer-songwriter Sadie Dupuis wrangling with abuse and trauma, learning to let go of anger and writing about the activism that’s fueled her life and career. (She’s a …
New Box Set Collects Early Triumphs of Bon Iver and Megafaun Members
This essay originally appeared in NPR Music’s weekly newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter here. There’s a scene in an old episode of The Simpsons wherein Lisa laments that no one listens to kids. Grandpa Simpson, embroiled in a B plot of his own, chimes in that no one listens to old people, either — at which point Homer pops by …
Noname’s ‘Sundial’ Pursues a Hip-Hop Revolution
Hip-hop has been effectively deradicalized by middle age, botched love and commercialism, to the extent that so-called “conscious rap” often sounds like a grift to feed a void in the market — the hungry ghost of authenticity. Plenty of the music is no longer a visceral and spirit-driven creative endeavor. It might be realer to just make indifferent music in …
Double Space is the Place | New Compilation Celebrates the Intergalactic Verse of Sun Ra
When tracking the enigmatic creative life of Sun Ra, it truly depends on which orbit you traverse. Over the course of his 79 years on this planet, Sun Ra worked with blues artist Wynonie Harris and big band Fletcher Henderson, later to and rub shoulders with esoteric-roots rockers NRBQ and guitar-throttlers Sonic Youth. Sun Ra released more than 100 albums …
We Now Have Three Sonically-Distinctive Singles from Mitski’s New Record, ‘The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We’
It’s been a little over a year-and-a-half since Mitski’s Laurel Hell took over the Billboard Albums Chart in the kind of indie coup d’état not seen since Frank Ocean’s Blonde. Mainstream breakthrough notwithstanding, the experimentalist singer-songwriter-turned-pop-megastar continues to push forward, announcing a new record, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (out September 15th via Dead Oceans), from which the …
All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Aug. 25
Nigerian singer Burna Boy is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, as well as a global superstar by any metric. His seventh album has a title that promises the victory lap for which he’s long-overdue: It’s called I Told Them… The record continues to expand Burna Boy’s Afro-fusion palette, as he draws inspiration from ’90s hip-hop and …
L’Rain Previews New Album ‘I Killed Your Dog’ With the Playful “Pet Rock”
L’Rain — aka Brooklyn-based experimental singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and curator Taja Cheek — has announced her third album, the confrontationally titled I Killed Your Dog (Oct. 13, Mexican Summer). Our second preview of the “anti-break-up” record after June’s standalone single (and, it turns out, I Killed Your Dog’s closer) “New Year’s UnResolution” is the technicolor “Pet Rock,” out now alongside …