First Listen : NPR

First Listen: Vivian Girls, 'Share The Joy'

Vivian Girls' new album is Share The Joy. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Vivian Girls, 'Share The Joy'

March 28, 2011 • Share The Joy is a testament to how far the Brooklyn trio has come in three short years. Hear their latest album in full until its release on April 12.

First Listen: Red Fang, 'Murder The Mountains'

Red Fang's Murder the Mountains will be released on April 12 on Relapse Records. James Rexroad/Courtesy of Relapse Records hide caption

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James Rexroad/Courtesy of Relapse Records

First Listen: Red Fang, 'Murder The Mountains'

March 27, 2011 • No one can accuse Portland's Red Fang of an image do-over, but the band's second album, Murder the Mountains, is certainly a sleeker style of riff-heavy metal and the better for it.

First Listen: Gretchen Parlato, 'The Lost And Found'

Gretchen Parlato's new album is The Lost and Found. David Bartolomi/Courtesy of DL Media hide caption

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David Bartolomi/Courtesy of DL Media

First Listen: Gretchen Parlato, 'The Lost And Found'

March 27, 2011 • Soft and insistent, breathy and sometimes wordless, she doesn't have the voice of Ella, or Sarah, or Betty. But she doesn't need it; on her third album, she's got plenty of that slippery, you-know-it-when-you-hear-it quality often abbreviated "musicality."

First Listen: Robbie Robertson, 'How To Become Clairvoyant'

Robbie Robertson's new album is How To Become Clairvoyant. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Robbie Robertson, 'How To Become Clairvoyant'

WFUV

March 27, 2011 • How To Become Clairvoyant tells a personal story set to the type of sonically rich soundtrack that we have come to expect from Robbie Robertson's solo work. But for the first time we get a glimpse inside the man who has written some of popular music's most important songs.

The former lead singer of Elefant is releasing his debut solo album, Laura. Courtesy of the Artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the Artist

First Listen: Diego Garcia, 'Laura'

March 27, 2011 • The former frontman of the indie rock outfit Elefant is back with a melancholy solo debut. Hear the album in its entirety until April 12.

First Listen: Peter Bjorn And John, 'Gimme Some'

Peter Bjorn and John's new album is Gimme Some. Courtesy of The Windish Agency hide caption

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Courtesy of The Windish Agency

First Listen: Peter Bjorn And John, 'Gimme Some'

March 20, 2011 • Gimme Some is a return to the bright, bouncy songwriting that characterized the Swedish pop band's ridiculously catchy Writer's Block. Hear the whole thing until March 29.

First Listen: Orrin Evans, 'Captain Black Big Band'

The Captain Black Big Band, led by Orrin Evans (left). Howard Pitkow/Courtesy of Posi-Tone Records hide caption

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Howard Pitkow/Courtesy of Posi-Tone Records

First Listen: Orrin Evans, 'Captain Black Big Band'

March 20, 2011 • On their debut album, 38 musicians, young and old alike, rally around a pianist known for his bold intensity. But here, Evans is more community organizer than meticulous auteur: He lets the large jazz ensemble jut loose, blast hard and swing freely.

First Listen: True Widow, 'As High As The Highest Heavens...'

True Widow's As High As The Highest Heavens... will be released on March 29. Courtesy of the Artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the Artist

First Listen: True Widow, 'As High As The Highest Heavens...'

March 20, 2011 • True Widow's second record, As High as the Highest Heavens, is a warming headphone album for a bleak snowfall, moody and dreamy chords crushed by a rumbling low-end. The self-described "stonegaze" trio from Dallas is as hushed as it is ribcage-rattling.

First Listen: The Ebene Quartet, 'Fiction'

The Ebene Quartet broadens the quartet form in their new album. Julien Mignot hide caption

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Julien Mignot

First Listen: The Ebene Quartet, 'Fiction'

March 13, 2011 • They won a big award for playing Debussy and Ravel, but the members of the innovative Ebene Quartet are out to break new ground on their new album. Hear Fiction, a fresh take on jazz and pop standards, in its entirety the week before its March 22 release.

