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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: 'I Heard The Angels Singing'

Morgan Babb — lead singer of the gospel group, the Radio Four — is pictured DJing in the window of Ernie's Record Shop circa 1955. The store was owned by Nashboro Records. Opal Louis Nations hide caption

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Opal Louis Nations

First Listen: 'I Heard The Angels Singing'

This 4-CD set captures the glory days of Nashboro, the powerhouse gospel label that put out a huge amount of music, held together by a signature echo. It's a gorgeously articulated sound space.

'I Heard the Angels Singing,' Disc 4

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

Sunday

First Listen: Thelonious Monk, 'Paris 1969'

Paris 1969, from the late Thelonious Monk, comes out Nov. 26. Jean-Pierre Leloir/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jean-Pierre Leloir/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Thelonious Monk, 'Paris 1969'

The pianist's first visit to France and the 3,000-seat Salle Pleyel concert hall ended in disaster. Fifteen years later, after he became an international star, Monk returned to the same stage with his own band, planning a surprise.

Thelonious Monk, 'Paris 1969'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Shearwater, 'Fellow Travelers'

Shearwater's new album, Fellow Travelers, comes out Nov. 26. James Hamilton/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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James Hamilton/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Shearwater, 'Fellow Travelers'

Each of the 10 songs on Fellow Travelers pays tribute to an artist with whom Shearwater has toured. It's fascinating to hear the band function as a skeleton key that opens up the works of Xiu Xiu and Coldplay and St. Vincent alike.

Shearwater, 'Fellow Travelers'

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Thursday

Sunday

First Listen: Ephel Duath, 'Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness'

Ephel Duath's new album, Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness, comes out Nov. 26. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Ephel Duath, 'Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness'

David Tiso concocts gnarled, hydra-Zorn headbangers like some kind of metal mad scientist on Ephel Duath's fifth album. Producer Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel) grounds the insanity with a vicious low-end.

Ephel Duath, 'Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Public Service Broadcasting, 'Inform - Educate - Entertain'

Public Service Broadcasting's new album, Inform - Educate - Entertain, comes out Nov. 19. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Public Service Broadcasting, 'Inform - Educate - Entertain'

The British duo makes music using clips from old British government propaganda films as narratives for songs engineered to inspire dancing and general chaos. Its music explores the past as it looks into the future, with music meant for clubs that doesn't fit neatly into some EDM subgenre or nightlife cliche.

First Listen: Public Service Broadcasting, 'Inform - Educate - Entertain'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Benjamin Britten's 'War Requiem'

Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, written in response to the devastation of both World Wars, premiered in 1962. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

First Listen: Benjamin Britten's 'War Requiem'

Britten's response to the collective bloodshed of the 20th century remains as vital and visceral as it was when his Requiem premiered more than 50 years ago. It was commissioned for the reconsecration of Britain's Coventry Cathedral, which had been destroyed by a Nazi bomb raid in 1940.

Benjamin Britten's 'War Requiem'

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

Sunday

First Listen: Cate Le Bon, 'Mug Museum'

Cate Le Bon's new album, Mug Museum, comes out Nov. 12. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Cate Le Bon, 'Mug Museum'

The Welsh singer's third album conjures images of Tom Verlaine's band Television and Velvet Underground collaborator Nico. But Cate Le Bon is no follower: She's a strong songwriter and a powerful, sultry singer with her own distinct phrasing.

Cate Le Bon, 'Mug Museum'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Soundtrack, 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

Oscar Isaac (left) and Justin Timberlake in a scene from Inside Llewyn Davis. Both are featured on the movie's soundtrack. Alison Rosa/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alison Rosa/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Soundtrack, 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

Joel and Ethan Coen's new film looks at the early-'60s Greenwich Village folk scene, as populated by a brooding moocher played by singer-actor Oscar Isaac. Its soundtrack, like the movie itself, reflects the way many different strains of folk music collided in the early '60s.

Soundtrack, 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
First Listen: Songs: Ohia, 'Magnolia Electric Co. (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)'

Magnolia Electric Co. (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), by the late Jason Molina, comes out Nov. 12. Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Songs: Ohia, 'Magnolia Electric Co. (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)'

Ten years after its release — and seven months after the death of singer Jason Molina — The Magnolia Electric Co is still an ambitious and unsteady beast, strangely graceful and crying out to be explored. Throughout the album, Molina sings of his own smallness and struggle, but also the stubbornness inherent in standing up as the gravitational forces of grief try to pull him down.

Songs: Ohia, 'Magnolia Electric Co. (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)'

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.
Hilary Hahn, 'In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores'

In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores comes out Nov. 11. Michael Patrick O'Leary/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Michael Patrick O'Leary/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Hilary Hahn, 'In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores'

The resourceful young violinist asked for brand-new encores — and, boy, did she get them. Hear fascinating works by 27 contemporary composers, written especially for Hilary Hahn.

Hilary Hahn, 'In 27 Pieces'

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

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.