NPR Music

Our discoveries for today include Sir Baby Girl, Tamino, Laura Stevenson, Be Forest, Josin, Taimane and so much more. Look for a playlist on our website, npr.org/allsongs

Our first dispatch of discoveries from the SXSW Music Festival includes a recap of NPR Music's Tiny Desk Family Hour - an evening of Tiny Desk alum playing the Central Presbyterian Church in Austin. Also our first encounters with artists Elisapie, an Inuk singer and the Beths, Ellis, Illuminati Hotties and Rosie Tucker.

Juice WRLD, the reigning prince of emo rap, is back with a follow up to last year's Goodbye & Good Riddance. Deathrace for Love is bleak, brutal and the rare sequel that lives up to the original. The Oxford rock band Foals takes a big swing in one of the group's most ambitious albums to date; and singer Patty Griffin has a beautiful and profoundly moving, new self-titled album on growing old, the frailty of life and perseverance. On this week's New Music Friday host Robin Hilton talks about those albums and more with NPR's Rodney Carmichael, Felix Contreras and Stephen Thompson. FEATURED ALBUMS: Foals: Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt. 1; Helado Negro: This Is How You Smile; Patty Griffin: Patty Griffin; Sasami: Sasami; Maren Morris: GIRL; William Basinski: On Time Out Of Time; Juice WRLD: Deathrace For Love; OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES OUT MARCH 8: Dido: Still on My Mind; Stella Donnelly: Beware of the Dogs; David Gray: Gold in a Brass Age; Flight of the Conchords: Live in London; Amanda Palmer: There Will Be No Intermission; Townes Van Zandt: Sky Blue; The Wild Reeds: Cheers.

The annual South by Southwest music festival is our personal endurance challenge to discover as many great unknown and often unsigned bands as possible in just one week. To train for the event, Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson and I listen to more than a thousand songs by bands playing the festival, from all over the world, and try to map out a calendar to see our favorites. On this edition of All Songs Considered we play some of the standout songs ahead of the 2019 festival, including the Ghanian artist Jojo Abot, garage rock from Blushh, the Japanese pop group CHAI, music made by robots (I'm not making that up) and much, much more. — Robin Hilton

Our sprint through this week's best new albums includes Grey Area from the UK rapper Little Simz, Weezer's self-titled "Black Album," the foot-stompers of Hozier, country crooner Dee White and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, Sidney Madden and Jewly Hight as they share their picks for the best albums out on March 1. FEATURED ALBUMS: Little Simz: Grey Area; Hand Habits: Placeholder; Weezer: Weezer (The "Black Album"); Hozier: Wasteland, Baby!; Dee White: Southern Gentleman; Living Hour: Softer Faces OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR MARCH 1: 2 Chainz: Rap or Go to the League; Delicate Steve: 'Til I Burn Up; Durand Jones & The Indications: American Love Call; The Japanese House: Good At Falling; Sun Kil Moon: I Also Want to Die in New Orleans; Westkust: Westkust; Yves Jarvis: The Same But Different.

On this Guest DJ edition of All Songs Considered, Nilüfer talks of learning the guitar lines in songs by The Libertines as a kid, hearing her Turkish dad's love for Turkish music, her artist mom's encouragement to be a musician and the school where Nilüfer and her friends became musical companions. Nilüfer Yanya's debut album Miss Universe is out March 22 on ATO Records.

Our picks for the best albums out this week include an epic treatise on Americanism from Gary Clark Jr., the delicate and beautiful sounds of Julia Jacklin, Atlanta rapper Gunna, a gorgeous study in the healing powers of restraint from Lowland Hum, and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael and Stephen Thompson as they share their top picks for Feb. 22. FEATURED ALBUMS: Gary Clark Jr., This Land; Adia Victoria, Silences; And The Kids, When This Life Is Over; Bayonne, Drastic Measures; Gunna, Drip Or Drown 2; Higher Brothers, Five Stars; Julia Jacklin, Crushing; Lowland Hum, Glyphonic; OTHER NOTABLE ALBUMS FOR FEB 22: The Claypool Lennon Delirium, South of Reality; Half Japanese, Invincible; James Yorkston, The Route to the Harmonium; Kehlani, While We Wait; Lily & Madeleine, Canterbury Girls; Nakhane, You Will Not Die; Our Native Daughters, Songs of Our Native Daughters; Telekinesis, Effluxion; Yola, Walk Through Fire.

On this week's All Songs Considered we premiere new music from Aldous Harding. The artist from New Zealand made Bob Boilen's number two album from 2017 (Party) and her latest song, "The Barrel," indicates that she'll be another year-end favorite of mine in 2019. Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna join Bob as co-host for the first time together and fill out the show with some new, great unknowns, including Sweden's Westkust and an artist who goes by the name Ellis. Ellis is the musical project of Linnea Siggelkow (the name is a play on her initials, L.S.), an Ontario-based singer who recently opened for Snail Mail. She proves to be a perfect musical pairing with Westkust. We've also got new music from a band we all love, Palehound. Marissa describes the new music from Ellen Kempner as suave and spooky. We get loud with the angular and stuttering sounds of Sego, then quiet with Mountain Man's Molly Sarlé. But we start the show off with a surprise you may or not love.

Our list of the best albums out this week includes the first new music from funk and R&B legend Chaka Khan in 12 years, the cinematic, transporting sounds of Yann Tiersen, bubblegum punk from Sir Babygirl and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Lauren Onkey and Stephen Thompson as they share their top picks for Feb. 15. FEATURED ALBUMS: Chaka Khan: Hello Happiness; RY X: Unfurl; Yann Tiersen: All; Sir Babygirl: Crush on Me; J.S. Ondara: Tales of America; Robert Ellis: Texas Piano Man OTHER NOTABLE ALBUMS FOR FEB. 15: Avril Lavigne: Head Above Water; Betty Who: Betty; Dale Watson: Call Me Lucky; Florida Georgia Line: Can't Say I Ain't Country; Jonny Nash: Make a Wilderness; Ladytron: Ladytron; Natti Natasha: Illuminati; Tedeshi Trucks Band: Signs

This week's show is made possible by a generous amount of existential anxiety. This includes the ego-destroying rock anthem "I Don't Matter At All," from the Toronto band Pkew Pkew Pkew, and an epic life manifesto from Amanda Palmer called "The Ride" – a ten-minute oration about the crippling effects of unbridled and rampant fear.But we've also got some horn-powered instrumental rock from New York's Afro-soul group The Budos Band, and a beautiful, blood-slowing song from the Swedish singer Daniel Norgren, an artist who takes inspiration from the sounds of a creaking floor in an old flour mill.