First Listen : NPR

First Listen: John Carpenter, 'Lost Themes'

John Carpenter's new album, Lost Themes, comes out Feb. 3. Kyle Cassidy/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Kyle Cassidy/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: John Carpenter, 'Lost Themes'

January 25, 2015 • The film director is known for composing and performing his own soundtracks. On Lost Themes, he reaches beyond the movies to craft a collection of understandably cinematic-sounding music.

Lost Themes

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Title Fight's new album, Hyperview, comes out Feb. 3. Susy Cereijo/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Susy Cereijo/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Title Fight, 'Hyperview'

January 25, 2015 • On its third album, the band doesn't quite shed its punk roots — at least not entirely — but it does sound like something out of a dream spent underwater.

Hyperview

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Asaf Avidan, 'Gold Shadow'

Asaf Avidan's new album, Gold Shadow, comes out Feb. 3. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Asaf Avidan, 'Gold Shadow'

January 25, 2015 • The Israeli singer has a compelling, unusual, wholly original voice. On Gold Shadow, his first official release in North America, he writes with passion and poetry.

Gold Shadow

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Diana Krall's new album, Wallflower, comes out Feb. 3. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Diana Krall, 'Wallflower'

January 25, 2015 • The singer takes a loving look back at the '70s and '80s pop that helped shape her. Along the way, without grandstanding, Krall strips away the baggage of the original performers' iconic personas.

Wallflower

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Mount Eerie's new album, Sauna, comes out Feb. 3. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Mount Eerie, 'Sauna'

January 25, 2015 • An arresting, frozen-moment splay of images and emotions, Phil Elverum's latest album as Mount Eerie feels less like a meditation and more like a slow-motion mauling.

Sauna

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Jessica Pratt, 'On Your Own Love Again'

Jessica Pratt's new album, On Your Own Love Again, comes out Jan. 27. Colby Droscher/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Colby Droscher/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Jessica Pratt, 'On Your Own Love Again'

January 18, 2015 • With little more than a weary sigh, the singer flips the banal into the magical; she makes listeners wonder about the circumstances she describes.

On Your Own Love Again

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'Then Came The Morning'

The Lone Bellow's new album, Then Came The Morning, comes out Jan. 27. Steven Sebring/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Steven Sebring/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'Then Came The Morning'

January 18, 2015 • The Brooklyn band's music has always had a larger-than-life flamboyance about it. But on Then Came The Morning, it's elevated by nuance that ventures frequently and welcomely into grace.

Then Came The Morning

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Amason's new album, Sky City, comes out Jan. 27. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Amason, 'Sky City'

January 18, 2015 • Never locked to one mood, these vibrant, polished songs convey the spirit of a variety show in concert. But on Sky City, they replicate the intimacy and care of a great mixtape.

Sky City

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Viet Cong's self-titled album comes out on Jan. 20. Colin Way/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Colin Way/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Viet Cong, 'Viet Cong'

January 11, 2015 • The band's frigid, deafening, brutalist post-punk nods toward experimentalism. A massive production, Viet Cong's self-titled debut culminates in a furious bonfire of rage and release.

Viet Cong

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

Belle And Sebastian's new album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, comes out Jan. 20. Søren Solkær/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Søren Solkær/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

January 11, 2015 • The Glaswegian folk-pop band's ninth album feels light on its feet, but without sacrificing the thoughtful, careful precision for which Stuart Murdoch and his collaborators are known.

Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Sleater-Kinney, 'No Cities To Love'

Sleater-Kinney's new album, No Cities To Love, comes out Jan. 20. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Sleater-Kinney, 'No Cities To Love'

January 11, 2015 • The rock trio's first album since 2005 sounds as fresh and vital as a debut, but also as nuanced and skillful as the work of three players with a decade-long, inimitable rapport betwixt them.

No Cities To Love

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Red Baraat, 'Gaadi Of Truth'

Red Baraat's new album, Gaadi Of Truth, comes out Jan. 20. James Bartolozzi/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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James Bartolozzi/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Red Baraat, 'Gaadi Of Truth'

January 11, 2015 • Along with the brass band's Punjabi roots, you're likely to hear '70s-style D.C. go-go beats, hip-hop, funk, trance-inducing South Asian Qawwali sounds and traces of South American cumbia.

Gaadi Of Truth

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Until The Ribbon Breaks, 'A Lesson Unlearnt'

Until The Ribbon Breaks' new album, A Lesson Unlearnt, comes out Jan. 20. Jesse DeFlorio/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jesse DeFlorio/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Until The Ribbon Breaks, 'A Lesson Unlearnt'

January 11, 2015 • The cinematic full-length debut from British producer Pete Lawrie-Winfield moves from spare piano and voice to moments that simulate the sound of smoldering rubble in a post-apocalyptic world.

A Lesson Unlearnt

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Anonymous 4's new album, 1865, comes out Jan. 13. Dario Acosta/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Dario Acosta/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Anonymous 4, '1865'

January 4, 2015 • The beloved vocal quartet says goodbye with an all-American album that suits our troubled times. These Civil War and Reconstruction songs help us reflect on what divides us and binds us together.

1865

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, 'Club Meds'

The new Dan Mangan + Blacksmith album, Club Meds, comes out Jan. 13. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, 'Club Meds'

January 4, 2015 • On the Vancouver songwriter's fourth album, he plays with abrupt changes of tone and texture. Carefully conceived instrumental passages expand upon — and sometimes upend — his lyrics.

Club Meds

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen

Sunday January 25, 2015

First Listen: John Carpenter, 'Lost Themes'

Lost Themes

First Listen: Title Fight, 'Hyperview'

Hyperview

First Listen: Asaf Avidan, 'Gold Shadow'

Gold Shadow

First Listen: Diana Krall, 'Wallflower'

Wallflower

First Listen: Mount Eerie, 'Sauna'

Sauna

Sunday January 18, 2015

First Listen: Jessica Pratt, 'On Your Own Love Again'

On Your Own Love Again

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'Then Came The Morning'

Then Came The Morning

First Listen: Amason, 'Sky City'

Sky City

Sunday January 11, 2015

First Listen: Viet Cong, 'Viet Cong'

Viet Cong

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

First Listen: Sleater-Kinney, 'No Cities To Love'

No Cities To Love

First Listen: Red Baraat, 'Gaadi Of Truth'

Gaadi Of Truth

First Listen: Until The Ribbon Breaks, 'A Lesson Unlearnt'

A Lesson Unlearnt

Sunday January 4, 2015

First Listen: Anonymous 4, '1865'

1865

First Listen: Dan Mangan + Blacksmith, 'Club Meds'

Club Meds