From WQXR and Carnegie Hall comes classical music happy hour, a new podcast hosted by me, pianist Maniacs. Each episode will speak with a special guest, listen to musical gems, play music inspired games, and answer questions from our listeners. The first episode drops March 4th. Listen on the NPR app. Happy Friday everyone from NPR music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Steven Thompson here with Alisa Ali of WFUV in New York. Welcome back to the show Alisa. So glad to join you again Steven. See your beautiful face and your milifiless voice. I'm often accused of having both of those things. It is a pleasure to have you here. It is Friday, March 27th. It's got to be the busiest music release day of the year so far. And I think when 2026 is over we will look back and say, a lot of records on March 27th. It was a good week. Hard to pick just the few, although we've got a lot for you today. Yeah, we picked out five albums we're going to talk about in depth. We also have a lightning round of some of the other terrific records out today. March 27th. But we're not even getting to your Charlie Puth. We're not getting to Jose Gonzalez, Melissa Etheridge. Slater with three Ys. Ty Meyers, Need to Breathe, Yeet, Fetty Wop, Tom Mish. Tons and tons of new music out today. Alisa, how do you even dredge through it all to figure out what you want to talk about here? You just go through the list and then you got to rank them. It's rank choice voting over here. That's how we roll in New York. I'm trying to make political parallels of like which candidate you've, about the candidates that you've rejected. Oh boy. I don't want to diss anybody. We'll probably leave that for another podcast. All right, well, we don't actually rank albums on this show just because we talk about something first doesn't mean it's automatically the best. But I guess for the purposes of that particular analogy, I guess your vote is going to the album that's going to kick off this show. Robin is back with a new record. It's called Sexistential. It's so exciting that this Swedish sensation is back with another sensational, sexistential album. I mean, based on the title alone, we must address it. Although I wonder, how does NPR talk about such a sexy topic? It's got to be kind of through a lot of evenly modulated euphemism. Yes. Yes. A lot of calmly intoned euphemism. It's a great record, though. To me, it has like a Blade Runner dance floor vibe. And it's such a cool and fun and interesting album, don't you think? Oh, absolutely. And I think Blade Runner is an interesting reference point because I wrote down Challenger's soundtrack to describe some of the vibe here, particularly in a song like Really Real, where it has that kind of hard driving electropop buzz to it. But there's also a playfulness to these arrangements. It's maybe one of her happiest and kind of most dancey. That's the crazy thing to say about Robin, because she makes dance music. Yeah, she makes hard charging, but also often very melancholy dance music. Right. And I feel like this, thematically, this album is kind of looking a little bit more on the brighter side and kind of more empowered than she has ever been. I mean, so the main thing about this existential record is, you know, so the title started off as kind of an inside joke, like she wanted to make a milf album, right? But then got existential about it, like some, some, like sexuality for an older person. But then she started taking this really seriously. And she was like, you know, this is actually, this is a really interesting topic and very relevant to her and to a lot of people. I mean, this is a main thing in music. Like, how do you talk about aging, but make it sexy? You know, and she has definitely done that. And in such a funny way, like you say, also, I mean, the title track, Sexistential, it's basically a rap about her doing her thing while undergoing IVF treatment and dating at the same time, dating while going through the cyborg process of implanting things inside of her and then dancing. I like to go out, wear something nice and push. This shit is existential. I like to go out, wear something nice and push. Sexistential. You know, she's in her 40s. And so, you know, there's this element thematically of motherhood, but also dating, but also partying, but also, you know, being your true authentic self. And just as somebody who has really loved Robin's music for a really, really long time, I'm just so glad to have her back. You know, this is her first record since 2018. That record, Honey, was her first album in like eight years. And so, she has really slowed down her pace of releasing records. And I'm just delighted to have her back. And you get a single like dopamine, you know, perfectly titled song that just jumps right out of the gate, feeling like just add this song directly to Pride Month playlists. Yes, mother, mother has returned. That is Robin. Her new record is called Sexistential. Next up, new album by Ray. It's called This Music May Contain Hope. Sex, I feel like that long dreading to wheat the concrete below. He wants to be in Paris drunk and alone with a phantom of a