First Listen archive

February 4, 2013 – Ferry re-imagines his songs, both solo and with Roxy Music, as the product of a 1920s jazz band.

February 3, 2013 – The Malian kora player again works with French cellist Vincent Segal in sweet and soulful ways.

January 27, 2013 – On his first full-length solo album, My Morning Jacket's singer seeks something bigger than himself.

January 27, 2013 – Playful but forceful, Thao infuses everything around her with electricity and mischievous boldness.

January 27, 2013 – The live album features six new tunes from one of jazz's greatest living composers and legends.

January 27, 2013 – Thompson plugs in and indulges his rock 'n' roll side, complete with solos that qualify as workouts.

January 20, 2013 – For the duo, strange instrumentation is merely a means to a raucous, hypnotic, alluring end.

January 20, 2013 – The band's sound shape-shifts through indie-pop, psychedelia, soul and something more alien.

January 20, 2013 – Blaudzun's songs boom and swoon, even when they bypass strings in favor of a warm, simple sound.

January 20, 2013 – The U.K. trio's latest album is an unabashed venture into warped pop music with luminous synths.

January 20, 2013 – The new album from the alto saxophonist surfs on information overload without drowning in it.

January 13, 2013 – James finds his own voice by paying deep attention to technique without compromising passion.

January 13, 2013 – Widowspeak is a fount of familiar sounds, but its music possesses a dreamy pop sound of its own.

January 13, 2013 – Neville lends his floaty tenor to a handful of unavoidable and unimpeachable doo-wop standards.

January 6, 2013 – Hear warm headphone music that reaches both the heart and the loneliest reaches of the heavens.