NPR Music

Back in 1992, singer k.d. lang released a record unlike any other. Ingénue slithered against the popular music grain with songs that drew slow, deep breaths and sighed seductively. It had an alluringly divergent sound that landed somewhere in a blurry nexus of pop, country and global folk, with accordions, clarinets and Eastern European flourishes. And lang's monumental voice, both powerful and restrained, was simply unforgettable as she sang languorous songs of love and desire.Ingénue became a monstrous, multi-platinum hit for lang, but it was also a milestone in the '90s LGBT rights movement. Against her label's wishes, lang came out in a cover story for The Advocate three months after the album was released. Her decision helped spark a shift in the national conversation about what it meant to be gay and made Ingénue one of the first in a series of important cultural moments that pushed LGBT issues into the mainstream conversation. (Others from that period included the film Philadelphia and the Broadway play Angels In America and, later in the same decade, the television sitcom Will And Grace). To celebrate Ingénue's 25th anniversary, Nonesuch Records is releasing a remastered version of the album on July 14, along with some previously unreleased live recordings. Last year lang recorded an album with Neko Case and Laura Veirs called case/lang/veirs. They toured together and became friends. So we asked Laura Veirs to talk with k.d. lang about Ingénue and how the album still resonates today.

Composer Michael Andrews started writing music for movies back in 2001, when he scored the now-cult-classic film Donnie Darko (which included Andrews' haunting arrangement of the Tears For Fears song "Mad World"). His simple, brilliantly rendered songs perfectly reflected the movie's surreal narrative with moments that were both comical and creepy. Now he's back with a new score — and completely different sound — for the romantic comedy The Big Sick. We kick off this week's show with the sweetly melodic "Two Day Rule," a song that host Bob Boilen says sounds, appropriately enough, like a romantic relationship unfolding. Full playlist: 1. Michael Andrews: "The Two Day Rule," 2. The Blow: "Get Up," 3. Rhye: "Please," 4. Joseph Shabason: "Long Swim," 5. Protomartyr: "A Private Understanding," 6. Waxahatchee: "Brass Beam"

We begin this week's show with a simple message: Use this time to become mindful and peaceful, taking calming breaths... while listening to our latest mix of essential new music. This includes a beautiful new ballad from St. Vincent, a potent, emotional journey from singer Benjamin Clementine and lots of curious ear candy. Playlist: 1. Siv Jakobsen: "Shallow Digger," 2. St. Vincent: "New York," 3. Mappe Of: "Cavern's Dark," 4. Ásgeir: "Underneath It," 5. Benjamin Clementine: "Phantom Of Aleppoville," 6. My Bubba: "Gone," 7. Mogwai: "Party In The Dark."

As we tallied the results of this year's listener poll for 2017's best new artists (so far), we continue to see women dominating the list and guitars still a big part of your musical landscape. Four of the five most popular new artists are women or fronted by women and all of them are based out of New York. (In last year's poll, listeners picked all women for the entire top ten). The fuzzy rock of bands like Diet Cig, Charly Bliss and Jay Som fared the best, while Nick Hakim and Sampha were the only two male solo artists to crack the top ten. On this week's show we count down the best new artists from the first half of 2017, as selected by our listeners. We define a new artist as someone who released a debut full-length this year (if they don't have a full album, an EP or single will do). We also throw in a few of our own picks, including the out-of-time, otherworldly sound of ALA.NI, (more) guitar noise from Vagabon, and the transfixing voice of Tom Adams.

A song can trigger a well of emotions and so it was for Aldous Harding. The intense singer and songwriter from New Zealand and I sat down to talk about the music she loved growing up. It was a teary and thoughtful conversation about the few artists that had a huge impact on the music she'd come to make. Aldous Harding's second album is out, it's called Party.

We follow Father's Day weekend with a mix of powerful new pop and rock from a lot of incredible women, including "Exhumed," a raging, cathartic song from Zola Jesus, and roaring doom metal from Chelsea Wolfe. Full Playlist: 1. Katie Von Schleicher: "Sell It Back," 2. Lorde: "Supercut," 3. Chelsea Wolfe: "16 Psyche," 4. Zola Jesus: "Exhumed," 5. Bernice: "Gemini," 6. Thomas Patrick Maguire: "Go To Hell"

We get right down to business this week with the fantastic, frenetic pop of Guerilla Toss. The New York band has a new album on the way and recently released "Betty Dreams Of Green Men," a cut inspired by alien abduction, addiction and the obsessions that can consume a person's life.Also on the show: The brash and playful rock group Chastity Belt has a more restrained, introspective sound on its latest album, I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone; Metric singer Emily Haines returns with her first new solo album in more than a decade; the atmospheric rock group Mt. Wolf returns with the ethereal song "Soteria"; Australian singer Gordi, known for her a cappella cover of Bon Iver's "00000 Million," has her own debut full-length on the way; and NPR Music's Lars Gotrich stops by to close out the show with a bruising new song from the Detroit hardcore band Thoughts Of Ionesco. Full Playlist: 1. Guerilla Toss: "Betty Dreams Of Green Men," 2. Chastity Belt: "Stuck," 3. Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton: "Fatal Gift," 4. Mt. Wolf: "Soteria," 5. Gordi: "Heaven I Know," 6. Thoughts Of Ionesco: "Culture Of The Eternal Snake"

There's a joyful new album from Phoenix. Ti Amo is the Paris-based band's first record since 2013 and took the better part of the past four years to make. On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with guitarist Laurent Brancowitz and lead singer Thomas Mars about their work habits — how they create a palette of sounds for each new album and how they were able to make a joyful record at a time when Paris has seen horrific terror attacks.

The trio talk about the grand mysteries of the universe that helped inspire their celestial collaboration, Planetarium.

The trio joins host Bob Boilen to play some of their favorite songs by other artists, including music from Radiohead, Metronomy and Death Grips. 1. Metronomy: "Corinne," 2. Radiohead: "Reckoner," 3. Jorja Smith: "Blue Lights," 4. Julia Michaels: "Issues," 5. Death Grips: "Interview B," 6. alt-J: "Deadcrush," 7. alt-J: "In Cold Blood"