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Stephen Thompson Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. He appears frequently on All Songs Considered and NPR newsmagazines.
Washington, DC - May 03, 2016: Stephen Thompson CREDIT: Matt Roth
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Stephen Thompson

Thursday

Monday

Of Montreal: Tiny Desk Concert

Of Montreal performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Dec. 14, 2012. Christopher Parks/NPR hide caption

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Christopher Parks/NPR

Tiny Desk

Of Montreal: Tiny Desk Concert

Frontman Kevin Barnes has been working on quiet material, and decided to try it out in the intimate confines of the NPR Music offices.

Of Montreal: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 11:05
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Sunday

First Listen: Jim James, 'Regions Of Light And Sound Of God'

Jim James' Regions of Light and Sound of God comes out Feb. 5. Neil Krug/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Neil Krug/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Jim James, 'Regions Of Light And Sound Of God'

On his first full-length solo album, My Morning Jacket's singer makes the sound of a lost soul in search of something bigger than himself. James has always liked to let his voice echo into the void, but here, his attention seems to face inward instead of heavenward.

Jim James, 'Regions Of Light And Sound Of God'

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First Listen: Thao And The Get Down Stay Down, 'We The Common'

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down's new album, We the Common, comes out Feb. 5. Lauren Tabak/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Lauren Tabak/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Thao And The Get Down Stay Down, 'We The Common'

Quirky but cutting, playful but forceful, controlled but ragged, Thao Nguyen infuses her songs with electricity and mischievous boldness. Her third album is full of tense, clattering folk-rock.

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, 'We The Common'

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First Listen: Richard Thompson, 'Electric'

Richard Thompson's Electric comes out Feb. 5. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Richard Thompson, 'Electric'

The title of Thompson's 21st solo album promises a change of pace while doubling as a mission statement. And, sure enough, the record finds the great guitarist, singer and songwriter plugging in and indulging his rock 'n' roll side, complete with occasional solos that qualify as workouts.

Richard Thompson, 'Electric'

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Thursday

Sunday

First Listen: Buke And Gase, 'General Dome'

Buke and Gase's new album, General Dome, comes out Jan. 29. Grant Cornett/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Grant Cornett/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Buke And Gase, 'General Dome'

Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez maneuver their homemade instruments through songs that rumble and clamor and grind with unmistakable electricity. For the duo, strange instrumentation is merely a means to a raucous, hypnotic, alluring end.

Buke And Gase, 'General Dome'

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First Listen: Blaudzun, 'Heavy Flowers'

Blaudzun's U.S. debut, Heavy Flowers, comes out Jan. 29. IAMKAT/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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IAMKAT/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Blaudzun, 'Heavy Flowers'

Pretty and eccentric, ornate but never cluttered, Blaudzun's songs alternately boom and swoon, even when they bypass strings in favor of a warm, simple sound. Dutch singer-songwriter Johannes Sigmond, who records as Blaudzun, has a voice ideally suited for grandiosity.

Blaudzun, 'Heavy Flowers'

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First Listen: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 'II'

Unknown Mortal Orchestra's new album, II, comes out Feb. 5. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 'II'

The band's sound shape-shifts frequently through the worlds of brittle indie-pop, Nuggets-era retro psych-rock, vintage soul and something more alien. II traffics in, and thrives on, its air of strangeness and unknowability, but that makes its moments of shimmery warmth that much sweeter.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 'II'

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Wednesday

Monday

Black Prairie: Tiny Desk Concert

Black Prairie performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Nov. 9, 2012. Ryan Smith/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Smith/NPR

Tiny Desk

Black Prairie: Tiny Desk Concert

With three members of The Decemberists, the band lends a snappy, lilting quality to songs of alienation. Hear Black Prairie perform richly layered versions of songs from last year's A Tear in the Eye Is a Wound in the Heart.

Black Prairie: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 11:07
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Sunday

First Listen: Aaron Neville, 'My True Story'

Aaron Neville's My True Story comes out on Jan. 22. Sarah A. Friedman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sarah A. Friedman/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Aaron Neville, 'My True Story'

An album of doo-wop covers, My True Story is painstakingly engineered to transcend trends. It's not trying to make its source material sound contemporary so much as dislodge it from its time capsule and free it to drift across eras.

Aaron Neville, 'My True Story'

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First Listen: Widowspeak, 'Almanac'

Widowspeak's new album, Almanac, comes out Jan. 22. Andrew Smith/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Andrew Smith/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Widowspeak, 'Almanac'

Widowspeak is a fount of familiar sounds, from early-'90s shoegazer rock to twangily portentous Western soundtracks to the languidly soft pop of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. But the music possesses a dreamy pop sound of its own.

Widowspeak, 'Almanac'

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Thursday

Sunday

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'The Lone Bellow'

The Lone Bellow's self-titled debut comes out Jan. 22. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'The Lone Bellow'

The band's music has commercial cachet to spare, as the roots-pop rumble of Mumford & Sons mixes agreeably with the more emotionally resonant folk-rock belting of The Swell Season or The Civil Wars.

The Lone Bellow, 'The Lone Bellow'

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