First Listen archive
Read First Listen: Josh Ritter, 'The Beast In Its Tracks'
February 24, 2013 – The singer-songwriter's new album was written entirely in response to his recent divorce.
Read First Listen: Bajofondo, 'Presente'
February 24, 2013 – Argentina's Gustavo Santaolalla and Uruguayan Juan Campodonico mix electronica with tango and folk.
Read First Listen: Waxahatchee, 'Cerulean Salt'
February 24, 2013 – Led by songwriter Katie Crutchfield, Waxahatchee addresses teenage flux with seasoned songcraft.
Read First Listen: Youth Lagoon, 'Wondrous Bughouse'
February 24, 2013 – The one-man band has made one of the most arresting headphone records you'll hear this year.
Read First Listen: Cloud Cult, 'Love'
February 24, 2013 – Love bursts with warmth, whether in spare looks at faith or in explosions of ecstatic celebration.
Read First Listen: Atoms For Peace, 'Amok'
February 18, 2013 – Radiohead's Thom Yorke lays wearily soaring vocals over sounds that whir, click, twitch and sprawl.
Read First Listen: Bilal, 'A Love Surreal'
February 17, 2013 – The soul singer explores the contours of intense emotions with patience and psychedelic insight.
Read First Listen: Shout Out Louds, 'Optica'
February 17, 2013 – Optica plays like a great '80s mixtape, albeit with modern production and a good deal of subtlety.
Read First Listen: Deathfix, 'Deathfix'
February 17, 2013 – D.C. musicians Brendan Canty and Rich Morel make great pop full of unexpected turns on their debut.
Read First Listen: 'Son Of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys'
February 10, 2013 – Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Dr. John and more form a bleak-music Murderer's Row.
Read First Listen: Ivan & Alyosha, 'All The Times We Had'
February 10, 2013 – The band writes gorgeous, swelling songs about love and faith, and performs them with real charm.
Read First Listen: Maxmillion Dunbar, 'House Of Woo'
February 10, 2013 – House of Woo is rooted in unabashed enthusiasm for sound, from techno and house to New Age and R&B.
Read First Listen: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, 'Push The Sky Away'
February 8, 2013 – Cave's songs seethe and surprise, marked by gorgeous strings and grabby, pervy innuendo.
Read First Listen: The Bryan Ferry Orchestra, 'The Jazz Age'
February 4, 2013 – Ferry re-imagines his songs, both solo and with Roxy Music, as the product of a 1920s jazz band.
Read First Listen: Ballake Sissoko, 'At Peace'
February 3, 2013 – The Malian kora player again works with French cellist Vincent Segal in sweet and soulful ways.