It's Friday, and in approximately one week the doors will slam shut on eligibility for the 68th annual Grammy Awards. For some (read: our host), this penultimate week proved to be a strategic scramble. With big names like Earl Sweatshirt, Ghostface Killah, Kid Cudi, Laufey and even the prodigal Deftones establishing themselves as Grammy hopefuls, there was no way we could dig into everything in our New Music Friday podcast.
But we did highlight five albums — you could call them the nominees for Album Of The Week. Stephen Thompson and Tad Cautious from Vermont Public dove into new records that look beyond the Grammy frenzy, before discussing those big names that tend to dominate the internet in an extended Lightning Round.
The duo talk through Baltimore auteur Nourished By Time's newest album, The Passionate Ones — a soulful lesson in disillusionment and hope, stitched together with some dance grooves. We also get into Mac Demarco's most intimate and modest project yet, Guitar, and Kathleen Edwards' Billionaire, which was co-produced by Americana luminary Jason Isbell.
Listen to Stephen and Tad discuss those three albums and more on the Aug. 22 edition of New Music Friday, wherever you get your podcasts.
The Starting Five
Our hosts share the backstories and best songs from the following albums:
💿 Nourished By Time, The Passionate Ones (Stream)
- Recommended If You Like: Dijon, Astrid Sonne
💿 Pino Palladino & Blake Mills, That Wasn't a Dream (Stream)
- RIYL: Nubya Garcia, Nels Cline
💿 Greg Freeman, Burnover (Stream)
- RIYL: MJ Lenderman, Florry
💿 Kathleen Edwards, Billionaire (Stream)
- RIYL: Laura Viers, Jason Isbell
💿 Mac Demarco, Guitar (Stream)
- RIYL: Steve Lacy, Clairo
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.
The Lightning Round (Extended Cut)
Ten more albums we wish we had time to discuss on the podcast:
💿 Laufey, A Matter of Time
💿 Sombr, I Barely Know Her
💿 Ami Taf Ra, The Prophet and the Madman
💿 Deftones, private music
💿 BigXthaPlug, I Hope You're Happy
💿 Teyana Taylor, Escape Room
💿 Night Owls, Versions II
💿 Kid Cudi, Free
💿 Earl Sweatshirt, Live Laugh Love
💿 Ghostface Killah, Supreme Clientele 2
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:
Classical
- Gabríel Ólafs, Polar: Dusk
- The Telegraph Quartet, 20th Century Vantage Points Volume 2: Edge of the Storm
Country/Folk/Americana
- Eve Adams, American Dust
- Lainey Wilson, Whirlwind (Deluxe)
- Old Dominion, Barbara
- Rún, Rún
- Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country, Horizons
Electronic/Out There
- Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Gush
- Emma Louise and Flume, DUMB
- Bogdan Raczynski, Slow Down Stupid
Global
- Stray Kids, KARMA
- Adrian Sherwood, The Collapse of Everything
- Lila Iké Treasure, Self Love
- Perfume, Nebula Romance: Part II
Jazz
- Miles Davis, Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings
- Paul Cornish, You're Exaggerating!
- Stella Cole, It's Magic
Pop
- Jon Batiste, Big Money
- Ava Max, Don't Click Play
- Lissie, Promises EP
- Quannnic, Warbrained
- Dominic Fike, Rocket
R&B/Soul
- Chambers DesLauriers, Our Time to Ride
- Kwn, with all due respect EP
- Mariah The Scientist, HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY
- Khamari, To Dry A Tear
- Jae Stephens, SELLOUT II
Rap/Hip-Hop
- Offset, KIARI
- 2 Chainz, Red Clay (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Lupe Fiasco, Samurai DX (Deluxe Edition)
Rock/Alt/Indie
- Water From Your Eyes, It's A Beautiful Place
- Wolf Alice, The Clearing
- Arcadea, The Exodus of Gravity
- Bikini Trill, Bikini Trill
- Case Oats, Last Missouri Exit
- Claire Morales, Lost in the Desert
- Dean Johnson, I Hope We Can Still be Friends
- Delicate Stev, Luke's Garage
- Dinosaur Pile-Up, I've Felt Better
- Double Wish, Double Wish
- Elliot Moss, Highspeeds (Expanded - 10th Anniversary)
- Hand Habits, Blue Reminder
- Hot Mulligan, The Sound a Body Makes When It's Still
- Hunx and his Punx, Walk Out On This World
- James Yorkston, Songs for Nina and Johanna
- John Fogerty, The Creedence Clearwater Revival Years
- Kerala Dust, An Echo of Love
- Kingfishr, Halcyon
- Minus the Bear, Menos el Oso (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
- Renao, Still Life
- Royel Otis, hickey
- Scree, August
- Silje Marsh, Sun Will Prevail
- Sir Chloe, Swallow the Knife
- Small Shake, Platonics
- Superchunk, Songs in the Key of Yikes
- The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Dreams of Being Dust
- Three Days Grace, Alienation
- TOPS, Bury the Key
- Winter, Adult Romantix
Credits
- Host: Stephen Thompson
- Guest: Tad Cautious, Vermont Public
- Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
- Digital Producer: Elle Mannion
- Editor: Otis Hart
- Production Assistant: Dora Levite
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
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