First Listen : NPR

First Listen: Aaron Lee Tasjan, 'Silver Tears'

Aaron Lee Tasjan's new album, Silver Tears, comes out Oct. 28. Curtis Wayne Millard/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Curtis Wayne Millard/Courtesy of the artist.

First Listen: Aaron Lee Tasjan, 'Silver Tears'

October 20, 2016 • The Americana innovator invites listeners into a shiny dreamscape that's both deeply informed by musical history and uniquely his own.

Silver Tears

46:57

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Song
Silver Tears
Album
Silver Tears
Artist
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Label
New West Records
Released
2016

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First Listen: Mannequin Pussy, 'Romantic'

Mannequin Pussy's new album, Romantic, comes out Oct. 28. Scott Troyan/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Scott Troyan/Courtesy of the artist.

First Listen: Mannequin Pussy, 'Romantic'

October 20, 2016 • Mannequin Pussy knows — and sounds like — the hell that is heartbreak, veering in short bursts between syrupy sweet pop and charred-walls-of-sound punk.

Romantic

17:10

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Song
Romantic
Album
Romantic
Artist
Mannequin Pussy
Label
Tiny Engines
Released
2016

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First Listen: Lara Downes, 'America Again'

Lara Downes' new album, America Again, comes out Oct. 28. Rik Keller/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Rik Keller/Courtesy of the artist.

First Listen: Lara Downes, 'America Again'

October 20, 2016 • Hear the pianist's portrait of America in a smartly programmed, wide-ranging anthology of solo piano works by composers past and present; male and female; straight and gay; white, black and Latino.

America Again

1:07:05

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Song
America Again
Album
America Again
Artist
Lara Downes
Label
Sono Luminus
Released
2016

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TOY's new album, Clear Shot, comes out Oct. 28. Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Steve Gullick/Courtesy of the artist.

First Listen: TOY, 'Clear Shot'

October 20, 2016 • The British band's third full-length is proof of just how vivid and inviting psychedelic music can be in the 21st century.

Clear Shot

50:21

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Song
Clear Shot
Album
Clear Shot
Artist
TOY
Label
PIAS America
Released
2016

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First Listen: Nina Diaz, 'The Beat Is Dead'

Nina Diaz's new album, The Beat Is Dead, comes out Oct. 28. Jade Hernandez/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Jade Hernandez/Courtesy of the artist.

First Listen: Nina Diaz, 'The Beat Is Dead'

October 20, 2016 • The new solo album from the Girl In A Coma frontwoman is a fiercely brave, song-by-song journey through her experiences of addiction and recovery.

The Beat Is Dead

50:08

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Song
The Beat Is Dead
Album
The Beat Is Dead
Artist
Nina Diaz
Label
Cosmica
Released
2016

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Michael Mayer's new album, &, comes out Oct. 28. Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist.

First Listen: Michael Mayer, '&'

October 20, 2016 • One of global techno's boldface names pushes himself into new territories on a collaboration album stocked with dance-music's leading lights.

&

1:06:48

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Song
&
Album
&
Artist
Michael Mayer
Label
!K7 Records
Released
2016

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Review: Leonard Cohen, 'You Want It Darker'

Leonard Cohen's new album, You Want It Darker, comes out Oct. 21. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review: Leonard Cohen, 'You Want It Darker'

October 14, 2016 • The particular darkness that defines Cohen's 14th studio album is nearly inescapable, and found everywhere. It's a thick blanket of grim.

Review: American Football, 'American Football'

American Football's new album, American Football, comes out Oct. 21. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

Review: American Football, 'American Football'

October 13, 2016 • Just like that, the emo band returns 17 years after its debut album — a bit older and a bit more introspective, yet still holding on to that teenage feeling.

Tanya Tagaq's new album, Retribution, comes out Oct. 21. Katrin Braga/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Katrin Braga/Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Tanya Tagaq, 'Retribution'

October 13, 2016 • Tagaq, an Inuk throat singer, marries modern pop with deeply-vested tradition to gobsmacking effect. The songs on her new album, Retribution, encompass terror, rage, ecstasy and bone-leeching sadness.

Review: The Radio Dept., 'Running Out Of Love'

The Radio Dept.'s new album, Running Out Of Love, comes out Oct. 21. Martin Carlberg/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Martin Carlberg/Courtesy of the artist

Review: The Radio Dept., 'Running Out Of Love'

October 13, 2016 • The protest album is alive and well in 2016. Listen to a synth-pop record created to fight the rise of far-right nationalism in Sweden.

Review: Weyes Blood, 'Front Row Seat To Earth'

Weyes Blood's new album, Front Row Seat To Earth, comes out Oct. 21. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review: Weyes Blood, 'Front Row Seat To Earth'

October 13, 2016 • Natalie Mering's performances are framed in ebbing-and-flowing chamber-folk, set off by psychedelic detours and surreal manipulations of captured sound.

John K Samson's new album, Winter Wheat, comes out Oct. 21. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review: John K. Samson, 'Winter Wheat'

October 13, 2016 • The former Weakerthans singer returns with an album full of gorgeous, vividly detailed songs about characters whose potential doesn't always lend them a pathway out of their own heads.

Purling Hiss' new album, High Bias, comes out Oct. 14. Constance Mensh/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Constance Mensh/Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Purling Hiss, 'High Bias'

October 6, 2016 • If rock music is your salve in hard times, it helps to find something that actually rocks. For its eighth album, Philadelphia's Purling Hiss returns with an unquestionably huge guitar record.

Johnnyswim's new album, Georgica Pond, comes out Oct. 14. Darren Lau/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Darren Lau/Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Johnnyswim, 'Georgica Pond'

October 6, 2016 • These are songs by and for feel-big dreamers, performed with a gift for weapons-grade ingratiation by a pair of born crowd-pleasers.

Review: Muddy Magnolias, 'Broken People'

Muddy Magnolias' new album, Broken People, comes out Oct. 14. Mary Caroline Russell/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Mary Caroline Russell/Courtesy of the artist

Review: Muddy Magnolias, 'Broken People'

October 6, 2016 • Call Muddy Magnolias rock, soul or even country: The huge, soulful, uplifting voices of Jessy Wilson and Kallie North will fill whatever space opens up to them.

Swet Shop Boys' new album, Cashmere, is out Oct. 14. Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Swet Shop Boys, 'Cashmere'

October 6, 2016 • Rappers Heems and Riz MC (the latter an actor known for his starring role in HBO's The Night Of) address South Asian identity with insight, poignancy and infectious humor.

Helado Negro's new album, Private Energy, comes out Oct. 7. Ben Sellon/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Ben Sellon/Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Helado Negro, 'Private Energy'

September 29, 2016 • The latest album by musician Roberto Lange mixes his unmistakable keyboard sounds with stripped-down dance beats and lyrics waiting to be assigned a narrative from your own life.

Review: Brent Cobb, 'Shine On Rainy Day'

Brent Cobb's new album, Shine On Rainy Day, comes out Oct. 7. Don VanCleave/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Don VanCleave/Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Brent Cobb, 'Shine On Rainy Day'

September 29, 2016 • On his first full-length album, the young country singer-songwriter imaginatively teases out the subtle textures of small-town life.

Phish's new album, Big Boat, comes out Oct. 7. Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist.

Review: Phish, 'Big Boat'

September 29, 2016 • The band's 13th album feels like a tonal sequel to 2014's terrific Fuego, thanks to a balanced ear for Phish's on-stage exuberance and sonic cohesion.

Shovels & Rope's new album, Little Seeds, comes out Oct. 7. Leslie Ryan McKellar/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Leslie Ryan McKellar/Courtesy of the artist

Review: Shovels & Rope, 'Little Seeds'

September 29, 2016 • Parenthood gives the husband-and-wife Americana duo the will to rock on an album that's informed by both birth and death.

Conor Oberst's new album, Ruminations, comes out Oct. 14. Amelie Raoul/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Amelie Raoul/Courtesy of the artist

Review: Conor Oberst, 'Ruminations'

September 29, 2016 • Oberst's distinctive warble is set against a spare patchwork of acoustic guitar, piano and the occasional harmonica, drawing most of the attention to his dark, personal words.

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Silver Tears

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Romantic

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America Again

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Clear Shot

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The Beat Is Dead

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&

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