All Songs Considered: Gracie Abrams hits a wall, more best new songs

Summary

NPR Music: All Songs Considered — "Gracie Abrams hits a wall, more best new songs"

Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Robin Hilton | Guest: Dora Levitt

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Episode Overview

This special episode of "All Songs Considered" is dedicated to the best new songs of the week, with Robin Hilton and Dora Levitt guiding listeners through a vibrant selection of emerging pop, indie, jazz, and experimental tracks. The conversation offers personal insights, behind-the-scenes context, and genuine reactions to new releases from Gracie Abrams, Zo Omba, Jasmine Bean, Ear, Evening Elephants, and Nats. Along the way, they explore themes of vulnerability in songwriting, the evolving landscape of pop culture, the joys of musical discovery, and the power of genre experimentation.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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1. Drake’s "Massive" Drop and Pop Music Overload

• Timestamps: 00:49–02:43
• Discussion:
  • Dora jokes about intending to listen to all three of Drake’s new albums, noting the overload. Robin admits he listened but found it overwhelming:

    “It all just starts to blur together and it just became a big audio mush.” (01:14–01:34)

  • They muse about the size of Drake’s presence on the charts and highlight a witty Drake lyric:

    All the numbers are final. No T shirts, no vinyl. Y' all about to make me Richie like Lionel. (01:34)

  • Robin reflects on his recent intentional turn toward more pop music.

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2. Gracie Abrams: "Hit the Wall" (Debut of New Single)

• Timestamps: 02:43–08:18
• Song Premiere: 03:02–05:13
• Discussion:
  • Robin introduces Gracie Abrams’s new single, “Hit the Wall,” from the upcoming album "Daughter From Hell" (out July 17).
  • Dora shares her early fandom and disappointment with previous music. She notes a return to authenticity on this track:

    “I really like how there is really minimal drums. It's really guided by her voice, and there's a really nice build to the entire song.” (06:01–06:43)

  • Robin explores the song’s themes of pressure, identity, and emotional exhaustion:

    “There's something about this song that breaks my heart a little bit... seeing my kids... trying to help them navigate this whole world.” (06:43–07:49)

  • Dora adds:

    “She is incredibly vulnerable here... trying to do what feels more authentic to her...” (07:49)

  • Robin praises the album (“best thing she’s ever done”), pointing out Gracie’s growth in vulnerability and songwriting.

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3. Zo Omba: "Eyesfull" (Spotlight on Emerging Indie)

• Timestamps: 08:18–14:28
• Song Premiere: 09:09–11:17
• Discussion:
  • Dora introduces Zo Omba and the single “Eyesfull,” describing the song’s “screeching voice” and “crunchy guitar.”
  • Robin notes Zo Omba’s roots in free jazz (saxophone, flute, guitar, piano), but hears none of that overtly in the current sound.

    “I'm not hearing any of that in this.” (12:30)

  • Dora calls the song “a world built from just the instrumental alone” and references Maggie Nelson’s "Bluets" in how the song explores a single idea deeply:

    “...stretching a single idea to the absolute limits.” (13:35)

  • Both compare the vibe to Adrianne Lenker and Big Thief, specifically “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You.”
  • Track and album details: “Eyesfull” is Zo Omba’s second single; debut album out June 5.

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4. Jasmine Bean: "Darling" (A Sweet, Surreal Ballad)

• Timestamps: 15:07–22:12
• Song Premiere: 16:11–19:16
• Discussion:
  • Robin frames Jasmine Bean as “sonically all over the place,” this time presenting a “super sweet, catchy little piano ballad with… late 60s Brit folk and pop vibe.”
  • Dora is enchanted:

    “What a sweet, sweet song.” (19:33)

  • They discuss the lyric “come on, galvanize me, my darling”—unusually romantic for the word “galvanize”:

    Robin: “I want you to shock me.” (20:39) Dora: “It's so nice to have this idea of... you want to push the other person to be exciting in the world.” (20:23)

  • References to Nico, Keane (“Somewhere Only We Know”), and even glimpses of Olivia Rodrigo’s sweetness.
  • Robin mentions pop culture rumors about Jasmine Bean’s rumored album "Here Lies the Body of a Dreamer", but clarifies nothing is confirmed.

