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Music Reviews

Tyler Childers' 'Country Squire' Is Among The Best Country Albums Of 2019

Fresh Air

Blessed with a Kentucky croon and a gift for storytelling, Childers offers a slice of country life on his recent album, with songs about marriage, life on the road and the school bus he took as a kid.

Tyler Childers' 'Country Squire' Is Among The Best Country Albums Of 2019

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A Critic Returns To The Books, TV, Music And Movies He Didn't Get To In 2019

Merritt Wever and Toni Collette play two detectives investigating a series of sexual assaults in the Netflix show Unbelievable. Beth Dubber/Netflix hide caption

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Beth Dubber/Netflix

Pop Culture

A Critic Returns To The Books, TV, Music And Movies He Didn't Get To In 2019

Fresh Air

Few things haunt a critic more than loving something and not being able to share it. This year, Fresh Air critic John Powers circles back to Unbelievable, Atlantics, Where the Light Falls and more.

A Critic Returns To The Books, TV, Music And Movies He Didn't Get To In 2019

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Todd Marcus Tames The Raucous Bass Clarinet On 'Trio+'

Fresh Air

Marcus gets a clean, unfettered sound from both his band and his instrument on his new album. Trio+ is crisp, tight and varied — with more good melodies than we can dip into.

Todd Marcus Tames The Raucous Bass Clarinet On 'Trio+'

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Women Dominated 2019: Ken Tucker Picks His Top 10 Albums Of The Year

On her new album, Lana Del Rey (shown here in 2018) is at her most instantly compelling, fully committed to the messy alignments upon which her art is built. Darren Gerrish/BFC/Getty Images hide caption

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Women Dominated 2019: Ken Tucker Picks His Top 10 Albums Of The Year

Fresh Air

Lana Del Rey's Norman F****** Rockwell! topped Tucker's list of the best albums of the year, with Lizzo and Billie Eilish running a close second and third.

Women Dominated 2019: Ken Tucker Picks His Top 10 Albums Of The Year

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Hootie & The Blowfish Comeback Album Brings The Band Into The 21st Century

Fresh Air

Singer Darius Rucker and his band have released their first new record in more than a decade. Imperfect Circle is a well-made and frequently thoughtful album, enhanced by Rucker's warm, buttery tones.

Hootie & The Blowfish Comeback Album Brings The Band Into The 21st Century

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'Land of 1000 Dances' Chronicles The History Of Rampart Records Label

Rampart Records documented L.A.'s Eastside Sound during a fertile period of interracial collaboration from the 1960s through the early 1990s. Now, some of that music has been reissued.

'Land of 1000 Dances' Chronicles The History Of Rampart Records Label

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Powerful Lungs And Long-Spun Lines: Cecilia Bartoli Conjures Farinelli

Cecilia Bartoli explores ideas of gender fluidity on her new album, devoted to music written for the great castrato singer Farinelli. Bartoli says that, like him, she's always transforming herself on stage. Uli Weber/Decca hide caption

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Uli Weber/Decca

Deceptive Cadence

Powerful Lungs And Long-Spun Lines: Cecilia Bartoli Conjures Farinelli

On her new album, the restless Italian opera star sings virtuoso music composed for Farinelli, the greatest of the baroque castratos.

Powerful Lungs And Long-Spun Lines: Cecilia Bartoli Conjures Farinelli

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Beck's 'Hyperspace' Is A Technicolor Breakup Album (With Beats By Pharrell)

Beck's 14th album, Hyperspace, is out Nov. 22. Mikai Karl/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Beck's 'Hyperspace' Is A Technicolor Breakup Album (With Beats By Pharrell)

Fans have come to know two sides of Beck — the moody balladeer and the peppy funk surrealist. His latest is a dizzying hybrid of the two, born from the emotional havoc of a midlife divorce.

Hear More: Beck On Weekend Edition

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Erroll Garner's 'A Night At The Movies' Reissue Radiates Joy

Fresh Air

The late jazz pianist spins out new and old melodies and cracks little musical jokes on a new series of reissues representing albums he recorded for various labels between '59 and '73.

Erroll Garner's 'A Night At The Movies' Reissue Radiates Joy

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DaBaby's Humor-Infused 'Kirk' Is Among 2019's Best Hip-Hop Albums

Fresh Air

Few rappers have been as entertaining to listen to this year as DaBaby. In the often hyper-masculine context of hip-hop, his new album proves he's not afraid to be goofy.

DaBaby's Humor-Infused 'Kirk' Is Among 2019's Best Hip-Hop Albums

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Josh Homme's Rotating Supergroup The Desert Sessions Returns For 'Vols. 11 & 12'

Josh Homme's The Desert Sessions brought together an all-star line-up of rock legends to collaborate. Andreas Neumann/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Josh Homme's Rotating Supergroup The Desert Sessions Returns For 'Vols. 11 & 12'

Musicians on the Queens of the Stone Age frontman-led album include ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Primus' Les Claypool.

Josh Homme's Rotating Supergroup The Desert Sessions Returns For 'Vols. 11 & 12'

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Reissue Captures Nat King Cole Before He Broke Through To Mainstream

Fresh Air

Early in his career, Cole formed a trio with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince. Hittin' the Ramp, a new 7-CD roundup, showcases the band that help catapult Cole to stardom.

Reissue Captures Nat King Cole Before He Broke Through To Mainstream

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Gang Starr's 'One Of The Best Yet' Is A Welcome Throwback To An Earlier Rap Era

Hip hop duo Gang Starr broke up in the mid-2000s and in 2010, MC Guru died. So fans were surprised by the announcement of a new, posthumous album called One Of The Best Yet.

Gang Starr's 'One Of The Best Yet' Is A Welcome Throwback To An Earlier Rap Era

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