Alabama Shakes
Bobbi Rich/Island
hide caption
toggle caption
Bobbi Rich/Island
Welcome to New Music Friday, NPR Music’s podcast dedicated to sharing the best albums out each week. We listen to dozens of new releases in advance, identify the ones we think you need to hear, and highlight our favorite five in a brisk mix of clips, context and commentary.
The podcast is hosted by NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson, and each episode features a member of the NPR Music Network of public radio stations. This week, our guest is Sean Carolan, host of Altrok Radio from Brookdale Public Radio’s 90.5 The Night.
Scroll down to see which albums we discussed this week and links to our New Music Friday playlists, where you can hear singles from each album. Then scroll down to see the long list and Dora’s Corner, where NPR Music production assistant Dora Levite shares her favorite albums that didn’t make the podcast.
The Starting Five
Interpol
Elliot Lee Hazel/Partisan
hide caption
toggle caption
Elliot Lee Hazel/Partisan
🎵 Mastodon, Marrow Deep (Loma Vista)
- Recommended If You Like: Slayer, Queens of the Stone Age
🎵 Mike D, Thank You (Capitol)
🎵 Alabama Shakes, I Must Be Dreaming (Island)
- RIYL: Brittany Howard, Spoon
🎵 Interpol, This Mirror Weighs a Ton (Partisan)
- RIYL: Joy Division, The Strokes
🎵 The Linda Lindas, Gotta Get Out (Reprise)
- RIYL: Mannequin Pussy, Die Spitz
New Music Friday is a part of the NPR Music podcast. Hear the discussion on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Lightning Round
Saul Williams
Sam Lee/Big Dada
hide caption
toggle caption
Sam Lee/Big Dada
Five more albums we wish we could have discussed on the podcast, recommended by NPR Music’s staff:
⚡ Billy Strings, So Much For Goodbyes (Reprise)
⚡ Elephant Stone, ASHA (Little Cloud)
⚡ Saul Williams, Leap Life (Big Dada)
⚡ Tiny Habits, Keepers (Mom+Pop)
⚡ Liim, A Sunflower Garden In Harlem Is Hard To Find (three times LOUDER)
Listen to each album’s best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.
Dora’s Corner
Lex Walton
Courtesy of Lex Walton/Sub Pop
hide caption
toggle caption
Courtesy of Lex Walton/Sub Pop
Dora Levite is New Music Friday’s production assistant, an occasional All Songs Considered guest, and 17 years old according to her Spotify Wrapped. Below are her picks for the best albums not featured on the show.
💿 Lex Walton, ULTIMATE LOVE FOREVER (Sub Pop)
💿 Cities Aviv, Even Colder Spring (Black Truffle)
💿 Maripool, Rotten Luck (Smoking Room / Lost Wisdom)
The Long List
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist
Asmarina Zerabruk/Control FREAQ / Young
hide caption
toggle caption
Asmarina Zerabruk/Control FREAQ / Young
R&B/Soul
- Erykah Badu & The Alchemist, Before the World Blows: The Abi and Alan Experiment (Control FREAQ / Young)
- Dahi, Black Boy Alternative (ALTER)
- Ruthie Foster, Just Say Yes (Sun)
- Cold Diamond & Mink, Organ-ized (Timmion)
- Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour, Watching the Tide (Provogue / Artone)
- Stanley Simmons, Dancing While The World Is Ending (self-released)
- Kam Franklin, Land Of The Neon Sun (homegirl Island)
- Majid Jordan, Two Roads (OVO / Santa Anna)
Rap/Hip-Hop
- Busta Rhymes & J Dilla, DILLAGENCE II (The Conglomerate)
- Rod Wave, Don’t Look (Down Alamo)
- Night Lovell, My Blood as Ink (G59)
- CZARFACE & Frankie Pulitzer, Embers to Ashes (Thirty Tigers)
- Jay Worthy & George Clinton, Generation P (EMPIRE)
Classical
- Anthony Davis, The Central Park Five (PLATOON)
- Marco Beltrami, Scream (Original Motion Picture Score) (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Varèse Sarabande / Craft)
- HMX 2904065.66 – Ensemble Signal, Brad Lubman, Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians, Double Sextet, Radio Rewrite (Harmonia Mundi)
Country/Folk/Americana
- Carly Pearce, Honest Woman (BMG Nashville)
- The Jayhawks, Sanctuary Park (Thirty Tigers)
- Mama’s Broke, Reunion (Free Dirt)
- Little Big Town, It’s a Dying Art (MCA Nashville)
- Lauren Alaina, Stages (Big Loud)
- True Mountain Laurel, Angel So Bad (Birthday Cake)
- Fruition, Something More (Bloodshot)
- Dogwood Tales, Every Star in Rockingham County (Born Losers)
