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

First Listen

Hear upcoming albums in their entirety

Sunday

First Listen: Tracey Thorn, 'Tinsel And Lights'

Tracey Thorn's album Tinsel and Lights was released Oct. 30. Edward Bishop/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Edward Bishop/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Tracey Thorn, 'Tinsel And Lights'

Not since Aimee Mann's One More Drifter in the Snow has a collection of seasonal music been so finely engineered to locate the holidays' melancholy side. But Tinsel and Lights is as warmly rendered as it is achingly bittersweet.

Tracey Thorn, 'Tinsel And Lights'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/165469824/165604196" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
First Listen: KEM, 'What Christmas Means'

KEM's first holiday album, What Christmas Means, was released Oct. 16. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: KEM, 'What Christmas Means'

The R&B singer and songwriter's album goes down smooth. The vibe that we're used to from a lifetime of Christmas music — Eskimos figure large, children cannot sleep — is here, but these songs wear it lightly.

KEM, 'What Christmas Means'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/165597900/165525105" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

First Listen: Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin, 'Instrumental Tourist'

Tim Hecker and Daniel Lopatin's new album, Instrumental Tourist, comes out Nov. 20. Spencer C. Yeh/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Spencer C. Yeh/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin, 'Instrumental Tourist'

Few performers manipulate sound quite as aggressively or effectively as these electronic musicians; they form a single enveloping organism even as they dump their own distinct ideas into the mix.

Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin, 'Instrumental Tourist'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/164794495/164751058" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
First Listen: The Evens, 'The Odds'

The Evens' new album, The Odds, comes out Nov. 20. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: The Evens, 'The Odds'

On their third album, Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina confront what it means to be a grown-up punk: how to question authority while accepting adult responsibility.

The Evens, 'The Odds'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/164426088/164428774" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

First Listen: Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch, 'The Mystery Of Heaven'

Jozef Van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch's new album, The Mystery of Heaven, comes out Nov. 13. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch, 'The Mystery Of Heaven'

Van Wissem plays the lute with his heart equally in the 17th and 21st century. Jarmusch is a filmmaker whose work frequently blurs the line between movies and music. Together, they make a rich, appropriately cinematic sound on The Mystery of Heaven.

Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch, 'The Mystery Of Heaven'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/164131377/164189960" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

First Listen: Andy Stott, 'Luxury Problems'

Andy Stott's new album, Luxury Problems, comes out Nov. 6. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Andy Stott, 'Luxury Problems'

The British electronic producer mixes high, heavenly voices with deep, throbbing bass vibrations. From a sonic standpoint, you won't hear anything else like Luxury Problems this year.

Andy Stott, 'Luxury Problems'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163474645/163481133" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
First Listen: Bomba Estéreo, 'Elegancia Tropical'

Bomba Estéreo's new album, Elegancia Tropical, comes out Nov. 6. Rafael Piñeros, Mulato Films/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Rafael Piñeros, Mulato Films/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Bomba Estéreo, 'Elegancia Tropical'

For the Colombian band, life is more than a party, as Bomba Estéreo takes on thought-provoking themes and examines subtleties of pulse and tempo. Even a sweaty dance-floor cooker like "Rocas" conveys a deeply sensual sway.

Bomba Estéreo, 'Elegancia Tropical'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163481156/163490128" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

First Listen: Cody ChesnuTT, 'Landing On A Hundred'

Cody ChesnuTT's new album, Landing on a Hundred, comes out Oct. 23. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Cody ChesnuTT, 'Landing On A Hundred'

Landing on a Hundred is a dynamite collection of timeless, celebratory, searching soul music that yearns for meaning, views life as a circuitous journey, and finds cause to seek hope and give thanks along the way.

Cody ChesnuTT, 'Landing On A Hundred'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163090878/163036061" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
First Listen: Charles Mingus, 'The Jazz Workshop Concerts, 1964-65'

Charles Mingus' The Jazz Workshop Concerts, 1964-65 comes out Oct. 30. Ray Avery/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Ray Avery/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Charles Mingus, 'The Jazz Workshop Concerts, 1964-65'

In 1964, a jazz great tried his hand at his own record label. A new seven-CD box set of live recordings from Charles Mingus Enterprises, much of it previously unreleased, is a monumental example of how a genius dedicated his life to his art. Hear a full 1965 concert recording from the collection.

Charles Mingus, 'The Jazz Workshop Concerts, 1964-65'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163255582/163260875" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

First Listen: Café Tacvba, 'El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco'

Cafe Tacvba's new album, El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco, comes out Oct. 22. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Café Tacvba, 'El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco'

The band's first album in five years pulls off a remarkable feat: Coming two decades into Café Tacvba's career, it's as honest, humble and refreshing as the group's debut.

Café Tacvba, 'El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/163020297/163017559" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday

First Listen: Titus Andronicus, 'Local Business'

Titus Andronicus' new album, Local Business, comes out Oct. 23. Kyle Dean Reinford/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Kyle Dean Reinford/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Titus Andronicus, 'Local Business'

Just about everything Patrick Stickles sings sounds like a mission statement, and his band hits musical high points to match the manifestos. For three albums now, the New Jersey group has charged forward, waving its baggage like a battlefield pennant.

Titus Andronicus, 'Local Business'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/162720399/162667759" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">