Music Reviews : NPR

The 1975 Has A Message For Millennials: 'Give Yourself A Try'

The 1975's new album, A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, will be out in October. Jack Caldwell/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jack Caldwell/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

The 1975 Has A Message For Millennials: 'Give Yourself A Try'

May 31, 2018 • The quippy first single from A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, out in October, is for anyone flailing out there in the "adulting" era of your 20s.

Wild Moccasins' Dreamy 'Longtime Listener' Measures The Distance Between Lovers

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All Songs Considered

Wild Moccasins' Dreamy 'Longtime Listener' Measures The Distance Between Lovers

May 31, 2018 • This is the kind of pop song made for crying on the dance floor, tears smeared into glittery eye shadow.

Angelique Kidjo Gives New Life To Talking Heads' 'Remain In Light'

Angelique Kidjo's Remain in Light comes out June 8. Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Angelique Kidjo Gives New Life To Talking Heads' 'Remain In Light'

May 31, 2018 • Talking Heads' classic Afrobeat-inspired album gets the cover treatment by the Beninese star.

Erin Rae's Tender 'Putting On Airs' Is For The Space Between

Erin Rae's Putting On Airs comes out June 8. Marcus Maddox/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Marcus Maddox/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Erin Rae's Tender 'Putting On Airs' Is For The Space Between

May 31, 2018 • Putting on Airs asks questions about intimacy, solitude and courage. The answers are sometimes sad, but beautiful.

River Whyless' 'Kindness, A Rebel' Examines The American Experiment

River Whyless' Kindness, A Rebel comes out June 8. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

River Whyless' 'Kindness, A Rebel' Examines The American Experiment

May 31, 2018 • The folk-rock band's ambitious new album confront tribalism, fear, anger and violence.

Kadhja Bonet's 'Childqueen' Tucks Genius Into Idiosyncratic Corners

Kadhja Bonet's Childqueen comes out out June 8. Bella Lieberberg/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Bella Lieberberg/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Kadhja Bonet's 'Childqueen' Tucks Genius Into Idiosyncratic Corners

May 31, 2018 • The classically trained Bonet plays nearly every instrument on this shapeshifting R&B marvel.

On YOB's 'Our Raw Heart,' The Lightness Is Devastating

YOB's Our Raw Heart comes out June 8. Jimmy Hubbard/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jimmy Hubbard/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

On YOB's 'Our Raw Heart,' The Lightness Is Devastating

May 31, 2018 • After a near-death experience, the doom metal trio's sprawling gravity and thunderous majesty takes an introspective turn.

Emotion Is The Engine That Drives Sugarland's 'Bigger'

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

Fresh Air

May 30, 2018 • Irabagon brings an infectious sense of fun to music-making, even when the playing is dead serious — as is the case on his "mildly subversive" new album.

Saxophonist Jon Irabagon Plays With Heart On 'Dr. Quixotic's Traveling Exotics'

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Tsembla's 'Penumbra' Illuminates The Edges Of Shadows

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Laurent Orseau/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Tsembla's 'Penumbra' Illuminates The Edges Of Shadows

May 24, 2018 • Finnish musician Marja Ahti combines her own Japanese field recordings with whistling synths and cut-up electronics for some music most tranquil.

Neko Case's 'Hell-On' Conjures A Constellation Of Emotions

Neko Case's Hell-On comes out June 1. Emily Shur/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Emily Shur/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Neko Case's 'Hell-On' Conjures A Constellation Of Emotions

May 24, 2018 • A quarter-century into Case's career, her words still feel intensely personal and utterly oblique, as if she's whispering her darkest secrets in Sanskrit.

Natalie Prass Lays A Blueprint For 'The Future And The Past'

Natalie Prass' The Future and The Past comes out June 1. Tonje Thilesen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Tonje Thilesen/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Natalie Prass Lays A Blueprint For 'The Future And The Past'

May 24, 2018 • On her sophomore release The Future and The Past, the heartbreak of Prass' 2015 self-titled debut is still there in spades, but the narrative — as well as the music itself — is somehow grander yet.

Liz Vice's 'Save Me' Savors Beauty And The Divine

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Weeno/Courtesy of the artist

Fresh Air

May 22, 2018 • Barnett sings about fame, feminism and self-doubt on her new album, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Ken Tucker says the songs are like "inner monologues, shaped and sharpened for public consumption."

Courtney Barnett's New Album Blends Forceful Guitar With Lyrical Complexity

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Alt.Latino

Monsieur Periné Returns With 'Encanto Tropical'

May 22, 2018 • The Colombian band stretches their boundaries across the decades, expanding on its swing and jazz-indebted sound with a pop sensibility.

Encanto Tropical

4:32

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