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On 'High,' Caitlyn Smith elevates her sound

Caitlyn Smith's new album, High, is out April 8. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

On 'High,' Caitlyn Smith elevates her sound

April 6, 2022 • Smith has written hits for Miley Cyrus and Garth Brooks, and was set to level up after two records of her own. Then, the pandemic hit. Now, she has a fresh perspective on her new, self-produced album.

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Comic book artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Murder Falcon, Extremity) illustrates the music of Viking's Choice. Horns up! Daniel Warren Johnson hide caption

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Daniel Warren Johnson

Viking's Choice

This week: Otoboke Beaver's bubbly avant-punk, DJ Koze's fizzy Peggy Gou remix, Negative Plane's sidewinding black metal, RLYR's triumph rock, Glenn Jones' gentle fingerstyle guitar.

Stream the month's best new jazz, picked by Jazz Night in America

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Jazz Night in America: On the List

Our favorite jazz releases of the month – from traditional tunes to avant-garde adventures to electronic experiments – picked by the Jazz Night in America staff.

Disco Beethoven Chris Sharron hide caption

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Chris Sharron

This week, new releases: from the exquisite electroacoustic sounds of Jóhann Jóhannsson's Drone Mass and the band Disassembler, to folksongs by Florence Price, a George Walker sonata and Terry Riley's dreams.

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The Alt.Latino Playlist

From your parents' favorite boleros reimagined to cumbia-punk, trapchata and the most PG-13 pop, Alt.Latino's got you you covered.

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The Grammys make a clear statement: Sometimes feeling good is good enough

Jon Batiste (center) performs at the 64th annual Grammy Awards on April 3, 2022. Batiste was nominated in 11 categories and took home five prizes, including album of the year. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images hide caption

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Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The Grammys make a clear statement: Sometimes feeling good is good enough

The show, despite a delay caused by the pandemic and brief moments of seriousness, was mostly a highly professional, relentlessly energetic showcase for the pleasure of live music. Plus a few awards.

NPR's favorite music of March, from sledgehammer punk to a radiant cantata

Clockwise, from top left: Soul Glo, Kilo Kish, rusowsky, Jenny Hval, Jóhann Jóhannsson. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

NPR's favorite music of March, from sledgehammer punk to a radiant cantata

March's best new music includes Kilo Kish's pop treatise on this game called life, Jenny Hval's philosophy on art-making, Soul Glo's punk rage and more.

Maren Morris and Molly Tuttle tell their origin stories anew

On their new albums, Morris and Tuttle are both sharpening their artistic identities while reinventing what staying invested in their genres of origin can look and sound like. Samantha Muljat/Harper Smith/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Samantha Muljat/Harper Smith/Courtesy of the artist