Ann Powers and Sheldon Pearce listen to the new albums out on Feb. 9 — including Brittany Howard's What Now — and find themselves wondering about the cultural value of virtuosity in 2024.

Featured albums:
1. Brittany Howard, What Now
2. Joel Ross, nublues
3. Boldy James & Nicholas Craven, Penalty of Leadership (released Jan. 12)
4. Kali Malone, All Life Long
5. Sonic Youth, Walls Have Ears
6. Usher, Coming Home

Other notable albums out Feb. 9:
• Helado Negro, PHASOR
• Chelsea Wolfe, She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She
• Madi Diaz, Weird Faith
• Declan McKenna, What Happened To The Beach?
• Little Simz, Drop 7 EP
• Shygirl, Club Shy EP
• Kelela, RAVE:N, The Remixes 
• Mk.gee, Two Star & The Dream Police
• Ducks Ltd., Harm's Way
• David Nance & Mowed Sound, David Nance & Mowed Sound
• Split System, Vol. 2
• The Telescopes, Growing Eyes Become String

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New Music Friday: Brittany Howard and a new era of musical masters

Since launching in 2000, All Songs Considered has been NPR's flagship program for music discovery, artist interviews and conversations with friends and fellow music lovers about the really big questions, like what was the best decade for music, are there albums everyone can agree on, and what do you put on when you need a good cry? Weekly, with host Robin Hilton and the NPR Music family.

Music

We asked listeners to tell us about a song they ugly cried to or just couldn't stop playing. On this episode, we share some of their picks and the stories behind them.

Note: This episode originally ran on Dec. 26, 2023

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Songs that hit you hard (2023)

NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Hazel Cills discuss new releases by Billie Eilish, Portishead's Beth Gibbons and Rapsody.

Featured albums:
- Billie Eilish, 'Hit Me Hard and Soft'
- Rapsody, 'Please Don't Cry'
- Beth Gibbons, 'Lives Outgrown'

Other notable albums out May 17:
- Shellac, 'To All Trains'
- The Avett Brothers, 'The Avett Brothers'
- V/A, 'Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense'
- Mach-Hommy, '#RICHAXXHAITIAN'
- Cage the Elephant, 'Neon Pill'
- of Montreal, 'Lady on the Cusp'
- Wu-Lu, 'Learning To Swim On Empty'
- Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band, 'Loophole'
- The Lovely Eggs, 'Eggistentialism'
- Kaia Kater, 'Strange Medicine'
- Álvaro Díaz, 'SAYONARA'
- ZAYN, 'Room Under the Stairs'
- One Step Closer, 'All You Embrace'
- A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, 'Better Off Alone'
- Crumb, 'AMAMA'
- Lightheaded, 'Combustible Gems'
- Pallbearer, 'Mind Burns Alive'
- Joywave, 'Permanent Pleasure'
- Blitzen Trapper, '100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions'
- Payroll Giovanni, 'Have Money, Have Heart' EP
- UFOmammut, 'Hidden'
- SQÜRL, 'Music for Man Ray'
- pub, 'process the wise'


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New Music Friday: The best albums out May 17

Ana and Felix collect their favorite recent releases from the past few months, including new material from the breakout regional band Grupo Frontera, a country/Latin cross-over in the music of Wyatt Flores, a new song from groundbreaking rapper Mala Rodriguez and more.

Songs featured in this episode:

•Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, "Mas Que Nada"
•Luis Muñoz, "Crescent Moon"
•Mala Rodriguez, "Casi Nada [Explicit]"
•Alih Jay, "Bang Bang (Mi Baby Me Mató)"
•Cher, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
•Grupo Frontera, "Me Hizo Un Favor"
•Wyatt Flores, "Half Life"
•Danny Ocean, "Cero Condiciones [Explicit]"
•Fabiola Méndez, "Lamento en Celinés"
•Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, "EL ÚNICO"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler, with editorial support from Hazel Cills. Our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Wyatt Flores, Danny Ocean and Grupo Frontera

We update our running list of the year's best songs with new ones from Dominic Fike, WILLOW, Kamasi Washington, Illuminati Hotties and more.

Featured artists and songs:
1. WILLOW: "run!" from 'empathogen'
2. Dominic Fike: "hi grace" from '14 minutes'
3. Kamasi Washington, George Clinton & D Smoke: "Get Lit," from 'Fearless Movement'
4. Illuminati Hotties: "Can't Be Still" (single)
5. Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion: "To Music," from 'Rectangles and Circumstance'
6. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: "L'ouef" from 'Challengers' OST

Like the show? Tell your friends and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

Feedback always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

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The Contenders, Vol. 9: The songs we can't stop playing this week

This week's episode of New Music Friday from All Songs Considered showcases artists stretching limits across a wide spectrum of genres. NPR Music editor Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Alt.Latino host Anamaria Sayre dig into the most exciting albums out May 10, 2024, from a juggernaut of the Mexican regional scene experimenting with song forms and sounds from across Latin America to an R&B; singer getting loose after portraying a jazz icon to a blockbuster collection of contemporary indie artists pulled together for the soundtrack of a discombobulating movie rooted in the 1990s. 

Featured Albums:
• Grupo Frontera, Jugando a Que No Pasa Nada
• Andra Day, Cassandra (cherith)
• Various Artists, I Saw the TV Glow Original Soundtrack

Other notable albums out May 10:
• Yaya Bey, Ten Fold
• Les Savy Fav, OUI LSF
• I. Jordan, I Am Jordan
• Ryan Castro, El Cantante del Ghetto
• Amen Dunes, Death Jokes
• Arab Strap, I'm totally fine with it don't give a f*** anymore
• Brad Mehldau, After Bach II
• Brad Mehldau, Après Fauré
• Chick Corea & Béla Fleck, Remembrance
• Chief Keef, Almighty So 2
• Conway the Machine, Slant Face Killah
• Dehd, Poetry
• Gunna, One of Wun
• How To Dress Well, I Am Toward You
• Jim White and Marisa Anderson, Swallowtail
• Kelsey Waldon, There's Always a Song
• Kings of Leon, Can We Please Have Fun
• Mick Harvey, Five Ways to Say Goodbye
• Morgan Guerin, Tales of the Facade
• Myriam Gendron, Mayday
• Orville Peck, Stampede, Vol. 1
• Shannon & the Clams, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place

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New Music Friday: Brittany Howard and a new era of musical masters

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