Welcome to New Music Friday, NPR Music’s podcast dedicated to sharing the best albums out each week. We listen to dozens of new releases in advance, identify the ones we think you need to hear, and highlight our favorite five in a brisk mix of clips, context and commentary.
The podcast is hosted by NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson, and each episode features a member of the NPR Music Network of public radio stations. This week, our guest is Tennessee’s Jessie Scott of WMOT, where she serves as program director and hosts their live session show Wired In.
Scroll down to see which albums we discussed this week and links to our New Music Friday playlists, where you can hear singles from each album. Then scroll down to a new list, Dora’s Corner, where NPR Music production assistant Dora Levite shares her favorite albums that didn’t make the podcast.
The Starting 5
🎵 Lucinda Williams, World’s Gone Wrong (Thirty Tigers)
- Recommended If You Like: Gillian Welch, John Prine
🎵 Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig (15th Anniversary Edition) (Nonesuch)
- RIYL: Rhiannon Giddens, Abigail Washburn
🎵 Kashus Culpepper, Act I (Big Loud)
- RIYL: The Red Clay Strays, Sons of Habit
🎵The Lowest Pair, Always As Young As We’ll Ever Be (Delicate)
- RIYL: Watchhouse, Hurray for The Riff Raff
🎵Julian Lage, Scenes From Above (Blue Note)
- RIYL: Jack DeJohnette, Bill Frisell
New Music Friday is a feature of NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast. Hear the discussion on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Lightning Round
Laura Schneider Photo/Laura Schneider Photo /
Four more albums we wish we could have discussed on the podcast:
⚡ Sammy Brue, The Journals (Bloodshot)
⚡ Ari Lennox Vacancy (UMG)
⚡ Della Mae Magic Accident (Compass)
⚡ V/A, Naive Melodies (BBE)
Listen to each album’s best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.
Dora’s Corner
Dora Levite is New Music Friday’s production assistant, an occasional All Songs Considered guest, and 17 years old according to her Spotify wrapped. Below are her picks for the best albums not featured on the show.
💿 Maria Somerville, Luster (Remixes) (4AD)
💿 Draag, Miracle Drug (Smoking Room)
💿 Earth & Black Noi$e, Geometry Of Murder: Extra Capsular Extraction Inversions (Fire)
Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson • Guest: Jessie Scott, WMOT (Nashville) • Audio: Noah Caldwell • Producer: Elle Mannion • Production Assistant: Dora Levite • Editor: Otis Hart • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed • Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
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