We highlight some of the most anticipated albums of the year, including upcoming ones from Perfume Genius, Lucy Dacus, serpentwithfeet and more.

Featured artists and songs:
1. Perfume Genius: "It's A Mirror," from Glory (March 28)
2. Florist: "Have Heaven," from Jellywish (April 4)
3. Lucy Dacus: "Ankles," from Forever Is A Feeling (March 28)
4. serpentwithfeet: "Writhing In The Wind," from GRIP Sequel (Feb. 28)
5. Squid: "Building 650," from Cowards (Feb. 7)
6. Jason Isbell: "Bury Me," from Foxes in the Snow (March 7)
7. Saya Gray: "Shell (Of A Man)," from SAYA (Feb. 21)
8. Marshall Allen: "African Sunset," from New Dawn (Feb. 14)
9. Samia: "Bovine Excision," from Bloodless (April 25)

See the complete list of 2025 releases we're tracking.

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected]

Hear the songs in the All Songs Considered playlists in Apple Music and Spotify.

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NPR Music's Stephen Thompson welcomes aboard Kara Manning of New York City public radio station WFUV to discuss the best new albums hitting streaming services on Friday, Jan. 17.

Featured Albums

• Mac Miller, 'Balloonerism'

• The Weather Station, 'Humanhood'

• jasmine.4.t, 'You are the Morning'

• Victoria Canal, 'Slowly, It Dawns'

• Blue Lake, 'Weft'

Check out our long list of albums out today and stream our New Music Friday playlist at npr.org/music.

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Los Angeles is home for me and always in my heart. Watching the fires from afar in my current city, New York, has me thinking a lot about what makes my hometown great: breathtaking mountains, stunning beaches and above all a hodgepodge, tapestry community that comes together in powerful ways during a painful moment.

The good and bad of LA's history — redlining and rebuilding, previous fires and displacement, immigration and annexation — have all been building blocks for an exchange of culture that shows up in layers in its music and art. This week on Alt.Latino, we've decided to shine a light on some of the sounds that feel most quintessentially LA, while also specifically honoring the creativity that has come from communities most affected by the fires.

We're thinking of family and friends, and the beating heart of the city as a whole. There's nothing quite like LA and we hope this episode is an intro to some and an invitation for others to celebrate what makes it so special. —Anamaria Sayre

Songs featured on this episode:

•José Feliciano, "California Dreamin"
•Ry Cooder feat. Lalo Guerrero, "Barrio Viejo"
•Banda MS feat. Becky G and Snoop Dogg, "Que Maldicion"
•Jasper Bones, "Amor de mis sueños"
•Gerardo Ortiz, "Dámaso"
•Empress Of, "For Your Consideration"

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Japanese Breakfast (Michelle Zauner) is back with her first new album since her memoir, Crying in H Mart, blew up. We've got the first single from it, plus a Sufjan Stevens-produced Denison Witmer track and more.

Enjoy the show? Share with a friend and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected]

Hear the songs in our Apple and Spotify playlists.

Featured artists and songs:
1. Deep Sea Diver: "Shovel," from Billboard Heart
2. SPELLLING: "Portrait of My Heart," from Portrait of My Heart
3. Japanese Breakfast: "Orlando in Love," from For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
4. Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, "Hop Bico" from Yarın Yoksa
5. Denison Witmer: "A House With," from Anything At All
6. DARKSIDE: "S.N.C," from Nothing


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NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is joined by KCRW's Travis Holcombe to run down their four favorite albums out today, as well as the revamped version of SZA's 'LANA' project.

Featured Albums:

• SZA, 'SOS Deluxe: LANA'
• Franz Ferdinand, 'The Human Fear'
• Ethel Cain, 'Perverts'
• zzzahara, 'Spiral Your Way Out'
• Moonchild Sanelly, 'Full Moon'

See the long list of albums out January 10 and stream our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org/music.

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Alt.Latino hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras, and NPR reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmiento break down what exactly makes the record so Puerto Rican and why its Bad Bunny's most reflective, ambitious and ingenious album yet.

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A new year means a new running list of our favorite songs, from the transfixing voice of Anna B Savage and FKA Twigs' moody club beats to the '80s-influenced rock and pop of Sharon Van Etten and more.

Featured artists and songs:
1. Ela Minus: "Broken," from DIA
2. Anna B Savage: "Lighthouse," from You & i are Earth
3. Horsegirl: "2468," from Phonetics On and On
4. Miya Folick: "This Time Around," from Erotica Veronica
5. FKA Twigs: "Perfect Stranger," from EUSEXUA
6. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory: "Afterlife," from S/T

Enjoy the show? Tell a friend and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected]

Hear the songs in our Apple and Spotify playlists.


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There's been some great music released since the last New Music Friday episode in late November. So, on this slow January release day, NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and WRTI's Nate Chinen catch you up on the best albums we heard in December in between "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

Featured Albums:
• ROSÉ, 'rosie'
• Lauren Mayberry, 'Vicious Creature'
• Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner & Peter Bernstein, 'Solid Jackson'
• The Innocence Mission, 'Midwinter Swimmers'
• SAULT, 'Acts of Faith'

Visit npr.org/music to see the long list of albums you might have missed in December, and stream our New Music Friday playlist.

CREDITS:

Host: Stephen Thompson, NPR Music
Guest: Nate Chinen, WRTI
Producer: Simon Rentner
Editor: Otis Hart
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Vice President, Music and Visuals: Keith Jenkins

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NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich turns us on to lesser known corners of music from 2024: blooming drone-folk, richly textured jazz, Somali garage-rock, medieval metal and a bittersweet farewell from a beloved Athens psych-pop band. You can find more adventurous music and mixtapes via Lars' newsletter, vikingschoice.org.

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We asked listeners to tell us about the one song they couldn't stop listening to in 2024 because of how it made them feel. On this episode we share some of their picks and the stories behind them.

Enjoy the show? Tell a friend and leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected]


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