posh love. Niggers in the crash zone. The cobblestones that I'm watching and it haunts me and it tors me. Sus, sus, sus, suddenly in the reflection of a Chanel boutique window. I can see the old me and I hate her. I feel syrup strands of blue moonlight pour through the clouds to find me out like a spotlight. As if heaven's watching down to illustrate briefly the state of my mind. I have black eye glasses so I look chic as I cry and it's funny. Some people say I remind them of Amy. Some spit through their keyboard, I'll never amount and the evil and insults the arrows from your tongue. This is kind of an opus. Yeah. This is like a blockbuster of an album. This is like a really big, big record but Rae is kind of go big or go home, right? That's what she does. You got to have like an extended intro. You have a middle section of crazy outro. Yeah. I mean this record, as you said, it's an opus. It is 73 minutes long, 17 songs, bookended by spoken word pieces. And if you're not familiar with Rae or if Rae is somebody you've only kind of seen as a name that's gone by, you know, she's had a few hit singles including Where as My Husband, which is on this record. Rae is doing a lot of things simultaneously and doing them very well. She's tapping into pop and hip hop and R&B but also kind of classic pop, orchestrated standards and kind of mashing them all up together so songs will have these really bouncy pop hooks but then there'll be like an orchestral interlude that sounds like it's out of a Hitchcock thriller from the 50s or she'll do scat singing or she'll do, you know, as we've acknowledged already, spoken word. And sometimes all of these things are happening within a single song and so sometimes her music can feel extremely cluttered but it's cluttered in a way that is like bursting with ideas and so when it works, it really works. Yeah, like Where as My Husband, that's a prime example of that song that's got jazz, it's got hip hop, it's got big band, it's got everything. Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get over? Are you already testing my patience? I only fear he's taking down another woman than any me. I've been reviewing an ancient place. I've never held my hands on a room. I've never been on too far. I don't think he can be waiting. He's a patron. He's ready to go to the Lord. He gave him to my loving home. He says, why are my shoes so skinny? I actually think Where as My Husband is probably a contender for one of the best modern songs that I can think of. I mean, it is just so good and it's overflowing with hope. Like this album may contain hope. That is hopeful. I love that, you know, she's just thinking, you know, I definitely have a husband. I just, he's late. He's running late. He hasn't gotten here yet. Where the hell is he? He's in trouble but I'm going to be happy once I find him. So that hope is there. I always think you're so lovely. Your boy, baby. Baby. Well, I had a swallow. Getting down with another. Tell em, baby. Baby, tell em. Tell em. Tell em. Many of these songs feel like they pack an album's worth of ideas into four or five minutes. minutes. You take the song, click-clack symphony, and it is absolute chaos in the I think in I think the best way it's full of hand claps the tempo is kind of ratcheting up as it goes along. It sounds like nothing else in a way that I find really welcome and like you might find it exhausting but I think it's exhausting in a good way because it's moving through all of these different phases where it gets massive and cinematic you know all within the span of a song that's about five minutes long. I love that song. To me it's racing you know I mean the click-clack that's the sound of the high heels marching and it's like soldiers coming out to support the troops you're supporting your girl over there she's got she's in a bad place she needs to go to the club you need to come out and get those high heels on we're gonna look good we're gonna go out and we're gonna have a great time and we're zooming through the streets and that is Rae her new album is called this music may contain hope we got a few more records that are out today March 27th but first let's take a quick break from WQXR and Carnegie Hall comes classical music happy hour a new podcast hosted by me pianist maniacs each episode will speak with a special guest listen to musical gems play music inspired games and answer questions from our listeners the first episode drops March 4th listen on the NPR app from NPR music it's new music Friday I'm Steven Thompson here with Alisa Ali of WFUV in New York Alisa tell us what's going on at the station oh there's so much going on at the station we do these great marquee shows where we invite musicians to play a live concert for our members and we actually just did one Courtney Barnett that was wonderful so we got to hear some of the new songs performed live it was just Courtney on electric guitar obviously the album is much more lush and a lot of other people playing on it but it was a really cool thing that we got to see also we've got a really fun event coming up called WFUV Highline Bash that is something that we're preparing