Listen: Funky Jazz From Hailu Mergia, Bandleader Turned D.C. Cab Driver
Before last year, keyboardist Hailu Mergia may have more closely identified as a cab driver than the ex-leader of one…
Category: Sounds
First Listen: King Tuff, ‘Black Moon Spell’
On his third album, the D.I.Y. glam-rocker re-brands himself as some sort of demonic teenager. But Black Moon Spell is, at heart, the sound of one guy making sure everyone around him has a good time.
First Listen: Sondre Lerche, ‘Please’
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.
First Listen: Mapei, ‘Hey Hey’
The rapper turned pop singer’s accessible, soaring voice is propelled by genuine charisma and heart, as she constructs her savvy, sweet pop out of sonically irresistible ingredients.
Kelis On World Cafe
Hear the R&B chef perform four live songs and share some unexpected stories with World Cafe host David Dye.
Track Work: The Effects, ‘Blister’
Devin Ocampo has a name for the speedy, rip-roaring songs he likes the most. “I’ve always called these types of…
Ryan Adams On World Cafe
The roots-rock singer just released his self-titled 14th album. But the big news coming out of his World Cafe session was the debut of an unreleased song called “The Door.”
Track Work: Art Sorority For Girls, ‘Dead Man’
Rock outfit Art Sorority For Girls is responsible for one of the catchiest songs I’ve heard from a D.C. artist…
First Listen: My Brightest Diamond, ‘This Is My Hand’
Shara Worden’s music sounds both micro-orchestrated and entirely, ecstatically spontaneous. Every song here is a mission statement and a directive; each is propulsive and demanding of full attention.
First Listen: Lowell, ‘We Loved Her Dearly’
The Canadian singer and producer makes user-friendly, irresistible pop music from an expressly feminist perspective. On her first full-length album, she wields many tools to do it.
First Listen: Karen O, ‘Crush Songs’
The singer’s lo-fi solo debut has the earnest immediacy of Kimya Dawson and the ukulele-driven poignancy of Magnetic Fields. But it’s powered by a subversive, fearlessly revealed rock ‘n’ roll heart.
Jenny Toomey Returns To Music After A 12-Year Hiatus
Coming up in the era of slacker rock, Jenny Toomey may have seemed like an outlier: The native of Chevy…
Track Work: Micah Vellian, ‘Crystal Clear’
After a few years in D.C. house trio Volta Bureau, Miguel Lacsamana and his bandmates decided it was time to…
BadBadNotGood On World Cafe
The instrumental hip-hop band’s third record is their first of completely original material.
Track Work: Diamond District, ‘First Step’
Five years after the D.C.-rooted hip-hop trio unveiled its acclaimed full-length debut, Diamond District is gearing up to drop its followup…
First Listen: Death Blues, ‘Ensemble’
Jon Mueller is thinking about death. It sounds like a hammer hitting an acoustic guitar. William Ryan Fritch joins the Volcano Choir drummer for a blown-out, hyper-real orchestra of the self.
Ty Segall Rocks Out — Acoustic-Style, And With More Polish
The garage rocker performs stripped-down versions of songs from his new album, Manipulator, and tells NPR’s Arun Rath why the new songs are less rough around the edges than some of his earlier work.
Track Work: Abhi//Dijon, ‘13’
In a time when plenty of R&B artists could be confused for rappers who happen to carry a tune well,…
Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can’t Stop Playing
Download new music from Merchandise, Reigning Sound, The Barr Brothers, Field Report and more.
Latitudes: The International Music You Must Hear In August
African psychedelia, funked-up Indian bhangra and haunting music from France by way of Cuba — a deep treasure trove of cuts to end your summer on a high note.