It’s Friday, and we’re happy to report that a handful of truly great albums were released at midnight. Los Angeles singer-songwriter Annahstasia — who you may have seen as Kendrick Lamar’s love interest in the video for his No.1 hit “luther” — blew us away with her blend of gravity and grace. Celebrated jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson — who won a MacArthur “genius” grant in 2019 — has a new album produced by Deerhoof’s John Dieterich. Jazz harpist Brandee Younger might have hit a new career high with her new album, on which she plays Alice Coltrane’s harp.
We get into those three and a few more on the June 13 episode of New Music Friday. Nate Chinen of Philadelphia public radio station WRTI joins host Stephen Thompson to share their favorite records of the week.
New Music Friday is a feature of NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast. Hear the discussion on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts beginning at 3 a.m. ET.
The Starting Five
Our hosts share the backstories and best songs from the following albums:
💿 Annahstasia, Tether
- Recommended If You Like: Tracey Chapman, Nick Drake
💿 Mary Halvorson, About Ghosts
- RIYL: Bill Frisell, Peter Bernstein
💿 Brandee Younger, Gadabout Season
- RIYL: Alice Coltrane, Shabaka Hutchings
💿 Joe Armon-Jones, All The Quiet (Part II)
- RIYL: Ezra Collective, Makaya McCraven
💿 The Cure, Mixes for a Lost World
- RIYL: The Cure, Orbital
The Lightning Round
Five more albums we wish we had time to discuss on the podcast:
💿 AJ Tracey, Don’t Die Before You’re Dead
💿 Theo Croker, dream manifest
💿 Cosey Fanni Tutti, 2t2
💿 Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell, We Insist 2025!
💿 Ella Hanshaw, Ella Hanshaw’s Black Book
Listen to each album’s best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.
The Long List
For those who want to dig even deeper, here are the week’s new albums sorted by genre:
Rock/Alt/Indie
- King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Phantom Island
- Grateful Dead, Gratest Hits
- Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, Talkin to the Trees
- Bloodshot Bill, So Fed Up!
- Common Holly, Anything glass
- Guy Blackman, Out of Sight
- Jahnah Camille, My sunny oath! EP
- Lipsticism, Wanted To Show You
- Patrick Wolf, Crying The Neck
- Puffer, Street Hassle
- Self Improvement, Syndrome
- Steve Queralt (of Ride), Swallow
- WPTR, Redness and Swelling at the Injection Site
Country/Folk/Americana
- Mister Romantic (John C. Reiilly), What’s Not To Love?
- Dierks Bentley, Broken Branches
- Joseph Allred, Old Time Fantasias
Electronic/Out There
- Lyra Pramuk, Hymnal
- Adrian Sherwood, The Grand Designer EP
- Dummy, Bubbelibrium DLC
- Gabriel Brady, Day-blind
- Polygonia, Dream Horizons
- gyrofield, Suspension of Belief EP
- Holden & Zimpel, The Universe Will Take Care Of You
- Kate NV, Room for the Moon (Live)
- LSDXOXO, DGTL ANML
- Yuuf, Alma’s Cove EP
Global
- BALTHVS, Flesh and Soul EP
- Buscabulla, Se Amaba Asi
- V/A, Pōpoloheno: Songs Of Resilience And Joy
- WITCH, SOGOLO
Jazz
- Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap, Elemental
Pop
- Calum Hood, ORDER chaos ORDER
- Mikayla Pasterfield, Heritage Listed EP
- salem ilese, growing down
- V/A, Smurfs (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Van Morrison, Remembering Now
R&B/Soul
- Maiya Blaney, A Room With A Door That Closes
- Natanya, Feline’s Return
- NoMBe, Diáspora
Rap/Hip-Hop
- Leikeli47, Lei keli ft 47 / For Promotional Use Only
- onefour, Look At Me Now
- Lil Tecca, Dopamine
- Cymarshall Law & Slimline Mutha, The Peaceful Warrior 2: Raw Self Expression
- Yamê, ÉBĒM
Classical
- Jordi Savall, Forgotten Symphonies
- Juri Seo, Obsolete Music
Credits
- Host: Stephen Thompson
- Guest: Nate Chinen, WRTI
- Producer: Simon Rentner
- Editor: Otis Hart
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Vice President, Music and Visuals: Keith Jenkins