If you love seeing live concerts, chances are you've gone to shows where the clinking beer bottles and incessant crowd chatter were louder than the music. After seeing the soft spoken Laura Gibson lose out to a noisy audience during a show in Austin, TX, All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen and Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson came up with a novel solution: They invited Gibson to play at the NPR Music offices, specifically Bob Boilen's desk, launching what's now called the Tiny Desk Concert series.

On this edition of All Songs Considered: ApSci, short for Applied Science, a husband-wife duo from Brooklyn that makes experimental hip-hop and pop music; one of the year's hottest new groups, The Phenomenal Handclap Band; The best new music from Moby in a decade; the Danish band Choir of Young Believers; Lightning Dust; and a great classic from a remarkable new box set from Neil Young.

The Low Anthem makes Americana-inspired songs that are beautifully delicate, with an edge. Check out the band's new CD Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. Also on the program: The San Francisco-based folk-rock quartet The Dry Spells; the love, loss and redemption of singer Diana Jones; Malaysian artist Zee Avi; a new Danger Mouse-produced album from The Shortwave Set; a remastered classic from the power pop group Big Star; and the psychedelic sounds of Hopewell.

Are you a lyrics person? Do the words matter so much that, if they aren't any good, you'll put down a CD after one listen? Bob Boilen certainly is, and does. The new Regina Spektor CD, Far, is full of beautiful and intriguing words. Also on this episode of All Songs Considered: Wilco returns with a stronger effort; a concept record from Loxsly; Years, an ambient guitar experiment from a Do Make Say Think member; the dreamy pop of Starlight Mints; violinist and singer-songwriter Christina Courtin; and a highlight from the Dark Was the Night concert.