Music Reviews : NPR

Ann Powers considers the breakthrough of indie rock up-and-comer MJ Lenderman, and finds that he’s got some classic rock in his tales of romantic woe.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/11/g-s1-21600/review-mj-lenderman-manning-fireworks

The magnetic bond between Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, partners in life and in music, has always been central to their songs. On their latest album, the "we" becomes existential.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/07/nx-s1-5082308/review-gillian-welch-david-rawlings-woodland

Viral stardom is often a prison — but on the dazzling and frequently hilarious Alligator Bites Never Heal, the "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake" rapper proves those walls can't contain her talent.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/05/g-s1-20309/doechii-alligator-bites-never-heal-review

Over a decade after their classic run upended digital culture, the rapper and mixtape mogul reunite to show listeners why it mattered — and what a younger generation of trap artists has learned...

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/29/g-s1-20029/gucci-mane-dj-drama-greatest-of-all-trappers

Music reviews of new albums in pop, rock, folk, jazz, blues, classical, world, and hip-hop.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/29/g-s1-19904/fresh-air-marks-the-centennial-of-the-queen-of-blues-dinah-washington

Sabrina Carpenter has had two of the year's biggest hits with "Espresso" and "Please Please Please." Now, she's released a new full-length album called Short n' Sweet, which serves up more catchy...

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/28/1197972285/sabrina-carpenters-short-n-sweet-is-smart-and-silly

The new albums Quantum Baby and Bird's Eye are exercises in self-liberation, leveraging the sounds and potential of a loaded category while rejecting its limits.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/22/g-s1-17441/tinashe-ravyn-lenae-quantum-baby-birds-eye

The recording sessions for Young's 1974 album were gloomy, drug-fueled affairs, but the end result proves that artists can make good work no matter how hemmed-in, churlish or depressed they may b...

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/20/g-s1-18000/50-years-later-neil-youngs-on-the-beach-remains-bleak-and-beautiful

The rising young pianist, from a family of seven musical siblings, offers dynamic music by brother and sister Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/09/nx-s1-5036411/isata-kanneh-mason-mendelssohn-review

I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, the artist's fifth album and first since his Kanye collabs made him a snark target, swings back at everyone in sight — but saves a few knocks for himself.

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/08/g-s1-15480/jpegmafia-i-lay-down-my-life-for-you-review