The Dodos' third album, No Color, comes out March 15. Mark Holthusen hide caption

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Mark Holthusen

First Listen: The Dodos, 'No Color'

March 7, 2011 • There aren't many bands more reliant on drumming than The Dodos: The new No Color pounds and clatters with such precision and clarity, the whomp of the drums might as well get a lead-vocal credit. Hear the album here until its release on March 15.

First Listen: Trio Mediaeval, 'A Worcester Ladymass'

A Worcester Ladymass is Trio Mediaeval's first album in five years. CF-Wesenberg hide caption

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CF-Wesenberg

First Listen: Trio Mediaeval, 'A Worcester Ladymass'

March 7, 2011 • Trio Mediaeval returns to the Middle Ages for its first album in five years, as it digs up an ancient collection of florid polyphonic music from the 13th century. Hear A Worcester Ladymass here until its release on March 15.

First Listen: The Joy Formidable, 'The Big Roar'

The Joy Formidable's first full-length album, The Big Roar, will be released in the U.S. on March 15. Courtesy of Big Hassle hide caption

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Courtesy of Big Hassle

First Listen: The Joy Formidable, 'The Big Roar'

KEXP

March 7, 2011 • The Welsh rock trio's first proper full-length album lives up to the buzz that's been building since The Joy Formidable's first shows in 2008. KEXP host Cheryl Waters writes that The Big Roar, heard here in its entirety until March 15, is nothing short of brilliant.

First Listen: Trap Them, 'Darker Handcraft'

Trap Them's latest album, Darker Handcraft, will be released on March 15. Courtesy of Samantha Marble hide caption

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Courtesy of Samantha Marble

First Listen: Trap Them, 'Darker Handcraft'

March 7, 2011 • There's a decent amount of noise in Trap Them's metallic hardcore, along with a palpable danger that's too good to turn away. Darker Handcraft mixes hardcore, grindcore and death metal, bringing to mind The Stooges' Funhouse for the mosh pit.

First Listen: R.E.M., 'Collapse Into Now'

R.E.M.'s 15th studio album, Collapse Into Now, comes out on March 8. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: R.E.M., 'Collapse Into Now'

March 1, 2011 • Michael Stipe and company are about to release their best album in more than a decade. It's called Collapse Into Now, and you can hear the whole thing here until its official release on March 8.

Wye Oak. Natasha Tylea/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Natasha Tylea/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Wye Oak, 'Civilian'

February 27, 2011 • Wye Oak's records work on many levels: as rock music that billows majestically, as pop music that gets its hooks into you in more ways than one, and as fascinating and mysterious examinations of doomed romance. Hear Civilian in its entirety until March 8.

First Listen

Monday March 28, 2011

First Listen: Vivian Girls, 'Share The Joy'

Sunday March 27, 2011

First Listen: Red Fang, 'Murder The Mountains'

First Listen: Gretchen Parlato, 'The Lost And Found'

First Listen: Robbie Robertson, 'How To Become Clairvoyant'

WFUV

First Listen: Diego Garcia, 'Laura'

Sunday March 20, 2011

First Listen: Peter Bjorn And John, 'Gimme Some'

First Listen: Orrin Evans, 'Captain Black Big Band'

First Listen: True Widow, 'As High As The Highest Heavens...'

Sunday March 13, 2011

First Listen: The Ebene Quartet, 'Fiction'

Monday March 7, 2011

First Listen: The Dodos, 'No Color'

First Listen: Trio Mediaeval, 'A Worcester Ladymass'

First Listen: The Joy Formidable, 'The Big Roar'

KEXP

First Listen: Trap Them, 'Darker Handcraft'

Tuesday March 1, 2011

First Listen: R.E.M., 'Collapse Into Now'

Sunday February 27, 2011

First Listen: Wye Oak, 'Civilian'