Accessibility links
Music Reviews Music reviews of new albums in pop, rock, folk, jazz, blues, classical, world, and hip-hop.

Music Reviews

Finding 'Employment' With the Kaiser Chiefs

A new band from England is getting the kind of attention that signals the start of something big. The group is called the Kaiser Chiefs, and reviewer Meredith Ochs takes a listen to an impressive first record called Employment.

Finding 'Employment' With the Kaiser Chiefs

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4660772/4660773" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Rare Billie Holiday Music and Footage

Fresh Air

Billie Holiday: The Ultimate Collection, is a two CD/one DVD collection of Holiday performances. Included along with many of the singer's classic songs are some rarely seen appearances of Holiday on 1950s television.

Rare Billie Holiday Music and Footage

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4658066/4658067" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music

Charlie Poole's Early Banjo Country

Fresh Air

Rock historian Ed Ward reviews a three-disc release of a Charlie Poole recording from the 1930s. The record, You Ain't Talkin' To Me, is from the Columbia Legacy label. Poole was a banjo-playing pioneer of country music.

Charlie Poole's Early Banjo Country

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4653453/4653454" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music

'Greatest White Liar,' from Nic Armstrong's Thieves

Fresh Air

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the debut album by British 25-year-old Nic Armstrong and his band, the Thieves. The recording, The Greatest White Liar, has garnered attention with its mix of British rock and American blues.

'Greatest White Liar,' from Nic Armstrong's Thieves

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4647951/4647952" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Doves: 'Some Cities'

Day to Day music critic Christian Bordal reviews Some Cities, the latest recording from the rock trio Doves, who follow in the melancholy tradition of fellow Manchester bands such as Joy Division (later New Order) and the Smiths.

Doves: 'Some Cities'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4646511/4646512" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

M.I.A.: Rapper and Daughter of Revolution

The daughter of a Tamil revolutionary, Sri Lankan M.I.A. is now a rap sensation in England. The 28-year-old is known as much for her music as her life story. She combines the rhythms of global cultures with lyrics that some say incite revolution. Critic Oliver Wang reviews her CD Arular.

M.I.A.: Rapper and Daughter of Revolution

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4635471/4635472" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Arts & Life

Colombian Rocker Andrea Echeverri's Solo Debut

As the frontwoman for the fiercely independent Colombian rock band Aterciopilados, Andrea Echeverri has spent a decade as a Madonna-like agent of change, expanding the possibilities for women in Latin music. She now continues that work away from the band with her self-titled solo debut, which was inspired by the birth of her daughter Milagros. Tom Moon has a review.

Colombian Rocker Andrea Echeverri's Solo Debut

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4619017/4619018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Arts & Life

Andrea Echeverri's Solo Rock en Español

Frequent Day to Day commentator Gustavo Arellano reviews the self-titled debut album of Colombian singer Andrea Echeverri. For the past decade, she's been one-half of the popular rock band Aterciopelados. Her first solo CD extolls the joys of being a mother, featuring lush and sometimes lusty songs of romance and sweet melancholy.

Andrea Echeverri's Solo Rock en Español

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4605104/4605105" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music

Big Blast from the Past: Rock and Roll Trio

Fresh Air

Music historian Ed Ward remembers the Rock and Roll Trio, from the early 1950s made up of brothers Johnny and Dorsey Burnette and electric guitarist Paul Burlison. Their recordings have been collected on the Hip-O Select label.

Big Blast from the Past: Rock and Roll Trio

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/4580766/4587218" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">