Accessibility links

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

First Listen

Hear upcoming albums in their entirety

Sunday December 26, 2010

First Listen: Abigail Washburn, 'City Of Refuge'

Singer-songwriter Abigail Washburn brought in producer Tucker Martine to help craft her latest solo record, City Of Refuge. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Abigail Washburn, 'City Of Refuge'

Folk Alley

December 26, 2010 • Washburn's music career is defined by folk, whether she's playing with a band or going solo. But she embraces a different kind of sound on her new album, City of Refuge.

Monday December 13, 2010

First Listen: Ghostly International, 'We'll Never Stop Living This Way'

Matthew Dear (left) and The Sight Below are two of the artists on Ghostly International. Matthew Dear, courtesy of Ghostly; The Sight Below, Bob Hansen/Ghostly hide caption

toggle caption

Matthew Dear, courtesy of Ghostly; The Sight Below, Bob Hansen/Ghostly

First Listen: Ghostly International, 'We'll Never Stop Living This Way'

December 13, 2010 • We'll Never Stop Living This Way is a compilation from the independent label Ghostly International. The album's 30 songs demonstrate the label's long history of blending rock and electronic music.

Sunday December 12, 2010

First Listen: Mahler, 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn'

Baritone Thomas Hampson has long had a love for Gustav Mahler's music. Marco Borggreve hide caption

toggle caption

Marco Borggreve

First Listen: Mahler, 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn'

GBH News

December 12, 2010 • Ever since he stumbled across Gustav Mahler's first symphony on his car radio, baritone Thomas Hampson has been a devoted fan. The latest evidence is a fine new disc of Mahler's 'Wunderhorn' songs. Hear the album in its entirety one week before its release on Dec. 21.

Review: Royal Thunder, 'Royal Thunder'

Royal Thunder, left to right: Jesse Stuber, Mlny Parsonz and Josh Weaver. Anthony Childs hide caption

toggle caption

Anthony Childs

Review: Royal Thunder, 'Royal Thunder'

December 12, 2010 • From a state that's cultivated sludgy yet progressive and accessible metal bands like Baroness, the Atlanta hard-rock trio takes its '70s influences and proves that the slow burn can be sexy.

First Listen: La Santa Cecilia, 'Noches Y Citas'

La Santa Cecilia. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: La Santa Cecilia, 'Noches Y Citas'

December 12, 2010 • The music of the Los Angeles band places it squarely in the movement of Latino musicians who search out a wider variety of traditions than their musical ancestors did. The result is a new pan-Latino aesthetic. Stream La Santa Cecilia's new album in its entirety until its release on Dec. 21.

Sunday December 5, 2010

First Listen: 'Bangs And Works, Vol. 1: A Chicago Footwork Compilation'

RP Boo (right) is credited as inventing the Chicago "footwork" sound, an upbeat mix of house and hip-hop. Neema Nazem hide caption

toggle caption

Neema Nazem

First Listen: 'Bangs And Works, Vol. 1: A Chicago Footwork Compilation'

December 5, 2010 • Planet Mu's compilation Bangs and Works, Vol. 1 is a collection of "footwork" music. Footwork is an art culture which spans hundreds of DJs and thousands of dancers; it's been incubating in obscurity for more than a decade on the south and west sides of Chicago.

Sunday November 28, 2010

First Listen: Buff1 And DJ Rhettmatic, 'Crown Royale'

Buff1 and DJ Rhettmatic are collectively known as Crown Royale. courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Buff1 And DJ Rhettmatic, 'Crown Royale'

November 28, 2010 • While the time for questioning hip-hop's vitality may be over, the Athletic Mic League King and the World Famous Beat Junkie know there's still a void to be filled. Hear Buff1 and DJ Rhettmatic's much-delayed collaborative album in its entirety until Dec. 7.

Friday November 19, 2010

First Listen: Calle 13, 'Entren Los Que Quieran'

Calle 13 is a duo of step-brothers René Pérez Joglar (on the left) and Eduardo José Cabra Martínez. courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Calle 13, 'Entren Los Que Quieran'

November 19, 2010 • It indiscriminately pokes fun at icons of Latin entertainment, but Calle 13 isn't just a group of crude rebels. The band applies its irreverent wittiness to sexual innuendo and political protest alike on its new album, available for streaming here.

Sunday November 14, 2010

First Listen: Keith Urban, 'Get Closer'

Keith Urban Max Vadukul hide caption

toggle caption

Max Vadukul

First Listen: Keith Urban, 'Get Closer'

November 14, 2010 • As straightforward as Urban's poppy country might seem at first blush, his new album pulls off an impressive feat: He almost always finds a way to make songs for his movie-star wife sound like radio-ready odes to top-down teenage bliss. Hear Get Closer in its entirety until Nov. 23.

First Listen: William Tyler, 'Behold The Spirit'

William Tyler. Rebecca Gillespie hide caption

toggle caption

Rebecca Gillespie

First Listen: William Tyler, 'Behold The Spirit'

November 14, 2010 • The quietly thoughtful Behold the Spirit is Tyler's first acoustic-guitar record to be released under his own name.

Review: Agalloch, 'Marrow Of The Spirit'

Agalloch. Veleda Thorsson hide caption

toggle caption

Veleda Thorsson

Review

Review: Agalloch, 'Marrow Of The Spirit'

November 14, 2010 • Agalloch's folk-inspired black metal is highly atmospheric — the musical equivalent of fire emerging from fog. Marrow of the Spirit works to dispense healing through melancholy.

Sunday November 7, 2010

First Listen: Stereolab, 'Not Music'

Stereolab recorded the songs on Not Music in the same 2007 session that yielded Chemical Chords. Steve Double hide caption

toggle caption

Steve Double

First Listen: Stereolab, 'Not Music'

November 7, 2010 • Many groups constantly change their identity, but it's reassuring that the pioneering post-rock band's longevity comes from its devotion to meticulous tinkering and refinement.

Sunday October 31, 2010

First Listen: Bruce Springsteen Revisits 'Darkness' With 'The Promise'

Bruce Springsteen. Frank Stefanko hide caption

toggle caption

Frank Stefanko

First Listen: Bruce Springsteen Revisits 'Darkness' With 'The Promise'

October 31, 2010 • The Promise, subtitled The Lost Sessions: Darkness on the Edge of Town, is not the usual odds-and-ends reissue package. It pieces together a classic album that could have been made during the fruitful period after Bruce Springsteen's seminal Born to Run. Hear 15 select tracks until Nov. 16.

First Listen: Cee Lo Green, 'The Lady Killer'

Cee Lo Green. courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Cee Lo Green, 'The Lady Killer'

October 31, 2010 • Cee Lo returns with a solo album starring a new character, The Lady Killer. The first single from the record, "F--- You," was a huge viral hit over the summer, and now you can stream the entire record until its release on Nov. 9.

Review: Salome, 'Terminal'

Salome is (left to right) Kat, Aaron Deal and Rob Moore. Josh Sisk hide caption

toggle caption

Josh Sisk

Review: Salome, 'Terminal'

October 31, 2010 • On Terminal, the Virginia-based doom-metal trio Salome demands your skull bleached white from its blasted, dark vibrations.

More from First Listen