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First Listen Enjoy select, upcoming albums, in their entirety.
First Listen

First Listen

Hear upcoming albums in their entirety

Sunday

First Listen: Swearin', 'Surfing Strange'

Swearin's new album, Surfing Strange, comes out Nov. 5. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Swearin', 'Surfing Strange'

The quartet harnessed tension on its 2012 debut, delivering fierce, fuzzy pop songs that could be sweet or sharp, depending who sang them. On its second album, Swearin' is up from two singers to three, and the personalities at play are even more distinct.

Swearin', 'Surfing Strange'

Audio for first listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Midlake, 'Antiphon'

Midlake's new album, Antiphon, comes out Nov. 5. Sammy Reed/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sammy Reed/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Midlake, 'Antiphon'

The band from Denton, Texas, was deep into the recording of its fourth album when its lead singer left the group. It forced the remaining members to scrap the new songs and start over with a brand-new sound. The result is Midlake's best record in years.

Midlake, 'Antiphon'

Audio for first listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Luscious Jackson, 'Magic Hour'

Luscious Jackson's new album, Magic Hour, comes out Nov. 5. Doug Seymour/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Doug Seymour/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Luscious Jackson, 'Magic Hour'

The group produced some of the most pleasurable alternative rock of the '90s, and is back with its first new album in fourteen years. The ten new songs on Magic Hour go down easy, with lessons in fun, loyalty and self-appreciation.

Luscious Jackson, 'Magic Hour'

Audio for first listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Sunday

First Listen: Son Lux, 'Lanterns'

Son Lux's new album, Lanterns, comes out Oct. 29. Tim Navis/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Tim Navis/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Son Lux, 'Lanterns'

Son Lux's latest album is an arresting mix of hip-hop, 21st-century R&B and experimental synthpop. Where previous releases were glittering and sometimes wildly adventurous, Lanterns is slicker, darker and less ornate.

Son Lux, 'Lanterns'

Audio for first listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Juana Molina, 'Wed 21'

Juana Molina's new album, Wed 21, comes out Oct. 28. Marcelo Setton/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Marcelo Setton/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Juana Molina, 'Wed 21'

The Argentine electronic artist has a loyal, adoring fan base that crosses cultural barriers — and her remarkable new album is both playful and profound. "Eras," the first single, washes over you with trance-like beats and a deep bass line as her whispered vocals weave in and out.

Juana Molina, 'Wed 21'

Audio for first listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Death Cab For Cutie, 'Transatlanticism (10th Anniversary Edition)'

Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism (10th Anniversary Edition) comes out Oct. 29. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Death Cab For Cutie, 'Transatlanticism (10th Anniversary Edition)'

For all its ubiquity and imitators, 2003's Transatlanticism holds up as an exquisitely produced, largely flawless record in which every song is bound to be someone's favorite. In this reissue, the album is packaged alongside an identically sequenced yet revelatory set of demo versions.

Death Cab For Cutie, 'Transatlanticism (Demos)'

Audio for first listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Sunday

First Listen: Poliça, 'Shulamith'

Poliça's new album, Shulamith, comes out Oct. 22. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Poliça, 'Shulamith'

Poliça's slinky, otherworldly style of electro-pop mixes Channy Leaneagh's angelic voice with distorted, occasionally disturbing sound manipulations and harrowing dual drums. The Minneapolis band's second album pushes its sound forward in exciting, provocative ways.

Poliça, 'Shulamith'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Omar Souleyman, 'Wenu Wenu'

Omar Souleyman's new album, Wenu Wenu, comes out Oct. 22. Hisham Bharoocha/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Hisham Bharoocha/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Omar Souleyman, 'Wenu Wenu'

The Syrian speaker-slayer enlists subtle production help from Four Tet mastermind Kieran Hebden to craft a pan-global jam so visceral, thrilling and intense as to make the mysterious matter of earthly borders seem hardly worth the time to contemplate.

Omar Souleyman, 'Wenu Wenu'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Brandy Clark, '12 Stories'

Brandy Clark's new album, 12 Stories, comes out Oct. 22. Becky Fluke/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Becky Fluke/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Brandy Clark, '12 Stories'

Clark specializes in intimate observations that make country songs believable rather than cliched. Often compared to Loretta Lynn, Clark is just as indebted to countrypolitan-era legends like Harlan Howard and '80s greats like K.T. Oslin — songwriters skilled at exposing how the more things change, the more people stay the same.

Brandy Clark, '12 Stories'

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

Tuesday

First Listen: The Avett Brothers, 'Magpie And The Dandelion'

The Avett Brothers' new album, Magpie and the Dandelion, comes out Oct. 15. Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: The Avett Brothers, 'Magpie And The Dandelion'

The band's body of work forms the outlines of a makeshift guide to life, and to being fundamentally decent in the pursuit of something even better. On Magpie and the Dandelion, Seth and Scott Avett examine the push and pull between day-to-day pressures and a need for connection, contentedness and openness to wonder.

The Avett Brothers, 'Magpie And The Dandelion'

Audio for this feature is no longer available.