First Listen : NPR

Calle 13 singer René Pérez Joglar. Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images

First Listen: Calle 13, 'Multi_Viral'

February 27, 2014 • The controversial Puerto Rican rap duo returns with its most introspective album to date — and guests including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Calle 13, 'Multi_Viral'

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

Nothing's debut album, Guilty of Everything, comes out March 4. Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: Nothing, 'Guilty Of Everything'

February 23, 2014 • The Philadelphia noise-rock band's debut full-length hits like a profoundly thoughtful, beautifully crushing wave of droning distortion.

Nothing, 'Guilty Of Everything'

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

Diane Cluck's new album, Boneset, comes out March 4. John Rogers/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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John Rogers/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Diane Cluck, 'Boneset'

February 23, 2014 • Cluck's songs unfurl in curlicues, not straight lines, as her voice contorts to mystical effect. On Boneset, she frequently channels the deified California songwriter Judee Sill.

First Listen: Diane Cluck, 'Boneset'

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

Review: Linda Perhacs, 'The Soul Of All Natural Things'

Linda Perhacs first album in 44 years, The Soul of All Natural Things, comes out March 4. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: Linda Perhacs, 'The Soul Of All Natural Things'

February 23, 2014 • With one cult LP to her name, the folksinger has a profound perspective on what it means to look forward knowing the past. Julia Holter and Nite Jewel contribute to Perhacs' first album in 44 years.

First Listen: St. Vincent, 'St. Vincent'

St. Vincent's new, self-titled album comes out Feb. 25. Renata Raksha/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Renata Raksha/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: St. Vincent, 'St. Vincent'

February 17, 2014 • Every defiant growl, jaded vocal fry and distorted guitar lick on Annie Clark's fourth album flirts with the avant garde, yet uses an accessible, if inventive, musical vocabulary to do so.

St. Vincent, 'St. Vincent'

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

First Listen: The Notwist, 'Close To The Glass'

The Notwist's new album, Close to the Glass, comes out Feb. 25. Joerg Koopman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Joerg Koopman/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: The Notwist, 'Close To The Glass'

February 17, 2014 • The German band's collage-based sound brims over with buzzing, springy, playful urgency. Bathed in electronics, Acher's softly accented vocals land like late-night affirmations from a trusted friend.

The Notwist, 'Close To The Glass'

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

Neneh Cherry's new album, Blank Project, comes out Feb. 25. Kim Hiorthoy/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Kim Hiorthoy/Courtesy of the artist

Review: Neneh Cherry, 'Blank Project'

February 17, 2014 • Blank Project still contains familiar pieces of Cherry's youth (the beats, the attitude, the knowledge), but they've been stripped of all inessentials, the mark of a wise and transient mind.

Neneh Cherry, 'Blank Project'

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

First Listen: Death Vessel, 'Island Intervals'

Death Vessel's new album, Island Intervals, comes out Feb. 25. Corey Grayhorse/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Corey Grayhorse/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Death Vessel, 'Island Intervals'

February 16, 2014 • Joel Thibodeau's eerily high voice sounds equally suited to basement-bound laments and celestial explorations. Island Intervals finds him splitting the difference.

Death Vessel, 'Island Intervals'

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

Beck's new album, Morning Phase, is out Feb. 25. Autumn De Wilde/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Autumn De Wilde/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Beck, 'Morning Phase'

February 16, 2014 • Beck's latest creation is more than a mere sequel to 2002's brooding masterpiece, Sea Change. It provides a glimpse of new frontiers in letting go and moving on.

Beck, 'Morning Phase'

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

Phantogram's new album, Voices, comes out Feb. 18. Doron Gild/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Doron Gild/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Phantogram, 'Voices'

February 11, 2014 • The New York duo plays spiky, dense and danceable pop-rock songs with an electronic pulse. Voices is the sound of a band at ease and assured in its moment, as it seizes every scrap of momentum it's created for itself.

