RDGLDGRN: Tiny Desk Concert
The D.C.-area band crafts a striking mix of rock, hip-hop, funk, go-go and Brazilian sounds, fused with energy and humor.
Tag: NPR
Lock Screen: At These Music Shows, Phones Go In A Pouch And Don’t Come Out
The Lumineers are among many artists frustrated by people on their mobile devices during performances. Their singer explains why they’re asking fans to lock up their phones with a new technology.
Review: The Julie Ruin, ‘Hit Reset’
After stints in Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, Kathleen Hanna still finds new ways to rage and inspire. On her new album at the helm of The Julie Ruin, she transforms anger into a source of power and fun.
Review: Agustín Lira, ‘Songs Of Hope And Struggle’
The California musician, along with his musical partner Patricia Wells, adapt their message of social justice for modern times, while maintaining the same inspirational lyrics and conviction.
Review: Marisa Anderson, ‘Into The Light’
Anderson’s guitar is inextricably tied to the raw and seeking tradition of American music. The guitarist calls her fourth album an imaginary soundtrack to a science-fiction western.
Review: A-WA, ‘Habib Galbi’
Three Israeli sisters celebrate — and utterly transform — a trove of Arab-language folk songs that they inherited as Yemenite Jews, by tweaking them with electronic touches.
Review: Deerhoof, ‘The Magic’
The band’s tense, visceral, unpredictable sound doesn’t let listeners get comfortable for very long. These 15 songs were inspired by the music each Deerhoof member grew up loving.
First Listen: Oh Pep!, ‘Stadium Cake’
On its first full-length album, the Melbourne duo’s mostly upbeat music is filled with questions about desire and life’s priorities.
First Listen: case/lang/veirs, ‘case/lang/veirs’
A worthy extension of three tremendous catalogs, in which three great singer-songwriters sound enhanced and invigorated by the challenge of living up to each other’s legacies.
Review: Laura Mvula, ‘The Dreaming Room’
On her second full-length album, the soulful and versatile U.K. pop singer tugs at the boundaries of her sound, while also letting in details from her life.
Review: Bruce Hornsby And The Noisemakers, ‘Rehab Reunion’
Thirty years after his breakthrough hit “The Way It Is,” the singer-keyboardist once again hits the sweet spot between joyful improv and immaculate songcraft.
Review: Mogwai, ‘Atomic’
More than 20 years into its career, the mostly instrumental Scottish rock band returns with an album that can be poignant, blood-curdling and beautiful.
Review: Mitski, ‘Puberty 2’
These 11 tracks creep up on you, as Mitski Miyawaki’s coiled melodies suddenly explode into cavernous freak-outs or build to a crescendo of unbearable catharsis.
First Listen: The Low Anthem, ‘Eyeland’
This is an album in which you can lose yourself and, along the way, glimpse something you’ve lost. Throughout Eyeland, The Low Anthem crafts a rich Technicolor psych-folk world.
First Listen: Kitty Cash, ‘Love The Free Vol. 3’
The Brooklyn DJ’s final installment of her curated mixtape series is a patient journey toward personal excellence, crafted with a steady hand and a discerning ear fixed to the streets.
First Listen: Moon Hooch, ‘Red Sky’
No one makes music like Moon Hooch, a muscular trio whose setup typically consists of two saxophones and a drummer. Its third album feels new, vibrant and essential.
Review: Allen Toussaint, ‘American Tunes’
A posthumous album from the great behind-the-scenes man sets a retrospective, autumnal focus on songs which gave rise to Toussaint and his city — and thus to a bigger American music canon.
Review: Eli Paperboy Reed, ‘My Way Home’
The gospel-inspired soul singer has a knack for imbuing narrative tropes with new meaning, transforming them into stories that couldn’t be anyone else’s.
First Listen: Diarrhea Planet, ‘Turn To Gold’
With its four guitarists, the band crafts a potent and sometimes ridiculous mix of garage rock, pop punk, metal and even Southern rock.
First Listen: Brandy Clark, ‘Big Day In A Small Town’
The country singer-songwriter’s second album boasts a big sound. But it keeps beautiful details intact, as Clark speaks for those often pushed aside within traditional storytelling narratives.