- V/A, Dan Seals & Friends: The Last Duet (Melody Place)
- The Wilder Blue, Cinco (self-released)
- Sera Cahoone, I’ve Missed You All These Years (Sub Pop)
- Heather Anne Lomax, Who Do You Think You Are (The Blackbird)
- Alicia Witt, Between Heaven and Earth (Thirty Tigers)
Electronic/Out-there
- Floating Points, Mere Motals (Deutsche Grammophon)
- Sarah Davachi, The Will of Tongues (Late Music)
- Bitchin Bajas, Isle Peaks (Drag City)
- Hakushi Hasegawa, Honest Feeling Album (素直な気持ちアルバム) (Bananarama)
- Scarlet House, Angels (self-released)
- LA Priest, Into the Sky (Domino)
- Blind Yeo, The Lemoine Point Les Disques (Bongo Joe)
- Lara Somogyi, a [time] patterned (Mercury KX)
- A Certain Ratio, The Joy of Sextet & Force Majeure (Mute)
- Ibukun Sunday, Olúsín [Worshippers] (Phantom Limb)
- NCT 127, BLINGY (SM / Virgin)
- John Carroll Kirby, Piano Works 2016-2026 (Stones Throw)
- greek, DANCE BREAK (self-released)
- Black Duck With Elena Setién, Black Duck With Elena Setién (Thrill Jockey)
- Morgan Noise, Something Built, Something Remembered (self-released)
- Thoom, Everyday, Everything Is At Stake (self-released)
Global
- The Animeros, ¡Qué Bárbaro! (Easy Eye)
- Natanael Cano, Natanael Cano, Vol. 1 (Rancho Humilde / Los CT)
- Maoli, MMO3 (Awong / ONErpm)
Jazz
- Yoko Miwa & Mikayla Shirley, The Midnight Hour (Cupcakes & Muffins)
- Candice Hoyes, Expecting (La Reserve)
- Marty Ehrlich, OPEN AIR: The Complete Saxophone Quartet Compositions Of Julius Hemphill (Out of Your Head)
- Henry Threadgill Zooid, Cut You Where You Was (Pi)
- Sassofono Notturno, I Pianeti (self-released)
- Wyclef Jean, Q Theory (self-released)
Pop
- Cailin Russo, SCARE EP (10K)
- Marci, Mask Lady and Late Night Girl (Arbutus)
- Alex Warren, Wildchild (Atlantic)
- summersets, Pine Trees in a Perfect Row (self-released)
- Wolves of Glendale, Go To The Woods (self-released)
- Sara Bareilles, Good Grief (Epic)
- Bananarama, True Confessions (40th Anniversary Edition) (London)
- flowerovlove, MINI SKIRT WARRIOR (Capitol / UMG)
- Train, Mad Dog In The Fog (Columbia)
- CMAT, EURO-COUNTRY (Live At St Anne’s) (Banquet)
Rock/Alt/Indie
- Prince, Timeless (Columbia)
- midori jaeger, (Re)planted (self-released)
- Dinosaur Jr., There Near (Jagjaguwar)
- The Bird Calls, Take Leave (Ruination)
- Jim James, Wowed Out (ATO)
- Ok Go, Oh No (Extra Nice Edition) (20th Anniversary Edition) (Capitol)
- Marvin Tate, Controlled Burn (Clandestine)
- Cold Gawd, Glory2 EP (Dais)
- Ty Segall, Chrome & Love Fuzzz EP (Drag City)
- Beartooth, Pure Ecstasy (Fearless)
- Um, Jennifer?, Dirty Twice (Final Girl)
- Kate Prascher, Sunday Afternoon (First City)
- Asher White, Love Aggregates (Joyful Noise)
- Allah-Las, Sirenas (Mexican Summer)
- Graham Hunt, American Pyramid (Run for Cover)
- Russian Circles, Nine (Sargent House)
- Velocity Girl, 1989 – 1992 (Slumberland)
- Hannah Wicklun, War On Women; Calling All Good Men (Strawberry Moon)
- Convinced Friend, Nowhere Songs (self-released)
- Siichaq, The Righteous Sword (self-released)
- Starter Car, Afterlight (Tapete)
- John Vanderslice, Focus (Tiny Telephone)
- Upper Wilds, Mercury (Thrill Jockey)
- Rat Cage, Not Asking For Much (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos)
- Black Spikes, Ydos (Napalm)
- Courteneers, God Bless The Band (Ignition)
- Cold Decay, What Skin Holds (Northern Unrest)
- APOCALYPSE, FÆNIX (self-released)
- Hök, Dagdröm Mardröm (Ord)
- Static Abyss, The Dying Hunt (Peaceville)
- Dreamwell, Hymns For The Denial Of God (Prosthetic)
- Antietam, The Counting Game (Dromedary)
- Spirit Crusher, Future (Triple B)
- Turnstile, NEVER ENOUGH: VERSIONS (Roadrunner)
- The Cranberries, Live At The London Astoria II, 1994 (Island)
- Die Kreuzen, Die Kreuzen (reissue) (Touch and Go)
- Ben Kweller, On My Way (Deluxe) (The Noise Company)
- Band Of Horses, Everything All The Time (20th Anniversary Edition) (Sub Pop)
- Pulp, Live! (Rough Trade)
Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson • Guest: Sean Carolan, Brookdale Public Radio • Audio: Suraya Mohamed • Producer: Elle Mannion • Production Assistant: Dora Levite • Editor: Otis Hart • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed • Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
