NPR Music

Gracie Abrams. Nia Archives. Steve Lacy. On a release day full of catchy earworms, host Stephen Thompson chats with Tshego Letsoalo of KALW in San Francisco about their favorite albums out Friday, July 17. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:58) Album No. 1 - Gracie Abrams, 'Daughter from Hell' (08:13) Album No. 2 - Steve Lacy, 'Oh Yeah?' (16:38) Album No. 3 - Nia Archives, 'Emotional Junglist' (22:27) Album No. 4 - Lido Pimienta, 'Caribenya' (28:04) Album No. 5 - Swapmeet, 'Mount Zero' (33:13) The Lightning Round - Catherine Moan, 'CM Ultra' - Helado Tropical, 'Helado Tropical' - Orquesta Akokán, 'América!' - Nao Yoshioka, 'Self' - Quicksand, 'Bring On The Psychics' Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.org Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guest: Tshego Letsoalo, KALW Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Elle Mannion, Otis Hart Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Special thanks to Felix Contreras, Lars Gotrich and Ann Powers See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

With last week's best-of show behind us, we've got a clean slate to dive into our favorite new music kicking off the second half of the year. Felix brings a batch of country tracks, while Ana -- to absolutely no one's surprise -- continues her exploration of Brazil's endless supply of captivating music. Catch a mesmerizing indie-ambient album from João Carvalho, some posthumous crooning from Raul Malo, the twangy return of Oklahoma's rising star Wyatt Flores, and much more. Artists and albums featured in this episode: (01:13) Cruz Contreras & The Black Lillies, 'Gold and Roses (Live)' (06:15) João Carvalho, 'Uma Festa no Centro do Vazio' (13:02) Raul Malo, 'Bella Ciao: Raul Malo Live In Nashville' (17:14) Rincon Sapiência, 'Um Corpo Preto' (24:13) Wyatt Flores, 'Scared of Heights' (27:50) Cupido, 'Maldito Cupido' This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

On her stellar new single, “Switchblade,” beabadoobee shreds ‘90s style. The Rolling Stones have still got it on their latest album, Foreign Tongues. And Four Tet surprises us with a new “wingdings” project. We’ve got all that and more as we share our picks for the best new songs of the week. NPR Music’s Sheldon Pearce joins host Robin Hilton. Featured artists and songs: (00:00) Intro (01:20) beabadoobee: “Switchblade” (08:31) Bonobo & Arooj Aftab: “Fire on the Water” (15:09) The Rolling Stones: “Ringing Hollow” (25:31) L’rain: “borderline” (33:02) Four Tet: "track 3" (40:35) Ela Minus and Nick León: “espiral” Support the show with a review on Apple or Spotify wherever you listen to podcasts.  Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Jack White. Baby Rose. Suki Waterhouse. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Maggie Brennan of WCBE in Ohio about their favorite albums out Friday, July 10. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (02:00) Album No. 1 - Jack White, 'Frozen Charlotte' (07:28) Album No. 2 - Baby Rose, 'YEARNALISM' (15:23) Album No. 3 - Suki Waterhouse, 'Loveland' (22:17) Album No. 4 - Allison Russell, 'In the Hour of Chaos' (28:22) Album No. 5 - Houndmouth, 'Lordy' (32:46) The Lightning Round - Bella Kay, 'My Reckless Abandon' - Luluc, 'Sweet Thief' - The Temper Trap, 'Sungazer' - Kelela, 'new avatar' - Tracey Nelson, 'Hercules' - Ultra Lights, 'Pleasure's All Yours' Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.org Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guest: Maggie Brennan, WCBE Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Daoud Tyler-Ameen, Elle Mannion, Otis Hart Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Special thanks to Sheldon Pearce and Lars Gotrich See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy