NPR Music

We premiere a new song from Roger and Brian Eno, plus the ambient sounds of Jon Hopkins, Skylar Gudasz and more artists who offer a soothing mix to slow the blood, calm the nerves and inspire the mind.

Playlist:
1. Jon Hopkins: "Scene Suspended" (Single)
2. Roger & Brian Eno: "Celeste" from Mixing Colours
3. Lambert: "Vienna" from True
4. Ian Urbina & Teen Daze: "Reel In (Sea Slavery)" from Pure Water
5. Niklas Paschburg: "Duvet" from Svalbard
6. Skylar Gudasz: "Actress" (Single)

Tame Impala, the K-pop band Monsta X and a new solo album from Nathaniel Rateliff top our shortlist for this week's best new releases.

Featured Albums:
1. Tame Impala — 'The Slow Rush'
Featured Song: "Is It True?"
2. Monsta X — 'All About Luv'
Featured Song: "Someone's Someone"
3. The Ballroom Thieves — 'Unlovely'
Featured Song: "Unlovely"
4. Carly Pearce — 'Carly Pearce'
Featured Song: "Call Me"
5. The Heliocentrics — 'Infinity of Now'
Featured Song: "People Wake Up!"
6. Nathaniel Rateliff — 'And It's Still Alright'
Featured Song: "Mavis"
7. Moses Boyd — 'Dark Matter'
Featured Songs: "Dancing in the Dark" and "Shades of You"
8. Beach Bunny — Honeymoon
Featured Song: "Colorblind"

Other notable releases for Feb 14: Bambara — Stray; Cindy Lee — What's Tonight to Eternity?; DRAMA — Dance Without Me; EDEN — No Future; Habibi — Anywhere But Here; Huey Lewis and the News — Weather; Justin Bieber — Changes; Katie Gately — Loom; Noah Gundersen — A Raven and a Dove; Puss N Boots — Sister; Tami Neilson — Chickaboom!; Tennis — Swimmer; yMusic — Ecstatic Science.

As we barrel toward Valentine's Day, M. Ward, Phoebe Bridgers, Perfume Genius, Raveena and more musicians share the love songs they wish they'd written.

1. Torres' Pick: "Hounds of Love" by Kate Bush
2. Matt Berninger's Pick: "Don't Know How to Keep Loving You" by Julia Jacklin
3. Perfume Genius' Pick: "Consummation" by Nina Simone
4. Amelia Meath's Pick: "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits
5. Raveena's Pick: "Drunk" by Dijon
6. Phoebe Bridgers' Pick: "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes
7. Conor Oberst's Pick: "Lovesong" by The Cure
8. M. Ward's Pick: "Baby, I Love You" by The Ramones
9. Waxahatchee's: "Not Given Lightly" by Chris Knox

Our list of the best new albums out this week includes the "garage country" of Aubrie Sellers, former Belle and Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell's first solo album in 14 years, Frazey Ford and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Nada Surf — Never Not Together
Featured Song: "Come Get Me"
2. Aubrie Sellers — Far From Home
Featured Song: "Glad"
3. Elkhorn — The Storm Sessions
4. Envy — The Fallen Crimson
Featured Song: "Swaying Leaves and Scattering Breath"
5. Frazey Ford — U Kin Be The Sun
Featured Song: "Azad"
6. Hamerkop — Remote
Featured Song: "The Splendor That Was Rome"
7. Isobel Campbell — There is No Other
Featured Song: "Below Zero"
8. Steve Spacek — Houses
Featured Song: "Higher Place"
9. Spanish Love Songs — Brave Faces Everyone
Featured Song: "Routine Pain"
10. William Prince — Reliever
Featured Song: "Wasted"

Other notable releases for Febl 7: Antibalas — Fu Chronicles; Ásgeir --Bury the Moon; Boldy James and The Alchemist — The Price of Tea in China; Cheerleader — Almost Forever; The Cadillac Three — Country Fuzz; Christopher Paul Stelling — Best of Luck; Darling West — We'll Never Know Unless We Try; Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven — We're New Again; Green Day — Father of All; Iyla — Other Ways to Vent; Kat Edmonson — Dreamers Do; Khruangbin & Leon Bridges — Texas Sun; La Roux — Supervision; The Lone Bellow — Half Moon Light; Oh Wonder — No One Can Wear Your Crown; Sepultura — Quadra; Shopping — All or Nothing.

