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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: Natalie Maines, 'Mother'

Natalie Maines' new album, Mother, comes out May 7. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Natalie Maines, 'Mother'

On an album of impeccably chosen covers, the Dixie Chicks singer shows how her fearlessness blends with compassion and stunning vocal chops. This is singing as a way of uncovering the truth, as difficult as it might be to bear.

Natalie Maines, 'Mother'

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First Listen: La Vida Boheme, 'Sera'

La Vida Boheme's new album, Sera, comes out May 14. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: La Vida Boheme, 'Sera'

The inventive, politically inclined Venezuelan group has done well in establishing itself — not as a rock band, not as an alternative band, not as a punk band, but as a band that does whatever it pleases.

La Vida Boheme, 'Sera'

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First Listen: Mikal Cronin, 'MCII'

Mikal Cronin's new album, MCII, comes out May 7. Denee Petracek/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Denee Petracek/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Mikal Cronin, 'MCII'

On his second album, the perfectionist and multi-instrumentalist applies a beachy sparkle to 37 minutes of fresh, fun rock 'n' roll. The result feels like the work of a young artist who's both newly grown-up and still growing.

Mikal Cronin, 'MCII'

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First Listen: She & Him, 'Volume 3'

She & Him's new album, Volume 3, comes out May 7. Autumn de Wilde/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Autumn de Wilde/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: She & Him, 'Volume 3'

Playful, soft, sunnily melancholy and springlike, Zooey Deschanel's songs with M. Ward once again subsist on the strength of their own agreeability. Timelessness has long been key to the duo's charm, and indeed, Volume 3 seems to be floating through AM speakers at all times.

She & Him, "Volume 3"

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Sunday

First Listen: Colin Stetson, 'New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light'

Colin Stetson's new album, New History Warfare, Vol. 3: To See More Light, comes out April 30. Brantley Gutierrez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Brantley Gutierrez/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Colin Stetson, 'New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light'

The saxophonist infuses his solo records with an unsettling rumble, while still making room for alternately grandiose and guttural moments that awe and unnerve. His new album features vocal contributions from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.

Colin Stetson, 'New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light'

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First Listen: Iggy & The Stooges, 'Ready To Die'

Iggy & The Stooges' new album, Ready To Die, comes out April 30. David Raccuglia/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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David Raccuglia/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Iggy & The Stooges, 'Ready To Die'

With humor intact and the guitar loud, Ready to Die reunites Iggy Pop and guitarist James Williamson.

Iggy & The Stooges, 'Ready To Die'

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First Listen: Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, 'Brooklyn Babylon'

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society's new album, Brooklyn Babylon, comes out April 30. Lindsay Beyerstein/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Lindsay Beyerstein/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, 'Brooklyn Babylon'

The composer's second album accompanies an animated work: the tale of a future metropolis where professional aims and neighborhood loyalty square off. It looks like both early-20th-century New York and a bordering-on-dystopian future. Perfect for a ultramodern big band like this one.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, 'Brooklyn Babylon'

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First Listen: Deerhunter, 'Monomania'

Deerhunter's new album, Monomania, comes out May 7. Robert Semmer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Robert Semmer/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Deerhunter, 'Monomania'

Monomania has a dirtier, wirier, less fussed-over feel than the band has cultivated in recent years. The band's fifth album captures Bradford Cox's gift for self-laceration and unpredictability, but it moves in a less studio-bound direction, closer to the raw and unhinged spirit of his live shows.

Deerhunter, 'Monomania'

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First Listen: Os Mutantes, 'Fool Metal Jack'

Os Mutantes' new album, Fool Metal Jack, comes out April 30. Denise Truscello/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Denise Truscello/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Os Mutantes, 'Fool Metal Jack'

Nearly half a century into its history, the great Brazilian band returns with a lovely new album. These are the weirdos who've survived every Latin American apocalypse, and their new album shows it, oscillating perfectly between melancholy and crazed stoicism.

Os Mutantes, 'Fool Metal Jack'

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First Listen: David Lang, 'Death Speaks'

David Lang's new album, Death Speaks, comes out April 30. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: David Lang, 'Death Speaks'

With help from Franz Schubert and four stellar musicians, David Lang ponders the afterlife. Hear the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer's new album in its entirety.

David Lang, "Death Speaks"

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Sunday

First Listen: Brass Bed, 'The Secret Will Keep You'

Brass Bed's album, The Secret Will Keep You, comes out April 23. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Brass Bed, 'The Secret Will Keep You'

A sad parade of loneliness, death, fear and madness comes to life on an oddly buoyant album. Brass Bed's dark themes are wrapped in sunny melodies and mysterious synth sounds that ultimately dissolve into glorious chaos. It's part sonic exploration, part infectious pop and part noise rock.

Brass Bed, 'The Secret Will Keep You'

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First Listen: Laura Mvula, 'Sing To The Moon'

Laura Mvula's debut album, Sing to the Moon, comes out April 16. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Laura Mvula, 'Sing To The Moon'

Mvula's mix of classic soul and modern breeziness can be difficult to locate on a calendar, let alone a map. Classically trained and only 26, she writes songs that sound like the whole world at once.

Laura Mvula, 'Sing To The Moon'

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First Listen: Steve Martin And Edie Brickell, 'Love Has Come For You'

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell's first album together, Love Has Come for You, comes out April 23. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Steve Martin And Edie Brickell, 'Love Has Come For You'

With assists from fellow stars such as Esperanza Spalding and Sara and Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, Martin's banjo lines sing and sway with grace and charm that seem effortless. Edie Brickell's plainspoken warmth pairs wonderfully with Martin's playful picking throughout.

Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, 'Love Has Come For You'

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First Listen: Mother Falcon, 'You Knew'

Mother Falcon's new album, You Knew, comes out May 7. Bryan Rindfuss/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Bryan Rindfuss/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Mother Falcon, 'You Knew'

Formed as a free-wheeling, 15- to 20-piece side project for a group of orchestra students, Mother Falcon crafts a sound that soars with the grandiosity of Arcade Fire at its most anthemic. Its second album, You Knew, captures the hugeness of a band that can't fit on many of the stages it plays.

Mother Falcon, 'You Knew'

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Monday

First Listen: Ghostface Killah And Adrian Younge, 'Twelve Reasons To Die'

Ghostface Killah with Adrian Younge and his band, Venice Dawn, after their first performance together. Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge's new album, Twelve Reasons To Die, comes out April 16. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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First Listen: Ghostface Killah And Adrian Younge, 'Twelve Reasons To Die'

In the grand tradition of the Wu-Tang Clan, this collaboration is brash and Technicolor and heartfelt.

Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge, 'Twelve Reasons To Die'

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