Music Reviews : NPR

How Do You Follow A Masterpiece? Marvin Gaye Tried With 'You're The Man'

Marvin Gaye (and admirers) in London in the mid-1970s. John Minihan/Getty Images hide caption

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John Minihan/Getty Images

How Do You Follow A Masterpiece? Marvin Gaye Tried With 'You're The Man'

March 29, 2019 • In 1972, Gaye began work on a follow-up to his classic album, What's Going On. He laid down over a dozen new tracks, but the project stalled and most of the songs were not released until now.

How Do You Follow A Masterpiece? Marvin Gaye Tried With 'You're The Man'

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Weyes Blood's 'Titanic Rising' Is Consumed By The Celestial

Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising comes out April 5 via Sub Pop. Brett Stanley/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Brett Stanley/Courtesy of the artist

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Weyes Blood's 'Titanic Rising' Is Consumed By The Celestial

March 28, 2019 • A torch-song singer whose indie roots only add to the vastness of her voice and feeling, Natalie Mering keeps her head in the clouds.

Every Note Rings Clear On Molly Tuttle's 'When You're Ready'

Molly Tuttle's When You're Ready comes out April 5 via Compass Records. Alysse Gafkjen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alysse Gafkjen/Courtesy of the artist

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Every Note Rings Clear On Molly Tuttle's 'When You're Ready'

March 28, 2019 • The singer, songwriter and virtuoso guitarist shapes tuneful introspection around her remarkable flatpicking abilities on the guitar.

'Stronger Than The Truth' Circles Back To Reba McEntire's Own Strengths

Reba McEntire's Stronger Than the Truth is out April 5 on Big Machine Records. Cliff Lipson/Courtesy of CBS hide caption

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Cliff Lipson/Courtesy of CBS

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'Stronger Than The Truth' Circles Back To Reba McEntire's Own Strengths

March 28, 2019 • The country legend's new album returns to some of her commercial roots, telling stories of domestic betrayal in grand yet thoroughly grounded fashion.

On 'Brutalism,' Melancholy Drives The Drums' Dance Floor

The Drums' Brutalism is out April 5 on Anti. Nicholas Moore/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Nicholas Moore/Courtesy of the artist

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On 'Brutalism,' Melancholy Drives The Drums' Dance Floor

March 28, 2019 • With Brutalism, The Drums' sound feels bigger than it's ever been — which is ironic, given than the band itself has never been smaller.

Robert Forster Gets Playful — And Intense — On 'Inferno'

Fresh Air

March 25, 2019 • The former co-leader of the Aussie band The Go-Betweens reflects on success and failure on his latest solo album. Critic Ken Tucker says Inferno is proof of Forster's credentials as a pop musician.

Robert Forster Gets Playful — And Intense — On 'Inferno'

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Carsie Blanton Is Delightfully Surprising On 'Buck Up'

Fresh Air

March 21, 2019 • Blanton makes folk-based music that prizes wordplay and has an antic sense of humor. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the personal is always political on her new album.

Carsie Blanton Is Delightfully Surprising On 'Buck Up'

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Fennesz Refines His Alluring Digital Symphonies On The Minimalist 'Agora'

Fennesz's Agora is due out March 29 on Touch. Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images hide caption

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Fennesz Refines His Alluring Digital Symphonies On The Minimalist 'Agora'

March 21, 2019 • The Austrian electronic-music pioneer uses his laptop to splice, sample and otherwise subvert the sound of his guitar and field recordings, in the process forming crackling electric symphonies.

Mdou Moctar's 'Ilana' Is Perhaps The Most Fiery Psych-Rock Of The 21st Century

Mdou Moctar's Ilana (The Creator) comes out March 29 via Sahel Sounds. Picasa/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Picasa/Courtesy of the artist

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Mdou Moctar's 'Ilana' Is Perhaps The Most Fiery Psych-Rock Of The 21st Century

March 21, 2019 • The Tuareg musician may have just made the most insane psychedelic guitar album of the 21st century.

Grupo Fantasma Masterfully Adapts Funk On Its Vision Of 'American Music Vol. VII'

Grupo Fantasma's American Music Vol. VII comes out March 29 via Blue Corn Music. Sarah Bork Hamilton/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sarah Bork Hamilton/Courtesy of the artist

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Grupo Fantasma Masterfully Adapts Funk On Its Vision Of 'American Music Vol. VII'

March 21, 2019 • The nine-piece Latin funk band's new album is a perfectly executed bi-cultural statement, made for the millions of people who love mariachi as much as James Brown.

Quelle Chris Warps Our National Fascination With 'Guns'

Quelle Chris' Guns comes out March 29 via Mello Music Group. Vashni Korin/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Vashni Korin/Courtesy of the artist

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Quelle Chris Warps Our National Fascination With 'Guns'

March 21, 2019 • With both eyes trained on the absurd, the underrated veteran rapper parses ideologies that drive so much animus around the world.

Salif Keita Gives His Blessing And Takes A Final Bow With 'Un Autre Blanc'

Salif Keita Thomas Dorn/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Thomas Dorn/Courtesy of the artist

Salif Keita Gives His Blessing And Takes A Final Bow With 'Un Autre Blanc'

March 20, 2019 • Salif Keita is among the best African singers of the past century. But, after some 25 albums over a 40-year career, Keita says he's retiring from recording.

Salif Keita Gives His Blessing And Takes A Final Bow With 'Un Autre Blanc'

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Pianists Born 100 Years Ago Prove: There's No One Way To Play Jazz

Fresh Air

March 20, 2019 • Both Lennie Tristano and Herbie Nichols were active on the New York scene in the 1950s. Though worlds apart stylistically, their music demonstrates how the piano accommodates myriad personalities.

Pianists Born 100 Years Ago Prove: There's No One Way To Play Jazz

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The Cuban band Cimafunk performs onstage for NPR's Alt.Latino showcase during SXSW 2019. Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW hide caption

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Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW

Alt.Latino

Alt.Latino's SXSW 2019 Wrap-Up

March 19, 2019 • The five nights of discoveries at SXSW 2019 served as a reminder that music can heal, challenge and change the world we live in.

Alt.Latino's SXSW 2019 Wrap-Up

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Pianist David Deveau Offers An Intimate Take On Works By Mozart And Beethoven

Fresh Air

March 18, 2019 • Deveau and the Borromeo String Quartet perform piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven as chamber music on a new recording. Lloyd Schwartz says the album is "full of feeling and discovery."

Pianist David Deveau Offers An Intimate Take On Works By Mozart And Beethoven

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