NPR Music

Black Thought guests on a new one from the British duo Jungle, The Killers' Pressure Machine documents the hopes and horrors of rural America, Boldy James & The Alchemist team up again and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Jungle — Loving in Stereo
Featured Songs: "Talk About It" and "Romeo"
2. The Killers — Pressure Machine
Featured Songs: "Terrible Thing" and "West Hills"
3. Boldy James & The Alchemist — Bo Jackson
Featured Song: "E.P.M.D."
4. Falkner Evans — Invisible Words
Featured Song: "Made Visible"
5. Meet Me @ The Altar — Model Citizen
Featured Song: "Feel A Thing"
6. El Michels Affair Meets Liam Bailey — Ekundayo Inversions
Featured Songs: "Conquer & Divide" and "Intro"
7. Wednesday — Twin Plagues
Featured Songs: "Toothache" and "Twin Plagues"

Other notable releases for Aug. 13: Dan + Shay — Good Things; Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson — Refuge; Jade Bird — Different Kinds of Light; Joy Orbison — Still Slipping Vol. 1; $uicideboy$ — Long Term Effects of SUFFERING.

Before we announce this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner, we're asking our judges to share their favorite entries in a weekly livestreamed series. In this episode, Tobe Nwigwe shares his picks.

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include new ones from the R&B singer Tinashe, composer Max Richter and the greatest rap duo you've never heard of, Abstract Mindstate.

Featured Albums:
1. Abstract Mindstate — Dreams Still Inspire
Featured Track: "I Feel Good"
2. Max Richter — Exiles
Featured Tracks: "Flowers Of Herself" and "Exiles"
3. Laura Stevenson — Laura Stevenson
Featured Tracks: "State" and "Mary"
4. Tinashe — 333
Featured Track: "333"
5. Fuubutsushi — Natsukashii
Featured Track: "Suzushii Kaze"
6. Lingua Ignota — Sinner Get Ready
Featured Tracks: "Pennsylvania Furnace" and "The Order of Spiritual Virgins"

Other notable releases for Aug. 6: Barbra Streisand — Release Me 2; Eluvium — Virga II; Moritz Von Oswald Trio — Dissent; Ty Segal — Harmonizer.

In July, we found solace in veterans (Billy Bragg) and newcomers (Canary Room), witnessed personal transformations from IDK and WILLOW, hit funky grooves with William Parker and heard angels become mortal in a collaboration between Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine.

Songs heard in this episode:
• Billy Bragg: "I Will Be Your Shield" from The Million Things That Never Happened
• Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine: "Reach Out" from A Beginner's Mind
• Canary Room: "Christine" from Christine
• WILLOW: "don't SAVE ME" from lately I feel EVERYTHING
• IDK: "Hey Auntie" from USEE4YOURSELF
• William Parker: "Tabasco" from Mayan Space Station

Follow the #NowPlaying blog for the NPR Music staff's favorite new songs.

Before we announce this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner, we're asking our judges to share their favorite entries in a weekly livestreamed series. In this episode, Phoebe Bridgers shares her picks.

The sophomore full-length from Billie Eilish tops our shortlist of the best new albums out this week, along with a posthumous Prince record, Jack Antonoff's Bleachers, the singer Yola and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever
Featured Song: "NDA"
2. Isaiah Rashad — The House Is Burning
Featured Songs: "True Story" and "HB2U"
3. Bleachers — Take the Sadness Out Of Saturday Night
Featured Songs: "Stop Making This Hurt" and "91"
4. Los Lobos — Native Sons
Featured Song: "The World Is A Ghetto"
5. Prince — Welcome 2 America
Featured Song: "One Day We Will All Be Free"
6. Torres — Thirstier
Featured Song: "Are You Sleep Walking?"
7. Yola — Stand For Myself
Featured Song: "If I Had To Do It All Again"
8. Skirts — Great Big Wild Oak
Featured Song: "Easy"

Other notable releases for July 30: Leela James — See Me; LUMP — Animal; Naia Izumi — A Residency in the Los Angeles Area; Poise — Vestiges; Son Volt — Electro Melodier.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's favorite new tracks of the week include an amped-up Steady Holiday, late-'70s, post-punk sounds from Gustaf and Wet Leg, the calming guitar of Lanterna and more.

Featured Songs:
1. Steady Holiday: "Love Me 2" (Single)
2. Gustaf: "Book," from Audio Drag For Ego Slobs
3. Wet Leg: "Chaise Longue" (Single)
4. Ada Lea: "damn," from one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden
5. The Colorist Orchestra & Howe Gelb (feat. Pieta Brown): "Sweet Pretender," from Not On The Map
6. AHI: "Danger," from Prospect
7. Lanterna: "Aix," from Hidden Drives

Before we announce this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner, we're asking our judges to share their favorite entries in a weekly livestreamed series. First up: Tiny Desk producer Bobby Carter.

Kanye West's long-awaited (and much-hyped), DONDA tops our list of the best albums out this week, along with new ones from Leon Bridges, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Ledisi and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Kanye — DONDA
2. Leon Bridges — Gold Diggers Sound
Featured Song: "Motorbike"
3. Chiiild — Hope For Sale
Featured Song: "Wasting Time"
4. Samia — Scout
Featured Song: "As You Are"
5. Christone "Kingfish" Ingram — 662
Featured Song: "Too Young To Remember"
6. Bardo — Everywhere Reminds Me Of Space
Featured Song: "Neon Light"
7. Emma-Jean Thackray — Yellow
Featured Song: "Venus"
8. Ledisi — Ledisi Sings Nina
Featured Song: "Feeling Good"

Other notable releases for July 23: Brittany Howard — Jaime Re-imagined; Dave — We're All Alone In This Together; Mega Bog — Life, And Another.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's favorite tracks of the week include a classic murder ballad reimagined by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, a new collaboration with Nils Frahm and F.S. Blumm, Soccer Mommy and more.

Featured Tracks And Artists:
1. Soccer Mommy: "rom com 2004" (Single)
2. My Idea: "Stay Away Still," from That's My Idea EP
3. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Nathan Salzburg: "Stagger Lee" (Single)
4. Hana Vu: "Maker" (Single)
5. Devendra Banhart & Noah Georgeson: "In A Cistern," from Refuge
6. F.S. Blumm & Nils Frahm: "Desert Mule," from 2X1=4