NPR Music

NPR Music's shortlist for the best albums out this week includes new ones from the English rapper slowthai, R&B singer Pink Sweat$, the jazz super group R+R=Now, His Name Is Alive and more.

Featured Albums:
1. slowthai — Tyron
Featured Songs: "45 Smoke," "Push" and "ADHD"
2. Pink Sweat$ — Pink Planet
Featured Song: "Pink Money"
3. R+R=Now — R+R=Now Live
Featured Song: "Change of Tone"
4. Jakob Bro — Uma Elmo
Featured Song: "Beautiful Day"
5. Various — Cuba: Music And Revolution
Featured Song: "Chequere Son"
6. Dominique Fils-Aimé — Three Little Words
Featured Song: "While We Wait"
7. Anika Pyle — Wild River
Featured Songs: "Failure II" and "June"
8. His Name Is Alive — Hope Is A Candle
Featured Songs: "Still" and "Halo"

Other notable releases for Feb. 12: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah — New Fragility; Claud — Super Monster; Death by Unga Bunga — Heavy Male Insecurity; Django Django — Glowing in the Dark; Jillette Johnson — It's A Beautiful Day And I Love You; Pale Waves — Who Am I?; Sports — Get A Good Look Pt. 1; Various — Judas and the Black Messiah OST

On this week's show, All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen shares a mix of old favorites and new discoveries, including Julien Baker, the return of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, BONZIE and more.

1. Julien Baker: "Favor," from Little Oblivions
2. BONZIE: "Caves," from Reincarnation
3. The Sea The Sea "Stumbling Home" from Stumbling Home
4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: "CYHSY 2005," from New Fragility
5. Eve Adams: "Blues Look The Same," from Metal Bird
6. Suss: "Drift," from Promise

NPR Music's roundup of the week's best new albums includes a surprise solo release from Paramore's Hayley Williams, the 20th anniversary edition of J Dilla's Welcome 2 Detroit, Foo Fighters and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Foo Fighters — Medicine at Midnight
Featured Song: "Shame Shame"
2. Odette — Herald
Featured Song: "Trial By Fire"
3. Black Coffee — Subconsciously
Song: "Wish You Were Here"
4. John Carpenter — Lost Themes III
Featured song: "Alive After Death"
5. The Staves — Good Woman
Featured Song: "Careful Kid"
6. Editrix — Tell Me I'm Bad
Featured Song: "Tell Me I'm Bad"
7. Hayley Williams — Flowers for Vases - descanos
Featured Songs: "Just A Lover" and "How You Doin?"
8. J Dilla — Welcome 2 Detroit (20th Anniversary Edition)
Featured Song: "Think Twice" and "Give it Up (acapella version)"
9. Femi and Made Kuti — Legacy +
Featured Songs: "As We Struggle Every Day" and "Hymn"
10. Archie Shepp & Jason Moran — Let My People Go
Featured Song: "Wise One"

Other notable releases for Feb. 5: Aaron Lee Tasjan — Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!; Black Country, New Road — For the First Time; Jane Birkin — Oh! Pardo Tu Dormais; Miss Grit — Impostor; Psychedelic Porn Crumpets — Shyga! The Sunlight Mound; Puma Blu — In Praise of Shadows; Sun June — Somewhere; The Weather Station — Ignorance.

In January, we saw ourselves in FKA twigs and Jazmine Sullivan, drank from Ian Sweet's astral pop, shuffled Cassandra Jenkins' Tarot deck and got lost in William Parker's tone worlds.

Songs featured on this episode:
• FKA twigs (feat. Headie One, Fred again..), "Don't Judge Me"
• Jazmine Sullivan: "Girl Like Me (feat. H.E.R.)" from Heaux Tales
• Ian Sweet: "Drink the Lake" from Show Me How You Disappear
• Cassandra Jenkins: "Hard Drive" from An Overview on Phenomenal Nature
• William Parker: "The Golden Light (Hymn)" and "A Great Day to be Dead" from Migration of Silence Into and Out of The Tone World

Follow the Press Pause playlist for the NPR Music staff's favorite new songs.