Phantogram, 'Voices'

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

AJ Davila's new album, Terror Amor, comes out Feb. 18. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: AJ Davila, 'Terror Amor'

February 9, 2014 • The garage-rock band Davila 666 is on a break, but its singer has a tremendous new solo album. Terror Amor stays close to AJ Davila's garage-rock/doo-wop/punk roots, but dares to play with fun new elements.

AJ Davila, 'Terror Amor'

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

First Listen: Lydia Loveless, 'Somewhere Else'

Lydia Loveless' new album, Somewhere Else, comes out Feb. 18. Patrick Crawford/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Patrick Crawford/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Lydia Loveless, 'Somewhere Else'

February 9, 2014 • The 23-year-old country-rock singer's fine new album thrives on her iconoclastic vision. Along the way, the invokes the name and spirit of everyone from Steve Earle to French poet Paul Verlaine.

Lydia Loveless, 'Somewhere Else'

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

First Listen: Lost In The Trees, 'Past Life'

Lost In The Trees' new album, Past Life, comes out Feb. 18. DL Anderson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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DL Anderson/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Lost In The Trees, 'Past Life'

February 9, 2014 • The music Ari Picker makes with his band is masterful at eliciting sweeping emotional responses, and at ensuring that a single emotion never dominates any one piece.

Lost In The Trees, 'Past Life'

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

First Listen: St. Paul And The Broken Bones, 'Half The City'

St. Paul and the Broken Bones' new album, Half the City, comes out Feb. 18. David McClister/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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David McClister/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: St. Paul And The Broken Bones, 'Half The City'

February 9, 2014 • The band's music doesn't just mimic the soul sounds its members love; it regenerates the tradition. Half the City is the first major recorded statement from a band already growing into greatness.

St. Paul and the Broken Bones, 'Half The City'

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

First Listen: Angel Olsen, 'Burn Your Fire For No Witness'

Angel Olsen's new album, Burn Your Fire for No Witness, comes out Feb. 18. Zia Anger/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Zia Anger/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Angel Olsen, 'Burn Your Fire For No Witness'

February 9, 2014 • The singer's new album is the musical equivalent of a deep, questioning stare from a lover. These are delicate songs, with lyrics stripped to their essence.

Angel Olsen, 'Burn Your Fire For No Witness'

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

First Listen

Thursday February 27, 2014

First Listen: Calle 13, 'Multi_Viral'

Calle 13, 'Multi_Viral'

Sunday February 23, 2014

Review

Review: Nothing, 'Guilty Of Everything'

Nothing, 'Guilty Of Everything'

First Listen: Diane Cluck, 'Boneset'

First Listen: Diane Cluck, 'Boneset'

Review

Review: Linda Perhacs, 'The Soul Of All Natural Things'

Monday February 17, 2014

First Listen: St. Vincent, 'St. Vincent'

St. Vincent, 'St. Vincent'

First Listen: The Notwist, 'Close To The Glass'

The Notwist, 'Close To The Glass'

Review: Neneh Cherry, 'Blank Project'

Neneh Cherry, 'Blank Project'

Sunday February 16, 2014

First Listen: Death Vessel, 'Island Intervals'

Death Vessel, 'Island Intervals'

First Listen: Beck, 'Morning Phase'

Beck, 'Morning Phase'

Tuesday February 11, 2014

First Listen: Phantogram, 'Voices'

Phantogram, 'Voices'

Sunday February 9, 2014

First Listen: AJ Davila, 'Terror Amor'

AJ Davila, 'Terror Amor'

First Listen: Lydia Loveless, 'Somewhere Else'

Lydia Loveless, 'Somewhere Else'

First Listen: Lost In The Trees, 'Past Life'

Lost In The Trees, 'Past Life'

First Listen: St. Paul And The Broken Bones, 'Half The City'

St. Paul and the Broken Bones, 'Half The City'

First Listen: Angel Olsen, 'Burn Your Fire For No Witness'

Angel Olsen, 'Burn Your Fire For No Witness'