for because it's you know it's a benefit we're public radio we got to raise money so we're we're gearing up for that we've got some great live performers and I'm just excited for an evening of cocktails and past hors d'oeuvres rubbing I'm gonna put some heels on some click-clack heels nice well Alisa you mentioned Courtney Barnett perfect segue next record we're gonna talk about Courtney Barnett's new album is called creature of habit you're trying to help me I know you're trying to help me feels like I'm going backwards each day I preach my practice and still it seems I wasn't ready for this this is Courtney Barnett's fourth album and it is a great record that kind of explores how to get out of your own way and be okay with yourself it features her trademark wit and turns of phrases and her excellent guitar playing she's such a great guitarist it opens up with a blistering track called stay in your lane and there's some great lines in it like rip this thing out of my head you know this never would have happened if I stayed in my own lane and it kind of sounds to me like the sound of anxiety a little bit but things like chill out she's like her heart is racing and then she's like okay let me stop running for a second and chill out I mean she's kind of known as like a slacker rock right so you know slackers we don't we don't run the whole time we got to sit on the couch for a little bit right and think about some stuff absolutely and I think Courtney Barnett's career kind of contains those multitudes right like when she first kind of burst onto the scene it was with these kind of ambling rambles you know just these songs that kind of unfurled slowly she put out a record with Kurt Weill that has this kind of mellow vibes to it but at the same time you know the the record that's you know probably her biggest breakthrough sometimes I sit and think and sometimes I just sit from 2015 that's like her presiding over like a grunge explosion and I think this record splits the difference between those sounds in a way that I think will be agreeable to people who like each different facet of what Courtney Barnett does and you know you kind of alluded to this record as you know a reflection on change you know it her last record came out five years ago and in that time she moved from Melbourne to LA you know she she closed her record label she's kind of gone through some of these these kind of humbling big change life experiences and this record is a reflection of that somehow getting older melting wish we thought to bring something to bottle up this moment another beautiful day just another beautiful day yeah another beautiful day just another beautiful day there was also a documentary made about her which I think really affected her because she watched the documentary and she actually didn't like what she saw interesting and she thought to herself I want to change I want to be a little bit different and I think she on this album or for this new project made a conscious effort to be a little kinder to herself because you know she's got that self-deprecating humor right but I think sometimes that can work against her and so I mean that's still here there's still I mean that's her personality you know I love that about her but I think in this way that she talks about herself it's a little bit different and a little bit more empowering I guess I'm going back to that word a lot today I think she's has more confidence with more confidence I think yeah I think I think there's more confidence there and like as you said you know self-deprecation can be I mean it can be a lot of things it can be a defense mechanism it can be real humility it can be it can stem from a desire to get better and I think here it stems from a desire to get better and and I think that really comes through and it gives this record a sense that it's it's not just weary right or it's not just self-deprecating it's it's it's all part of this kind of human process of trying to be a better person tomorrow than you were today and at the same time sonically you know you have songs like sight unseen which is a collaboration with Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee where it's like bringing their voices together in this beautiful way this kind of twangy catchy jangly way and so you get on this record this mix of not only you know the processes that she's been going through and and kind of how she's trying to come through this process better than she was before and at the same time musically as you said I think that's where that confidence really comes in and the experience of having put out a bunch of different kinds of records she kind of gets into the pocket really easily here that is Courtney Barnett her new album is called creature of habit next up the new pornographers are back with a new record it is called the former sight of you Then comes pity, then it's time to know, we lost city. Nothing made you mad, it's just the last pay for. Nothing made you mad, it's just the last pay for. So the new pornographers, I mean anyone listening to this show is probably already familiar. Indy Rock Supergroup been around since 1997 