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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: 'Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac'

Fleetwood Mac's 1976, Rumours-era lineup featured John McVie, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

First Listen: 'Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac'

Hear 17 Fleetwood Mac covers by an impressive cross-section of talent, including The New Pornographers, Antony Hegarty, Best Coast, Lykke Li, Washed Out, MGMT, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, St. Vincent, The Kills, Tame Impala and more.

Hear 'Just Tell Me That You Want Me' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Redd Kross, 'Researching The Blues'

Redd Kross' first album in 15 years, Researching the Blues, comes out August 7. Jonathan Krop hide caption

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Jonathan Krop

First Listen: Redd Kross, 'Researching The Blues'

Stuffing 10 songs into 32 minutes, the L.A. rock band's first album in 15 years is a big, brash, vital blast of rock 'n' roll. Core members Steven and Jeff McDonald got their start playing this sort of stuff 34 years ago, but Redd Kross couldn't be farther from a dinosaur act in 2012.

Hear 'Researching The Blues' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Lianne La Havas, 'Is Your Love Big Enough?'

Lianne La Havas' debut album, out August 7, is titled Is Your Love Big Enough? Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Lianne La Havas, 'Is Your Love Big Enough?'

In a crowded marketplace for young, big-voiced pop singers, it takes nuance and charisma to stand out; blaring pipes aren't enough. A 22-year-old from London, La Havas possesses a rich, expressive voice — but also, more importantly, a keen understanding of when to dial it back.

Hear 'Is Your Love Big Enough?' In Its Entirety

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Sunday

First Listen: 'Out Of Many: 50 Years Of Reggae Music'

Gregory Isaacs. Peter Simon/Courtesy of VP Records hide caption

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Peter Simon/Courtesy of VP Records

First Listen: 'Out Of Many: 50 Years Of Reggae Music'

A new compilation celebrates 50 years of Jamaican independence with a hit song from each year, starting in 1962.

Hear Disc One Of 'Out Of Many' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Christian Scott, 'Christian aTunde Adjuah'

Christian Scott's new record, Christian aTunde Adjuah, comes out July 31. Kiel Adrian Scott/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Kiel Adrian Scott/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Christian Scott, 'Christian aTunde Adjuah'

The trumpeter and composer has created a double album that extends his jazz inheritance as it acknowledges the past — from Africa through New Orleans and New York — that has made him who he is today.

Hear 'Christian aTunde Adjuah' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: thenewno2, 'thefearofmissingout'

thenewno2's new record, thefearofmissingout, comes out July 31. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: thenewno2, 'thefearofmissingout'

The band, led by Grammy-winning sound engineer Paul Hicks and Fistful of Mercy's Dhani Harrison, packs together a dizzying array of ideas, sounds, samples, guests and all things buzzy and busy.

Hear 'thefearofmissingout' In Its Entirety

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Monday

First Listen: The Gaslight Anthem, 'Handwritten'

The Gaslight Anthem's new album, Handwritten, comes out July 24. Danny Clinch hide caption

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Danny Clinch

First Listen: The Gaslight Anthem, 'Handwritten'

The ingredients are familiar, but Handwritten still sounds amazing — all blood and guts, life and death, youth and danger, wistful memories and thwarted lust. If there were a psychotropic drug that made users feel like James Dean, this album would render it redundant.

Hear 'Handwritten' In Its Entirety

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Sunday

First Listen: Passion Pit, 'Gossamer'

Passion Pit's new album, Gossamer, comes out July 24. Jason Nocito/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jason Nocito/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Passion Pit, 'Gossamer'

The band follows its 2009 breakthrough, Manners, with an album of pure catharsis. It's all about strength, moving forward, forgetting — and giving life to the party even as it doles out condolences to the lonely.

Hear 'Gossamer' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Laetitia Sadier, 'Silencio'

Laetitia Sadier's new album, Silencio, comes out July 24. David Thayer hide caption

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David Thayer

First Listen: Laetitia Sadier, 'Silencio'

Stereolab, the world's greatest Kraut-lounge act, ended its two-decade-long organ riff in 2009. French frontwoman Laetitia Sadier has carried on in its absence, and on Silencio, she's made an honest-to-goodness protest album.

Hear 'Silencio' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Purity Ring, 'Shrines'

Purity Ring's first album, Shrines, comes out July 24. Landon Speers hide caption

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Landon Speers

First Listen: Purity Ring, 'Shrines'

Purity Ring smashes together virtually every signifier of modern, up-to-the-second electronic pop: washy throbs, synths that sparkle and seethe, hints of hip-hop in the beats, a cooing voice that's all the more haunting for the way it's smeared with AutoTune.

Hear 'Shrines' In Its Entirety

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Sunday

First Listen: JEFF The Brotherhood, 'Hypnotic Nights'

JEFF the Brotherhood's new album, Hypnotic Nights, comes out July 17. Jo McCaughey hide caption

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Jo McCaughey

First Listen: JEFF The Brotherhood, 'Hypnotic Nights'

The real-life brothers behind JEFF the Brotherhood, Jake and Jamin Orrall, know how to find the sweet spot that connects larger-than-life rock majesty to good-natured every-guy doofiness.

Hear 'Hypnotic Nights' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: Fang Island, 'Major'

Fang Island's new album, Major, comes out July 24. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Fang Island, 'Major'

Fang Island's music is a visceral release: Songs build and swell from chorus-like instrumental explosions to contented dénouements before the rush of the next one begins. You can sift through the band's music for epiphanies, or turn your brain off and dance in the heat.

Hear 'Major' In Its Entirety

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First Listen: The Very Best, 'MTMTMK'

The Very Best's new album, MTMTMK, comes out July 17. Suat Kutlug hide caption

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Suat Kutlug

First Listen: The Very Best, 'MTMTMK'

The Swedish-born producer and a Malawian singer and drummer create "African" music that sounds like a whole world of city-dwelling street sophisticates. MTMTMK's danceable African sounds could fire up any party, and would sound great on the radio.

Hear 'MTMTMK' In Its Entirety

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Sunday

First Listen: Delicate Steve, 'Positive Force'

Delicate Steve's new album, Positive Force, comes out July 10. Joe Appaluccio hide caption

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Joe Appaluccio

First Listen: Delicate Steve, 'Positive Force'

Positive Force, the band's second album, practically bursts with eccentric ideas and curlicues. It's to guitarist Steve Marion's credit that it hangs together as well as it does, sounding simultaneously like a Delicate Steve record and a dozen other things at once.

Hear 'Positive Force' In Its Entirety

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