First Listen : NPR

First Listen: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, 'Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn'

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn's new self-titled album comes out Oct. 7. Jim McGuire/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Jim McGuire/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, 'Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn'

September 28, 2014 • The married couple's first album together as a duo is notable for its understated, welcoming calm. Across 11 short, carefully arranged slivers of Americana, their two banjos join in warm conversation.

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Foxygen, '...And Star Power'

Foxygen's new album, ...And Star Power, comes out Oct. 14. Cara Robbins/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Cara Robbins/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Foxygen, '...And Star Power'

September 28, 2014 • There's a because-we-can quality to the band's overstuffed, 82-minute second album, as Foxygen delights in letting its loosest threads unravel.

...And Star Power

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Review: Godflesh, 'A World Lit Only By Fire'

Godflesh's new album, A World Lit Only By Fire, comes out Oct. 7. Kevin Laska/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Kevin Laska/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: Godflesh, 'A World Lit Only By Fire'

September 28, 2014 • In the late '80s, the Birmingham duo made guitar-pounding, drum-machine-and-bass industrial metal capable of melting Terminators. This is classic Godflesh, unadorned and even flayed in its rage.

A World Lit Only By Fire

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Ex Hex's new album, Rips, comes out Oct. 7. Jonah Takagi/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Jonah Takagi/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Ex Hex, 'Rips'

September 28, 2014 • Mary Timony's ebullient new project fixates on the joys of punk. There's enough energy on Rips to fuel a small country, and all of it is rooted in clean-burning enthusiasm.

Rips

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: A Winged Victory For The Sullen, 'Atomos'

A Winged Victory For The Sullen's new album, Atomos, comes out Oct. 7. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: A Winged Victory For The Sullen, 'Atomos'

September 28, 2014 • An ambient-minded neoclassical duo that likes its sounds intensely measured, contemplative and slow, A Winged Victory For The Sullen works hard to make listeners feel eerily, gloriously lost.

Atomos

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Steve Gunn, 'Way Out Weather'

Steve Gunn's new album, Way Out Weather, comes out Oct. 7. Constance Mensh/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Constance Mensh/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Steve Gunn, 'Way Out Weather'

September 28, 2014 • Way Out Weather marks the completion of Gunn's transformation from a master guitarist into a songwriter with complete trust in his own voice and arrangements.

Way Out Weather

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, 'Gone Girl (Motion Picture Soundtrack)'

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' soundtrack to the film Gone Girl comes out Sept. 30. Rob Sheridan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Rob Sheridan/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, 'Gone Girl (Motion Picture Soundtrack)'

September 25, 2014 • Gone Girl is Reznor and Ross' third soundtrack collaboration under the direction of David Fincher. As with their past work together, the music suits the story that inspired it perfectly.

Gone Girl (Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Lucinda Williams, 'Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone'

Lucinda Williams' new album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, comes out Sept. 30. Michael Wilson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Michael Wilson/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Lucinda Williams, 'Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone'

September 21, 2014 • In terms of pure expression, no singer in popular music can touch Williams when she's calling from the lonely outskirts of Despairville.

Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Electric Wizard, 'Time To Die'

Electric Wizard's new album, Time To Die, comes out Sept. 30. Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Electric Wizard, 'Time To Die'

September 21, 2014 • Electric Wizard has spent two decades playing ridiculously heavy, misanthropic doom metal. On Time To Die, the band gets more room to explore than ever.

Time To Die

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Brooklyn Rider, 'The Brooklyn Rider Almanac'

Brooklyn Rider's new album, The Brooklyn Rider Almanac, comes out Sept. 30. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Brooklyn Rider, 'The Brooklyn Rider Almanac'

September 21, 2014 • The adventuresome string quartet asked a huge range of musicians to create new pieces modeled on artistic idols. Hear pieces inspired by figures ranging from John Steinbeck to James Brown.

The Brooklyn Rider Almanac

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Electric Youth, 'Innerworld'

Electric Youth's new album, Innerworld, comes out Sept. 30. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Electric Youth, 'Innerworld'

September 21, 2014 • Innerworld is awash in '80s earmarks, but it also conveys a sense of wistfulness; a sense of childlike splendor in danger of succumbing to the ravages of adulthood.

Innerworld

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen: Kat Edmonson, 'The Big Picture'

Kat Edmonson's new album, The Big Picture, comes out Sept. 30. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Kat Edmonson, 'The Big Picture'

September 21, 2014 • A savvy student of '60s film soundtracks, jazz-pop stylists and Brill Building songcraft, Edmonson nods to her influences at every turn. But her take on those musical languages is fresh and fluent.

The Big Picture

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Cantaloupe

Review: John Luther Adams, 'Become Ocean'

September 21, 2014 • The winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for music is both an unforgettable seascape and an urgent call to action. Hear the Alaskan composer and environmentalist's sweeping symphonic work.

Review: John Luther Adams, 'Become Ocean'

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/348962229/351713784" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

First Listen: Leonard Cohen, 'Popular Problems'

Leonard Cohen's new album, Popular Problems, comes out Sept. 23. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Leonard Cohen, 'Popular Problems'

September 15, 2014 • Cohen's 13th album creates a space for slow-moving reflection that expands with each listen. The tarpit-voiced raconteur's songs unfold like dirty canticles, with room for both jokes and profundities.

First Listen: Sondre Lerche, 'Please'

September 14, 2014 • On the Norwegian singer-songwriter's seventh studio album, the ache and anger of divorce gets re-purposed into a loose, feisty, energetic record that finds Lerche sounding fully recharged.

Please

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

First Listen

Sunday September 28, 2014

First Listen: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, 'Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn'

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn

First Listen: Foxygen, '...And Star Power'

...And Star Power

Review

Review: Godflesh, 'A World Lit Only By Fire'

A World Lit Only By Fire

First Listen: Ex Hex, 'Rips'

Rips

First Listen: A Winged Victory For The Sullen, 'Atomos'

Atomos

First Listen: Steve Gunn, 'Way Out Weather'

Way Out Weather

Thursday September 25, 2014

First Listen: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, 'Gone Girl (Motion Picture Soundtrack)'

Gone Girl (Soundtrack From The Motion Picture)

Sunday September 21, 2014

First Listen: Lucinda Williams, 'Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone'

Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone

First Listen: Electric Wizard, 'Time To Die'

Time To Die

First Listen: Brooklyn Rider, 'The Brooklyn Rider Almanac'

The Brooklyn Rider Almanac

First Listen: Electric Youth, 'Innerworld'

Innerworld

First Listen: Kat Edmonson, 'The Big Picture'

The Big Picture

Review: John Luther Adams, 'Become Ocean'

Review: John Luther Adams, 'Become Ocean'

Monday September 15, 2014

First Listen: Leonard Cohen, 'Popular Problems'

Popular Problems

Sunday September 14, 2014

First Listen: Sondre Lerche, 'Please'

Please