from Vancouver. This is their 10th album. This band has been through a lot of kind of sound and lineup changes. In the run-up to this record, they parted ways with their drummer who ran into serious legal trouble. And I think that led to a certain amount of reflection on this record. When you think about a lot of like classic new pornographer songs, they're kind of these big blooming, billowing things that have kind of hooks piled on top of hooks piled on top of hooks. And their more recent music I think has been a little bit more reflective, a little more mid-tempo. And I think this record finds ways to kind of work within that sonic space while still finding room to inject jolts of energy. Absolutely. I think the most interesting thing about this particular album from their catalogue is the different experimentation in arrangements that they've been doing. Like Votive, this song I find so interesting. It's so kind of circular and bursting outwards and different elements coming in. Sonically, this album I think is one of the more interesting ones of their whole catalogue. I didn't see that. The first song also, great princess story. This is a song that I just, I get so carried away with sonically that, and there's beautiful voices. Of course, there's beautiful voices on this album. I mean, you got Nico Cates and Catherine Calder, and AC Newman is a great singer too, I have to say. But like, the sound of that song is so sweeping and magical to me that I can't even really focus on the lyrics. I can't even really tell you what the princess story is. Lyrically, I just, I don't know. I'm watching Oscar Bates, cause the paywall's been torn down. Well at least all the drinks are free. As free as the trap can be. And the jokes get darker as, all the nights get longer, yeah. All the bottles like Pallon said, at the scene of the accident. The last song on this record is one of my favorites. It's the title track, the former site of. It goes almost seven minutes and builds to this just epic crescendo. And I think in the earlier years, a new pornographer's song wouldn't wait quite that long to bloom into something that kind of grand and epic. But I think here there's more patience and that patience pays off in ways that I don't know that it quite has on a couple of recent new pornographers records. I think this is the best record they've done in quite a while. That's the new pornographers. Their new album is called the former site of. We've got one more record we're going to talk about in depth, as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, March 27th. But first let's take one more quick break. From WQXR and Carnegie Hall comes classical music happy hour. A new podcast hosted by me, pianist Maniacs. Each episode will speak with a special guest. Listen to musical gems, play music inspired games and answer questions from our listeners. The first episode drops March 4th. Listen on the NPR app. From NPR music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Alisa Ali of WFUV in New York. Before we get to the lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, March 27th, we wanted to talk about one more record in depth and it is a surprise. In many ways, it is by Flea. That's right, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His new solo album is called Honorah. Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers coming back with a jazz trumpet solo album that was not in the cards for me. I had no idea he played trumpet, but apparently that was his first instrument. He put it down to join the Red Hot Chili Peppers and then that took over his life. But a few years ago, apparently he had this nagging idea that he should get back to the trumpet. I mean, he's always loved jazz and that music has always been near and dear to his heart and funk. He decided, you know, I'm going to get back to it. I'm going to practice trumpet for two years straight. After two years, no matter where I am with my skill set, I am going to make a jazz album, a jazz trumpet album, and that he has as his first solo effort. And I have to say, it's pretty good. I was very surprised. I mean, the bar was low for me because I thought like, you know, when someone tries something completely different, you want to say like, A for effort, E for effort, T for nice try. But he actually did pretty good, I thought. Well, anytime you get these kind of artistic hairpin turns, right, like Andre 3000 putting out a record built around his his efforts on the flute, you know, is not what people are expecting from Andre 3000 and clearly like a jazz trumpet odyssey is not necessarily what you're going to expect from Flea, though he also plays bass quite a bit and is a very distinctive bass player. But, you know, this this record is all over the place in a really interesting way. And it's it's collaborative at the same time. You know, the band that he assembled here is legit. You know, you've got producer and saxophonist Josh Johnson, Jeff Parker plays guitar. You know, he plays on tons and tons of records. Anna Butters plays bass. Deontoni Parks plays drums. And then he brings in guests. You know, he has Nick Cave comes in