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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

Monday

Hospitality: Tiny Desk Concert
Emily Bogle/NPR

Tiny Desk

Hospitality: Tiny Desk Concert

The New York band Hospitality makes music that's unmistakably friendly and welcoming — it's hug-and-a-handshake pop that lives up to its name by jangling and chiming comfortably. The group doesn't overwhelm so much as it wears listeners down with a subtle charm offensive.

Hospitality: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 10:04
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Sunday

First Listen: Sara Watkins, 'Sun Midnight Sun'

Sara Watkins' new album, Sun Midnight Sun, comes out May 8. Aaron Redfield/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Aaron Redfield/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Sara Watkins, 'Sun Midnight Sun'

As accessible and comfortably sweet-voiced as Watkins' music is, the former Nickel Creek member is smart enough to spike it with surprises — the swooping strings in "The Ward Accord" or the churning, slow-burning electric-guitar grind in "When It Pleases You."

Hear 'Sun Midnight Sun' In Its Entirety

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Thursday

Sunday

First Listen: Santigold, 'Master Of My Make-Believe'

Santigold's new album, Master Of My Make-Believe, comes out May 1. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Santigold, 'Master Of My Make-Believe'

The album, out May 1, has its playfully bouncy moments, but its overall tone is one of severity, even solemnity. It's as if pop music caught up with Santigold's sound, and she tacked left to avoid the glare.

Hear 'Master Of My Make-Believe' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Damon Albarn, 'Dr Dee'

Damon Albarn's new album, Dr Dee, comes out May 8. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Damon Albarn, 'Dr Dee'

The Blur and Gorillaz singer has recorded a willfully obscure folk opera, full of baroque flourishes, spoken asides, unsettling rhythm tracks, guest vocalists and hairpin turns that lead down unpredictable cul de sacs.

Hear 'Dr Dee' In Its Entirety

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Monday

Soweto Gospel Choir: Tiny Desk Concert

The Soweto Gospel Choir performs a Tiny Desk Concert on February 14, 2011. Kainaz Amaria/NPR hide caption

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Kainaz Amaria/NPR

Tiny Desk

Soweto Gospel Choir: Tiny Desk Concert

Singing in a number of South African languages, as well as English, Soweto Gospel Choir fuses the praise music of many Christian cultures, with nods to traditional African songs of celebration — complete with occasional clicks and bird songs.

Soweto Gospel Choir: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 13:20
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Sunday

First Listen: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'

Norah Jones' new album, Little Broken Hearts, comes out May 1. Frank Ockenfels/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Frank Ockenfels/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Norah Jones, 'Little Broken Hearts'

Ten years after her debut, Jones is ideally positioned for the subtle sonic makeover she undergoes on Little Broken Hearts, which she recorded with producer Danger Mouse.

Hear 'Little Broken Hearts' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Sarah Jaffe, 'The Body Wins'

Sarah Jaffe's new album, The Body Wins, comes out April 24. Dylan Hollingsworth/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Dylan Hollingsworth/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Sarah Jaffe, 'The Body Wins'

Produced by John Congleton, The Body Wins busies up Jaffe's sound to a remarkable degree — and, more importantly, retains her cool ability to shape-shift from warm vulnerability to icy distance and back again as it suits her.

Hear 'The Body Wins' In Its Entirety

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Wednesday

The Magnetic Fields, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012
Katie Hayes Luke for NPR

Live in Concert

The Magnetic Fields, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012

Those seeking silence at SXSW usually have to reserve time in a sensory-deprivation chamber or a hotel bathroom, but The Magnetic Fields' hold on a crowd is powerful enough to yield that rare sound.

Hear Highlights From Magnetic Fields In Concert

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Fiona Apple, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012
Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Live in Concert

Fiona Apple, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012

The Fiona Apple on stage at Stubb's for NPR Music's showcase at the SXSW music festival was more commanding than enigmatic, conveying vulnerability in her vibrato but otherwise full of confidence.

Fiona Apple, Live In Concert: SXSW 2012

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Sunday

First Listen: Spiritualized, 'Sweet Heart Sweet Light'
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Spiritualized, 'Sweet Heart Sweet Light'

Spiritualized's seventh album reaches reverently for something bigger than itself — something divine, of course, but also shot through with the gut-level, ground-level hope inherent in humankind.

Listen To 'Sweet Heart Sweet Light' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Horse Feathers, 'Cynic's New Year'

Horse Feathers' new album, Cynic's New Year, comes out April 17. John Clark/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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John Clark/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Horse Feathers, 'Cynic's New Year'

On the band's fourth album, the tension between gorgeousness and grief gets a single line to sum it all up: "Beauty and loss, they are one and the same."

Hear 'Cynic's New Year' In Its Entirety

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Thursday

Kathleen Edwards: Tiny Desk Concert
Doriane Raiman/NPR

Tiny Desk

Kathleen Edwards: Tiny Desk Concert

Edwards isn't a flashy singer-songwriter, but her music sticks: Easygoing and accessible, it burrows in deep and then stays put. In the NPR Music offices, she sings four sweet, warm, relatable songs that soothe as they nourish.

Kathleen Edwards: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 15:10
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Wednesday

Sunday

First Listen: Alabama Shakes, 'Boys And Girls'

Alabama Shakes' first full-length album, Boys and Girls, comes out April 10. Autumn de Wilde/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Autumn de Wilde/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Alabama Shakes, 'Boys And Girls'

The band's blues-rock errs on the side of saving its breath and making big songs on a small scale. On Boys and Girls, out April 10, Alabama Shakes' members find a way to fuse the impeccable professionalism of soul veterans to the youthful, raging fire they set on stage.

Listen To 'Boys And Girls' In Its Entirety

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