This week's mix of essential new songs includes sonic adventures from the Dutch artists Sevdaliza and The Homesick, the folk singer Tré Burt, hazy, loud guitars from Deserta and more.

Playlist:
1. Sevdaliza: "Oh My God" (Single)
2. Down Time: "Not a Complicated Person" (Single)
3. Deserta: "Hide" from 'Black Aura My Sun'
4. Tré Burt: "Real You" from 'Caught It from the Rye'
5. Disq: "Daily Routine" from 'Collector'
6. The Homesick: "Male Bonding" from 'The Big Exercise'
7. Gang of Four: "At Home He's A Tourist" from 'Entertainment!'

Torres, Kesha, Drive-By Truckers, the British folk singer Sam Lee and more make our shortlist for this week's best new albums.

Featured Albums:
1. Drive-By Truckers — The Unraveling
Featured Songs: "Armageddon's Back In Town" and "21st Century USA"
2. Kesha — High Road
Featured Song: "The Potato Song (Cuz I Want To)"
3. Torres — Silver Tongue
Featured Songs: "Good Grief" and "Last Forrest"
4. Frances Quinlan — LIkewise
Featured Song: "A Secret"
5. Rafiq Bhatia — Standars Vol. 1
Featured Song: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
6. Poliça — When We Stay Alive
Featured Song: "Fold Up"
7. Sam Lee — Old Wow
Featured Song: "Lay This Body Down"
8. Son Little — Aloha
Featured Song: "O Clever One"
9. Squirrel Flower — I Was Born Swimming
Featured Song: "Streetlight Blues"
10. Walter Martin — The World At Night
Featured Song: "Hey Joe"

Other notable releases for Jan. 31: Andras — Joyful; Ben Watt — Storm Damage; Dan Deacon — Mystic Familiar; Destroyer — Have We Met?; Freddie Gibbs and Madlib — Bandana Beats; Jose Feliciano — Behind This Guitar; Lil Wayne — Funeral; Meghan Trainor — Treat Myself; Neneh Cherry — Raw Like Sushi (30th Anniversary Edition); Squarepusher — Be Up A Hello; Tall Tall Trees — A Wave Of Golden Things; Tre Burt — Caught it From the Rye.

The 2017 winners of the Tiny Desk Contest travel to Havana with NOLA's The Soul Rebels to connect with Cimafunk, Cuban musicians and history.

This week's mix of essential songs includes the bouncy "Night Terrors" from Diet Cig, an examination of regret and forgiveness from Waxahatchee, Jamaican reggae singer Koffee and more.

Playlist:
1. Koffee: "Raggamuffin" from 'Rapture'
2. Waxahatchee: "Fire" from 'Saint Cloud'
3. Diet Cig: "Night Terrors" (Single)
4. Midwife: "Anyone Can Play Guitar" from 'Forever'
5. Half Waif: "Ordinary Talk" from 'The Caretaker'
6. Snarls: "Marbles" from 'Burst'

Our sprint through the best new albums out this week includes a debut from the rapper Hook, the sinister storytelling of Andy Shauf, a solo release from Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and more.

Featured Albums:
1. Black Lips — Sing in a Wold That's Falling Apart
Featured Song: "Angola Rodeo"
2. Ethan Gruska — En Garde
Featured Songs: "On the Outside" and "Haiku 4 U"
3. Hook — Crashed My Car
Featured song: "Yes Man"
4. Andy Shauf — The Neon Skyline
Featured Song: "Things I Do"
5. Khushi — Strange Seasons
Featured Song: "This Is"
6. Jeff Parker — Suite for Max Brown
Featured Songs: "Build a Nest" and "Fusion Swirl"
7. Yorkston/Thorne/Khan — Navarasa: Nine Emotions
Featured Songs: "The Shearings Not For You" and "Sukhe Phool"
8. Bonny Light Horseman — Bonny Light Horseman
Featured Song: "The Roving"

Other notable releases out on Jan. 24: Lola Marsh — Someday Tomorrow Maybe; October Drift — Forever Whatever; Okay Kaya — Watch This Liquid Pour Itself; Pet Shop Boys — Hotspot; Sarah Mary Chadwick — Please Daddy; Wire — Mind Hive; Wolf Parade — Thin Mind.

The Pinegrove singer talks about the band's latest album and how fans have interpreted the new songs, using chord tablature the band provided for fans online.