and sings Wichita linemen. I am a linemen for the county. And I drive the main road. And it's just interesting if you've ever followed the kind of weird bubbling controversy around like Nick Cave talking trash about Red Hot Chili Peppers decades ago and then Flea, who loves Nick Cave and loves Nick Cave's music, having kind of hurt feelings and being asked about it and just being like, well, that's really sad, but I love him. I love his stuff anyway. And Nick Cave being like, oh, he's so gracious. And then now they're working together, you know, all these years later. I think I think that's a that's kind of a sweet undercurrent here is this is a record that is made out of a love of music. It is a record that is very earnest in its intentions, but it is also a record that is just extremely expansive in its thinking. It is a record about trying new things. And there are six original songs on here and one co-written with Tom York. They wrote a really interesting song called Traffic Lights that Tom York sings on. And, you know, I also have to give Flea some credit here because he wanted to make a trumpet album and he could have just soloed trumpet soloed all over everything. And I think that probably was his intention at first. Then realize maybe that's not a great idea. And he really practices a lot of restraint here. So he takes his trumpet solos, but it's not overpowering. And he really plays nicely with the others. Yeah, I mean, Flea is nothing if not a collaborator, right? You know, and I think that's a byproduct of him being a bass player. Like bass players naturally tend to be part of someone else's music. And so I think he is able to kind of drift in and out of the spotlight here in ways that I think work really well. But at the same time, there are songs that center him and not just as a trumpet player or as a bassist. There's the song A Plea is a seven and a half minute jazz odyssey with this extremely, I used this word already, but extremely earnest kind of spoken slash shouted word treatise from Flea. Like build a bridge, shine a light, live for peace, live for love. I'm not being corny. At one point he just says, I'm not being corny. And the earnestness of the earnest is such a double edged sword, right? It can be a compliment or a criticism. It's extremely deeply felt. Your mileage may vary. Bon. Well, he said, boom. Bon, she said, pray. Now we're human beings right here. Human beings. We're here together. Come on. That is Flea, his first ever solo album is called Onara. Now, Alisa, especially on March 27th of all release days, there is no way to get to every record that we wanted to talk about. So we're going to do a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums that are out today. I'm actually going to kick us off. One of my all time favorite songs is called How Sad, How Lovely. It's by a woman named Connie Converse, who was one of the first true American singer songwriters, as well as a writer and activist. She lived in New York and then Michigan in the 50s and 60s. Connie Converse disappeared in 1974 and has been a mysterious figure ever since. And thanks to the efforts of historians and journalists, including public radios David Garland, her music has been reaching more and more people in the last couple decades. Now, there's this essential compilation of Connie Converse music called How Sad, How Lovely, which came out in 2009. And now it is getting this kind of lovingly packaged reissue courtesy of third man records. If you haven't heard her, if you haven't sunk into her, sad, strange, beautiful songs, songs that were way ahead of their time, I highly recommend you do so. Again, that is Connie Converse. This compilation is called How Sad, How Lovely. What a lovely choice, Steven. And my choice is the new Snail Mail album, Ricochet. It's the third full length from Lindsay Jordan, and it is a great new Indy Rock album with jangly guitars. It's nostalgic, but also forward thinking and hopeful. It rocks. It feels good to listen to. The melodies make you feel like you're floating. It's introspective, but in a very uplifting way. It's not sugary sweet or power pop. It hits at just the right mental space. It's not too heavy, very substantial, very good job. Lindsay Jordan, a fantastic album that I highly recommend Ricochet by Snail Mail. All right, let's bring in some of our beloved NPR music colleagues, starting with Bobby Carter of NPR's Tiny Desk. Bobby, what do you got for us? What's cracking, Steve? It's good to be here, man. Listen, so the time, it couldn't be better. We're celebrating our Tiny Desk contest is back this year, and our 2024 Tiny Desk contest winner, the Phil Harmonic, is dropping his first project since he won a couple years ago. The project is called Transidentalism 1. I think there's going to be more volumes. He just brought it, man. I just think that, you know how we all talk about how the world is a mess right now, and we want some music that just kind of diverts from that, and we speak to the joy of it. You know what I mean, right? I know a little something about music as escape. Well, this project ain't that. He is speaking to the times. He's