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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: Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 'That's It!'

Preservation Hall Jazz Band's new album, That's It!, comes out July 9. Shannon Brinkman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shannon Brinkman/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 'That's It!'

The jazz masters' first album of entirely original material pushes music lovers to dance. At its heart, That's It! is a memory trick, managing to sound both familiar and fresh. But this is more than a live performance by a hot band.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band, 'That's It!'

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First Listen: Maps, 'Vicissitude'

Maps' new album, Vicissitude, comes out July 9. Erika Wall/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Erika Wall/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Maps, 'Vicissitude'

James Chapman's charming songs sound fizzy and bright throughout Vicissitude, Maps' third album, but they also convey his thoughtful reflections on transition and doubt.

Maps, 'Vicissitude'

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First Listen: Speedy Ortiz, 'Major Arcana'

Speedy Ortiz's new album, Major Arcana, comes out July 9. Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Speedy Ortiz, 'Major Arcana'

Sadie Dupuis writes lyrics that should be scrawled on notebooks and bathroom walls by every disaffected high-school kid, right before the inevitable trip to the counselor's office. Her solo-moniker-turned-band is like a gummy double-helix, twisting sweet-and-sour words around contorted, '90s-inspired indie-rock.

Speedy Ortiz, 'Major Arcana'

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First Listen: Chucho Valdés And The Afro-Cuban Messengers, 'Border-Free'

Chucho Valdés and the Afro-Cuban Messengers' new album, Border-Free, comes out July 9. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Chucho Valdés And The Afro-Cuban Messengers, 'Border-Free'

Every release by the great pianist Chucho Valdés digs deeper into the common roots of jazz and Cuban music. A tight collection of songs that span the entire Cuban musical landscape and beyond, Border-Free explores unexpected musical connections.

Chucho Valdés And The Afro-Cuban Messengers, 'Border-Free'

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Monday

First Listen: Beautiful Swimmers, 'Son'

Beautiful Swimmers' new album, Son, comes out July 2. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Beautiful Swimmers, 'Son'

Both dedicated record collectors, Beautiful Swimmers' Ari Goldman and Andrew Field-Pickering touch on house, disco, New Age zen and John Carpenter unease during their 11-song journey, which they crafted over the course of more than four years.

Beautiful Swimmers, 'Son'

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First Listen: Cheyenne Mize, 'Among The Grey'

Cheyenne Mize's new album, Among the Grey, comes out June 25. Meagan Jordan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Meagan Jordan/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Cheyenne Mize, 'Among The Grey'

On her new album, Mize's wearily melancholic sound makes room for sounds that can be playful, potent, lush and sweet. Among the Grey finds the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist sounding fully formed: Rich and assertive, its songs alternately storm and sparkle.

Cheyenne Mize, 'Among The Grey'

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First Listen: Daughn Gibson, 'Me Moan'

Daughn Gibson's new album, Me Moan, comes out July 9. Adam Wallacavage/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Adam Wallacavage/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Daughn Gibson, 'Me Moan'

The homemade solo country-noir of Gibson's debut gets fleshed out by a real band, featuring pedal steel, cello, trombone and guitar work from members of Baroness and Brokeback. Remaining front and center, though, is Gibson's voice, which remains as dark and thick as blackstrap molasses.

Daughn Gibson, 'Me Moan'

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Sunday

First Listen: Bosnian Rainbows, 'Bosnian Rainbows'

Bosnian Rainbows' self-titled debut comes out June 25. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Bosnian Rainbows, 'Bosnian Rainbows'

Though both are powerful and iconoclastic performers, The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Le Butcherettes' Teri Gender Bender find a way to join together without crowding each other out.

Bosnian Rainbows, 'Bosnian Rainbows'

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First Listen: Smith Westerns, 'Soft Will'

Smith Westerns' third studio album, Soft Will, comes out June 25. Sandy Kim/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sandy Kim/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered Newsletter

First Listen: Smith Westerns, 'Soft Will'

The Chicago band's third album unleashes a sparkly charm offensive that practically rolls down your car windows for you. Sweet and dreamy, slick and sunny, Soft Will is the sound of weaponized agreeability.

Smith Westerns, 'Soft Will'

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First Listen: Mavis Staples, 'One True Vine'

Mavis Staples' new album, One True Vine, comes out June 25. Chris Strong/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Chris Strong/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Mavis Staples, 'One True Vine'

Produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, One True Vine radiates reverence while summoning a slow burn well-suited to Staples' rich, dusky voice. Then, as the album blooms into something more celebratory, joy peeks through like slivers of sunshine.

Mavis Staples, 'One True Vine'

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Sunday

Review: Statik Selektah, 'Extended Play'

Statik Selektah's fifth studio album, Extended Play, comes out June 18. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review: Statik Selektah, 'Extended Play'

Statik is something special — he makes functional, real-deal records that sound like the triumphant persistence of New York and the strains of nostalgia in a sunny day.

Statik Selektah, 'Extended Play'

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First Listen: Austra, 'Olympia'

Austra's new album, Olympia, comes out June 18. Norman Wong/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Norman Wong/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Austra, 'Olympia'

The Canadian band's second album showcases Katie Stelmanis' massive voice and increasingly personal lyrics in style, keeping one foot in the conservatory even as both are occupied on the dance floor.

Austra, 'Olympia'

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First Listen: Primal Scream, 'More Light'

Primal Scream's 10th album, More Light, comes out June 18. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: Primal Scream, 'More Light'

Overstuffed at 69 minutes, the Scottish band's 10th album plays out like a larger-than-life celebration of survival. Like the group itself, More Light is erratic and given to excess, but still reaching for transcendence — and vital enough to find what it's looking for.

Primal Scream, 'More Light'

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Review: Lemuria, 'The Distance Is So Big'

Lemuria's new album, The Distance Is So Big, comes out June 18. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Review: Lemuria, 'The Distance Is So Big'

The band's third album continues a tradition of songs that unfold like mini-suites, hopscotching from one melodic figure or time signature to the next with a playwright's sense of structure.

Lemuria, 'The Distance Is So Big'

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