New Music Friday: The Top 8 Albums Out On July 17
Blu & Exile. Their new project, Miles: From An Interlude Called Life, is on our shortlist of the best albums out on July 17. Zack Mack/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
It's been more than 14 years since The Dixie Chicks released their previous album, the multi-platinum Taking the Long Way. Now the band is finally back with a follow-up and a name change, dropping "Dixie" amid the national reckoning around racial injustice that's been unfolding this spring and summer. We kick off this week's show with Gaslighter from The Chicks and try to unpack the group's new sound, vision and place in country music. Also, on the program: a transformative album from singer Lianne La Havas, the old-school hip-hop of Blu & Exile, existential rock from Protomartyr, pop singer Ellie Goulding and more. NPR's Suraya Mohamed, Radio Milwaukee's Tarik Moody, XPN's Culture Cypher Radio host John Morrison, and NPR's Ann Powers and Stephen Thompson join host Robin Hilton to share their picks for the best albums out on July 17.
Featured Albums:
- The Chicks — Gaslighter
Featured Song: "Sleep at Night" - Lianne La Havas — Lianne La Havas
Featured Song: "Seven Times" - Blu & Exile — Miles: From an Interlude Called Life
Featured Song: "True and Livin'" - JARV IS — Beyond the Pale
Featured Song: "Sometimes I Am Pharaoh" - Protomartyr — Ultimate Success Today
Featured Song: "Processed by the Boys" - Ellie Goulding — Brightest Blue
Featured Song: "How Deep is Too Deep?" - Zara McFarlane — Songs of An Unknown Tongue
Featured Song: "State of Mind" - KLLO — Maybe We Could
Featured Song: "Still Here"
Other notable released for July 17: Alice Ivy — Don't Sleep; Bing & Ruth — Species; Christian Sands — Be Water; Crickets — Crickets; David Ramirez — My Love Is A Hurricane; Dehd — Flower of Devotion; Illuminati Hotties — Free IH: This is Not the One You've Been Waiting For; Laraaji — Sun Piano; Laura Cortese and the Dance Cards — Bitter Better; Nicolas Jaar — Telas; S.G. Goodman — Old Time Feeling.