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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: Tremor, 'Proa'

Tremor's new album, Proa, comes out Sept. 3. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Tremor, 'Proa'

Tremor creates a mash-up of South American traditions and electronic music. Its new album, Proa, offers a fascinating exploration into a "digital folklorico" style that bleeps, echoes, thumps and dances.

Tremor, 'Proa'

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First Listen: Okkervil River, 'The Silver Gymnasium'

Okkervil River's new album, The Silver Gymnasium, comes out Sept. 3. Ben Sklar/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Ben Sklar/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Okkervil River, 'The Silver Gymnasium'

For Okkervil River's Will Sheff, it's been impossible to let go of Meriden, N.H., circa 1986. He pays tribute to that place and time in a nostalgia-fueled album that floats warmly in the soft spots separating childhood from adolescence.

Okkervil River, 'The Silver Gymnasium'

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First Listen: The Julie Ruin, 'Run Fast'

The Julie Ruin's new album, Run Fast, comes out Sept. 3. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: The Julie Ruin, 'Run Fast'

The Julie Ruin returns Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre) to her rightful place leading a noisy bunch of smart pleasure-seekers. Singing about sickness and recovery, dumb nightlife and life-changing community, Hanna helps listeners better understand punk's past and future.

The Julie Ruin, 'Run Fast'

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Monday

First Listen: Franz Ferdinand, 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'

Franz Ferdinand's new album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, comes out August 27. Andy Knowles/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Andy Knowles/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Franz Ferdinand, 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'

Almost 10 years after "Take Me Out" helped the band break through commercially, win a Mercury Prize and craft a zeitgeist-defining sound — and two years after a rumored breakup — the Glaswegian dance-rock outfit returns with its first new album since 2009.

Franz Ferdinand, 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'

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Sunday

First Listen: Sly And The Family Stone, Highlights From 'Higher!'

Sly & The Family Stone's new career-spanning anthology, out August 27, is titled Higher! Herb Greene/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Herb Greene/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Sly And The Family Stone, Highlights From 'Higher!'

A new four-disc box set compiles live rarities and should-have-been hits along with the pop-out classics. The effect is a full picture of a fitful man desperate to rally the masses into a pop utopia, fearful (or is it knowing?) that he was really headed to the shadows. Hear 16 songs from Higher!

Sly & The Family Stone, 'Higher!'

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First Listen: Bob Dylan, Highlights From 'Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)'

Bob Dylan in 1970, the year he released his 10th studio album, Self Portrait. A new collection, Another Self Portrait (1969-1971), comes out August 27. John Cohen/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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John Cohen/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Bob Dylan, Highlights From 'Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)'

Subtitled The Bootleg Series Vol. 10, a new archival set revisits one of Dylan's key transitional phases, when he was running from his own burdensome greatness and jumping into the great scrap heap of American musical tradition. Hear 15 songs from the new box set.

Highlights From Bob Dylan's 'Another Self Portrait'

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Review: King Krule, '6 Feet Beneath The Moon'

King Krule's debut album, 6 Feet Beneath The Moon, comes out August 24 — the day he turns 19. Jamie-James Medina/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jamie-James Medina/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: King Krule, '6 Feet Beneath The Moon'

On his first album as King Krule, he devotes himself to mapping the varieties of growl his open throat can muster.

King Krule, '6 Feet Beneath The Moon'

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First Listen: Neko Case, 'The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight...'

Neko Case's new album, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, comes out Sept. 3. Emily Shur/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Emily Shur/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Neko Case, 'The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight...'

Case's gift for disarming commentary carries over to the quotable, thoughtful, frequently lovely songs on The Worse Things Get: She can be bracingly acerbic, boldly inspiring, or achingly tender while conveying equal, virtually boundless charisma.

Neko Case, 'The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight...'

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First Listen: Volcano Choir, 'Repave'

Volcano Choir's new album, Repave, comes out Sept. 3. Cameron Wittig/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Cameron Wittig/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Volcano Choir, 'Repave'

If Justin Vernon never releases another record under the name Bon Iver — and he's publicly suggested that that might be the case — more albums like Repave would render the issue largely irrelevant. His second album with Volcano Choir is just that good.

Volcano Choir, 'Repave'

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Thursday

Review: Rapsody, 'She Got Game'

Rapsody's She Got Game will be available as a free mixtape at Datpiff.com on August 20. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: Rapsody, 'She Got Game'

The rapper is grittier than Lauryn Hill and more soulful than MC Lyte, and possesses a knack for realness that recalls the artist formerly known as Mos Def.

Rapsody, 'She Got Game'

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Sunday

Review: Anna Netrebko, 'Verdi'

Anna Netrebko's Verdi comes out August 20. Kristian Schuller/DG hide caption

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Kristian Schuller/DG

Review: Anna Netrebko, 'Verdi'

For her first studio album in five years, the celebrated soprano reveals a newly darkened, larger-sounding voice in a tribute to Guiseppe Verdi.

Anna Netrebko, 'Verdi'

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First Listen: No Age, 'An Object'

No Age's new album, An Object, comes out August 20. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: No Age, 'An Object'

The arty L.A. noise-rock duo's fourth album seethes stubbornly when it could have far more easily opened up at full blast and stayed there. A compact but searching 30 minutes of music, An Object hammers and wanders while upsetting and upending expectations.

No Age, 'An Object'

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First Listen: Ty Segall, 'Sleeper'

Ty Segall's new album, Sleeper, comes out August 20. Denee Petracek/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Denee Petracek/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Ty Segall, 'Sleeper'

In the wake of his father's death, the prolific garage-rock revivalist returns with a heartfelt album. Titled Sleeper, it's deeper, darker and more emotional than anything the singer and guitarist has released so far.

Ty Segall, 'Sleeper'

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First Listen: Superchunk, 'I Hate Music'

Superchunk's new album, I Hate Music, comes out August 20. Jason Arthurs/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jason Arthurs/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Superchunk, 'I Hate Music'

Infused with winning, strident energy, I Hate Music is the sound of a veteran band with its vitality intact, for which fun and fury are essential components of a life thoughtfully lived.

Superchunk, 'I Hate Music'

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