Review
All Songs Considered
Review
All Songs Considered
10 Brand-New Albums We're Listening To This Weekend
New albums from Ibeyi, Shania Twain and the free jazz ensemble Irreversible Entanglements are out today. David Uzochukwu; Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott; Mike Maguire/Courtesy of the artists hide caption
New albums from Ibeyi, Shania Twain and the free jazz ensemble Irreversible Entanglements are out today.
David Uzochukwu; Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott; Mike Maguire/Courtesy of the artistsWelcome to fall, where everything is pumpkin spice, scarves are a necessary fashion accessory and, oh, all of your favorite artists who didn't release albums in the spring suddenly make a mad dash for your ears.
We're here to help — not with the pumpkin spice, that's definitely on your own terms — but with the brand-new albums that we, the NPR Music staff, are listening to this weekend.
There's a little bit of everything, from hyperactive electronic cartoon music and two former Disney stars to a beloved country singer's return. And don't forget that there are also new albums from Torres (Three Futures) and Protomartyr (Relatives In Descent), who both offer track-by-track commentary for us today.
10 Albums We're Listening To This Weekend
Ibeyi, 'Ash'
The first time I heard Ibeyi, it was midnight, and I sat passenger seat as my friend drove us aimlessly around. Over the speakers, in the confined space with the dark road ahead, Ibeyi's percussion-rich beats and laced harmonies felt wholly tangible and, on another level, spiritual, pulsing through the body. If you find yourself in a car this weekend, put on their latest, Ash, crank up the volume, and what you hear might make you want to dance, cry and maybe, pray to something greater. -- Steffanee Wang
Worriers, 'Survival Pop'
We're not always our most honest with ourselves, couching failure with maybes and half-truths, dunked in cheap beer and self-pity. Lauren Denitzio's no different than the rest of us, but still clings to and reaches for the best version of theirself. Survival Pop doesn't stray too far from the anthemic and impactful punk of Worriers' excellent debut, but does ring louder and more self-assured, with biting hooks and the understanding that "Nothing ever fits like it's supposed to / Constant reminders, what the world didn't give you." -- Lars Gotrich
Miley Cyrus, 'Younger Now'
toggle captionMiley Cyrus, 'Younger Now' hide caption
"I'm not afraid of who I used to be," Miley Cyrus sings in the title track to Younger Now, a reflective and singer-songwriterly career reinvention that suggests a return to roots. It's a surprising reset for a pop star who'd once seemed intent on one-upping her own provocations, but it helps that she remains a gifted, charismatic and approachable singer. Whether or not this represents Cyrus' most "authentic" sound — a pointless debate Younger Now is sure to perpetuate — these 11 low-key but catchy songs feel comfortably lived-in, whether she's mourning a broken relationship in "She's Not Him" or welcoming Dolly Parton to the party in "Rainbowland." — Stephen Thompson
Iglooghost, 'Neō Wax Bloom'
"Yeah dawg it's pretty grueling," Iglooghost told Will Schube of his process, in an interview published yesterday. In it, the producer is upfront about the sound of his new record, Neō Wax Bloom, a playful-but-aggressive descent into madness that references reggaeton, drum and bass, footwork and the mood of cute-but-violent Japanese animation to create a somehow cohesive, if not entirely coherent, debut. It's a weird record, for a weird mood. — Andrew Flanagan
Ben Frost, 'The Centre Cannot Hold'
You know things are cheery in Ben Frost's world when he quotes Yeats for the title of his new album, The Center Cannot Hold, and songs like "Entropy in Blue" and "All That You Love Will Be Eviscerated" offer ear-piercing high frequencies and earth-shaking tremblors strong enough to rattle your pancreas. The audacious electronic musician – with help from producer Steve Albini and mercurial classical whiz Nico Muhly – has assembled a bleak, yet gorgeous, cycle of 10 short works, symphonic in scope and detail. "Healthcare" shimmers nervously with a taste of old school Vangelis, while the delicate twinkling of "A Single Hellfire Missile Costs $100,000 USD" detonates directly into "Eurydice's Heel." And you know what happened to her. -- Tom Huizenga
Demi Lovato, 'Tell Me You Love Me'
"I think I've lived a lot of life," Demi Lovato tells NPR's Ailsa Chang in a conversation about her new album, Tell Me You Love Me. Her openness about her struggles with mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction — alongside more typical mid-20s heartache — are written into the album's soulful mid-tempo tracks like the stunning "You Don't Do It For Me Anymore." Elsewhere, the Disney-actress-turned-pop-star brings her enormously powerful voice to soaring singalong choruses on tracks about being young and looking for love. If you need one more album of sparkly crowd-pleasers to close out roséwave season, make it this one. -- Marissa Lorusso
The World is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, 'Always Foreign'
In Always Foreign, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die succeeds at blending its emo style with modern, indie elements. Fans of its first two albums will enjoy songs like "The Future" and "Dillon and Her Son," which have the upbeat rhythm and electric guitar melodies one might expect. But the album isn't just for punk fans; slower, more understated songs like "Gram" — which features a lovely set of horns in its final minute — and "For Robin" –- a thoughtful, acoustic ode to past friendships -– will draw in new listeners. -- Katie Anastas
Shania Twain, 'Now'
Two decades ago, Shania Twain was coronated queen of crossover country with the release of Come On Over; today Twain returns for her kingdom with Now, her first record in 15 years. Though much has changed in the time she's been away, Now finds Twain in familiar territory, reigning over her dominion between genres, clad in leopard-print once more. Tracks like "Poor Me," featuring an electro-pop build, and "We Got Something They Don't," a rhythmic romp, feel firmly situated in the present, while "Swingin' With My Eyes Closed," with its swelling, singalong chorus, is textbook Twain. -- Lyndsey McKenna
Irreversible Entanglements, 'Irreversible Entanglements'
In July, saxophonist Keir Neuringer and trumpeter Aquiles Navarro walked through the center of a Smithsonian museum in procession, a somber censer cleansing the air towards the gathered masses. The poet Camae Ayewa's (a.k.a. Moor Mother) words moved into and against bassist Luke Stewart and drummer Tcheser Holmes' funk-locked freak grooves as if to summon the spirits of Phife and Amiri Baraka. Irreversible Entanglements' self-titled debut wakes the frozen body to move, the dead mind to react, the mute mouth to scream resistance. -- Lars Gotrich
Wolf Alice, 'Visions Of A Life'
Wolf Alice's gripping sophomore LP Visions Of A Life polishes the ease at which the North London band thrashes between mounting chaos and glistening ecstasy — often within the same song. Whether it be the Wynona Ryder-inspired strut of "Beautifully Unconventional" or the stratospheric confessional "Sky Musings," Wolf Alice manages to propel charm through anxiety with sticky hooks and sharp teeth. — Salvatore Maicki
