New Music Friday: The best releases out Sept. 22

The Singapore-born artist and producer yeule's new album, softscars, makes NPR Music's shortlist of the best albums out this week. Neil Krug/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Neil Krug/Courtesy of the artist

The music of Singaporean artist and producer yeule often sounds like it was made from turn-of-the-century home electronics — dial up modems, simple keypad tones or a broken VCR. But, in deceptively disarming moments, it's also warm and beautifully organic, just before erupting in thunderous sheets of guitar noise and primal screaming. As we discuss on this week's show, their latest album softscars, is a deeply arresting journey through grief, confusion and yeule's attempts to feel human again in a world that can often be cold and isolating.

We've also got Doja Cat's raw and ragged Scarlet, the wonderfully warped R&B of Mykki Blanco, Kylie Minogue's dancefloor-utopian Tension, an incredible headphones album from the English electronic artist Loraine James and more. Reporter and critic Cyrena Touros joins WXPN's John Morrison, writer and critic LaTesha Harris and host Robin Hilton as they share their picks for the best releases out on Sept. 22.

Featured Albums:

1. Doja Cat — Scarlet
   Featured Songs: "Demons," "97," "Go Off," "Often"
2. Mykki Blanco — Postcards From Italia EP
   Featured Songs: "Tequila Casino Royale," "Holidays In The Sun," "Love Fell Down Around Me," "Magic On My Back"
3. yeule — softscars
   Featured Songs: "4ui12," "software update," "x w x," "dazies," "fish in the pool"
4. Kylie Minogue — Tension
   Featured Songs: "You Still Get Me High," "Padam Padam," "10 Out Of 10," "Story"
5. Loraine James — Gentle Confrontation
   Featured Songs: "Let U Go (ft. keiyaA)," "Gentle Confrontation," "Glitch the System (Glitch Bitch 2)," "I DM U," "One Way Ticket To the Midwest (Emo) [feat. Corey Mastrangelo]"

Lightning Round:

• Doechii — "Pacer" (single)
• DUFFY x UHLMANN — Doubles
• Moemaw Naedon and C. Scott — Yinztroducing 
• The National — Laugh Track

Other notable releases for Sept. 22:

• Bakar — Halo
• Bibio — Sunbursting EP
• The Breeders — Last Spash (30th Anniversary Edition)
• Brent Cobb — Southern Star
• CHAI — CHAI
• Chappell Roan — The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
• Devendra Banhart — Flying Wig
• Grails — Anches En Maat
• Grrrl Gang — Spunky!
• Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids — Afro Futuristic Dreams
• KEN mode — VOID
• Lydia Loveless — Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again
• Pkew Pkew Pkew — Siiick Days
• Roosevelt — Embrace
• Teenage Fanclub — Nothing Lasts Forever