saying, if you are feeling like you're losing your mind, then come on in and let's just talk about it. I'm so blown away by the production. He writes and produces all of his own stuff. I love this. Please, please check this out. It's called Transidentalism 1. All right. Thank you, Bobby Carter. Sheldon Pierce, what do you got for us? Hey, Stephen, how are you doing? I'm doing well. It's good to have you. Yeah, great to be here. My pick is going to be the new album Future Present Past from the Injured Collective Irreversible Entanglements. It's an improvisational quartet left by Kume Aegewa, the poet, artist, activist behind the witchy experimental project More Mother. As with everything she does, this record rips. It's it's so, so energetic, glorious and unrestricted. I mean, its grooves are impeccable. But also as with everything she does, there is like a serious message behind the music that she is making. And this record is like so supercharged by like urgent, liberated chants that are like filled with like her natural poetic quality. Their freedom songs stretching out across the space time continuum. I couldn't recommend them any more highly. It's Future Present Past by Irreversible Entanglements. Incredible. Thank you, Sheldon Pierce. And for those who want to hear more Sheldon Pierce, by the way, I got to shout out Sheldon and I did a taping of Pop Culture Happy Hour this week about the new BTS album with our wonderful colleague, Seraam Mohamed, where we get to go deep on a very, very, very big new album that came out last week. So thank you so much, Sheldon. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. That is Sheldon Pierce. Let's bring on Dora Levitt. Dora, hi. Welcome to the show. Hi, Stephen. Thanks for having me. It is a pleasure. What do you got for us? The album I want to talk about is called Companion by the band Sleuths. They're a folk indie rock band from Durham, North Carolina. And this album finds the lead singer, Justin Morris, kind of like diving back into writing after completely swearing off all music. And Companion has this really rich sense of place and memory and his writing is completely at the forefront of that. It's a really vulnerable portrayal of how hard it can be to navigate periods of change and the small mundane things that give us hope from small moments in nature and even like the parasocial relationships we have with our favorite TV characters and podcasts, which I can very much relate to. The album is very exploratory. There's some country twang, slow burning rock with these really excellent builds. And then there are moments that are just like completely overblown and wandering noise and even tracks that are mostly silence. It's a really, really beautiful record. Sleuths with their new album Companion. Nice. Thank you so much, Dora Levitt. Let's bring on our pal, your pal and mine, Ann Powers. Back to the show. Hey, buddy, how you doing? I'm so happy to be here. And I loved hearing you all talk about new pornographers. So let's go back to Canada for my pick. My pick is Toronto singer-songwriter Charlotte Cornfield's sixth album. And her first for the indie giant Merge Records. It's called Hurts Like Hell. And on this album, there's a line in the very first song, which is called Before, that Cornfield repeats over and over again. She just says these four words, real love, no fantasy. And that is what this album Hurts Like Hell is all about. You know, there are songs about how love forms slowly with lots of stops and starts, songs about regret and broken connections, about parenthood because she became a mom a few years ago and also chosen family, kind of like Bohemian creative life. Just the regular normal stuff of life. But it's made so powerful in these songs. And her ramshackle sound is just perfect for that feeling of immediacy that she cultivates. And Charlotte Cornfield Hurts Like Hell. You took a drive, please guide, Karen said you can't make it if you never even try. And you can't feel the wind blow if you never go outside. Nice. Thank you so much, Ann. And that is our show for this week. Thank you, Alisa Ali, for taking time out of your week at WFUV in New York. Thank you so much for having me, Stephen. Please do invite me back anytime. I love hanging out with you. We will absolutely do that. I can't wait. If you enjoyed this week's show, we always appreciate a positive review on Apple or Spotify or whatever app you're listening to right now. This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell in Elmanyan and edited by Otis Hart. Our production assistant is Dora Levitt. The executive producer of NPR Music is Saree Mohamed. We'll be back next week to discuss new music with Aaron Wolff from Radio Milwaukee. Until then, take a moment to be well, play the trumpet every day for two years, and treat yourself to lots of great music. From WQXR and Carnegie Hall comes Classical Music Happy Hour, a new podcast hosted by me, pianist Maniacs. Each episode will speak with a special guest, listen to musical gems, play music-inspired games, and answer questions from our listeners. The first episode drops March 4th. Listen on the NPR app.