NPR Music's picks for the best new albums out this week include a Madlib-Four Tet collaboration, stunning debuts from Celeste and Arlo Parks, the Malian artist Nahawa Doumbia and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Madlib & Four Tet — Sound Ancestors
Featured Song: "Hoprock"
2. Celeste — Not Your Muse
Featured Song: "Tonight Tonight"
3. Weezer — OK Human
Featured Song: "All My Favorite Songs"
4. Nahawa Doumbia — Kanawa
Featured Song: "Didadi"
5. Arlo Parks — Collapsed in Sunbeams
Featured Song: "Hope"
6. Ani DiFranco — Revolutionary Love
Featured Song: "Crocus"
7. Shai Maestro — Human
Featured Song: "Time"
8. Yasmin Williams — Urban Driftwood
Featured Song: "Juvenessence" and "Urban Driftwood"

Other notable releases for Jan. 29: Anna B Savage — A Common Turn; The Besnard Lakes — The Besnard Lakes Are The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings; The Body — I've Seen All I Need To See; Buke & Gase With So Percussion — A Record Of...; Goat Girl — On All Fours; The Notwist — Vertigo Days; PJ Harvey — Is This Desire - Demos; Steven Wilson — The Future Bites; Tribulation — Where The Gloom Becomes Sound.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen shares his favorite new tunes and discoveries of the week, including a powerful song on addiction from Margo Price, a stirring violin concerto, and more surprises.

1. Hand Habits: "4th of July," from dirt - EP
2. Miss Grit: "Impostor," from Impostor - EP
3. Margo Price: "Hey Child," from That's How Rumors Get Started
4. Anna Fox Rochinski: "Cherry," from Cherry
5. Anna B Savage: "Baby Grand," from A Common Turn
6. Iceland Symphony Orchestra: "Violin Concerto by Daníel Bjarnason," from Occurrence

NPR Music's shortlist of the best albums out on Jan. 22 includes the country hip-hop of Willie Jones, electronic artist Yu Su, Atlanta rapper BRS Kash, Rhye and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Th1rt3en — A Magnificent Day For An Exorcism
Featured Song: "The Magician"
2. Yu Su — Yellow River Blue
Featured Song: "Klein"
3. BRS Kash — Kash Only
Featured Song: "Do It"
4. Remy Banks — The Phantom Of Paradise
Featured Song: "Tomorrow"
5. Rhye — Home
Featured Song: "Black Rain"
6. Typhoon — Sympathetic Magic
Featured Song: "Empire Builder"
7. Palberta — Palberta 5000
Featured Song: "Fragile Place"
8. Willie Jones — Right Now
Featured Song: "American Dream"

Other notable releases for Jan. 22: Alina Kalancea — Impedance; Bicep — Isles; CARM — CARM; Elio — Can You Hear Me Now; Elori Saxl — The Blue of Distance; Erik the Architect — Future Proof; Groupie — Ephemeral; James Yorkston and the Second Hand Orchestra — The Wide River; Jeremiah Fraites — Piano Piano; Lande Hekt — Going to Hell; Logic1000 — You've Got The Whole Night To Go; Thee Conductor — Spirit of a Ghost; Widowspeak — Honeychurch.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen shares his favorite new musical discoveries, with messages of love, understanding and acceptance.

1. Bernice: "It's Me, Robin" from Eau de Bonjourno
2. Nana Yamato: "Do You Wanna" from Before Sunrise
3. Darkside: "Liberty Bell" from Spiral
4. Nora Brown: "East Virginia" from Cinnamon Tree
5. Steady Holiday: "Love Me When I Go To Sleep" from Take The Corners Gently
6. Steven Wilson: "King Ghost" from The Future Bites

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include the latest solo release from Zayn, the "bratty feminist" pop of Ashnikko, the Israeli jazz quartet Apifera and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Ashnikko — Demidevil
Featured Song: "Toxic"
2. Zayn — Nobody's Listening
Featured Song: "Outside"
3. Sexual Harrassment — I Need A Freak
Featured Song: "I Need A Freak"
4. Kate Davis — Strange Boy
Featured Song: "I'll Do Anything But Break Dance For Ya, Darling"
5. Pom Poko — Cheater
Featured Song: "Like A Lady"
6. Apifera — Overstand
Featured Song: "Overstand"
7. Midnight Sister — Painting the Roses
Featured Song: "Dearly Departed"
8. Pearl Charles — Magic Mirror
Featured Song: "Take Your Time"

Other notable releases for Jan. 15: Azure Ray — Azure Ray; Beach Bunny — Blame Game; Buck Meek — Two Saviors; Danielle Durack — No Place; Frank Iero and the Future Violents — Heaven is a Place, This is a Place; Jody Lo — I Will Not Break the Scale; Matthew Sweet — Catspaw; Samia — The Baby Reimagined; Shame — Drunk Tank Pink; You Me At Six — Suckapunch.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen shares surprising collaborations between Vagabon and Courtney Barnett, Buke and Gase with So Percussion and more great discoveries.

Featured Artists And Songs:
1. Vagabon Feat. Courtney Barnett: "Reason to Believe"
2. Gia Margaret: "Solid Heart"
3. Shame: "Nigel Hitter" from Drunk Tank Pink
4. Buke and Gase / So Percussion: "Hold It In" from A Record Of...
5. awakebutstillinbed: "beauty" from stay who you are
6. Another Sky: "It Keeps Coming" from Music For Winter Vol. 1