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5. Trends in DIY Electronic Indie (Ear: "Ne Plus Ultra")

• Timestamps: 22:47–28:31
• Song Premiere: 23:12–24:44
• Discussion:
  • Dora introduces “Ear,” a twee electronic duo, and their latest single “Ne Plus Ultra”—Latin for “nothing further beyond.”
  • Robin is surprised by how “gnarled and harsher and sharper” the song is compared to their earlier work.
  • Dora appreciates the patchwork, collage style, referencing DJ Shadow and the casual, organic feel of much recent electronic music:

    “It feels like they're just putting out music as they make it.” (27:25)

  • Robin draws parallels to 90s acts Black Swan Network and The Books: “very collagen, but in this case, they've sharpened all the edges.”
  • Both discuss the college scene and live DIY origins of the duo (Vassar/Bard).

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6. Evening Elephants: "A Digital Touch" (LA Indie Mashup)

• Timestamps: 28:57–34:10
• Song Premiere: 29:32–32:26
• Discussion:
  • Robin presents Evening Elephants (duo Sam Boggs & Brandon B. Leslie) and the single “A Digital Touch” from their upcoming album (out July 31).
  • The song is described as “woozy, warped, out of tune...a little bit of hip hop, a little bit of pop, a little bit of rock, all smashed together—a very 90s sound.”
  • Dora loves its “heavy drums and glitched out, echoey vocals,” comparing it to “Doorman” by Mura Masa and Slowthai:

    “It's amazing how you just like totally clocked a song that I totally love.” (32:26)

  • Robin notes the band’s range, highlighting a quieter, more reserved track on the album and their local LA scene buzz.

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7. Nats: "Carpet Doctor" (Jazz Storytelling and Place)

• Timestamps: 34:19–38:35
• Song Premiere: 35:37–38:35
• Discussion:
  • Dora steps outside her comfort zone to present “Carpet Doctor” by Nats, a Newcastle duo whose album is produced by Black Midi’s Jordie Greep.
  • The track’s narrative is celebrated for painting “a cinematic image of a town that they clearly really, really love.” (34:19)
  • Robin summarizes the story behind “Carpet Doctor”—a returned convict’s struggle for societal acceptance.
  • Notable lyrics:

    “I know I've changed, But what does it matter out there? Will I be butterfly or caterpillar? ... I'm not the caterpillar, I am the butterfly.” (38:35)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Robin Hilton on pop overwhelm: "It all just starts to blur together and it just became a big audio mush." (01:14)
• Robin Hilton on Gracie Abrams: “There's something about this song that breaks my heart a little bit...” (06:43)
• Dora Levitt on Zo Omba: “Just stretching a single idea to the absolute limits.” (13:35)
• Dora Levitt on Jasmine Bean: “I don't necessarily think of the word galvanize as a very romantic idea, but it's so nice...” (20:23)
• Robin Hilton on DIY scenes: “It's like they've sharpened all of the edges and made them as just as tight as possible.” (26:56)
• Dora & Robin on Evening Elephants: “That's totally just the type of music that I love.” – Dora (34:04); “Dorichor!” – Robin (34:07)
• Nats’ Carpet Doctor, lyric: "I'm not the caterpillar, I am the butterfly." (38:35)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Drake Discussion: 00:49–02:43
• Gracie Abrams "Hit the Wall": Intro 02:44 | Song 03:02–05:13 | Discussion 06:01–08:18
• Zo Omba "Eyesfull": Intro 08:18 | Song 09:09–11:17 | Discussion 12:06–14:28
• Jasmine Bean "Darling": Intro 15:07 | Song 16:11–19:16 | Discussion 19:33–22:12
• Ear "Ne Plus Ultra": Intro 22:47 | Song 23:12–24:44 | Discussion 24:44–28:31
• Evening Elephants "A Digital Touch": Intro 28:57 | Song 29:32–32:26 | Discussion 32:26–34:10
• Nats "Carpet Doctor": Intro/discussion 34:19–35:37 | Song 35:37–38:35

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Episode Tone & Speaker Dynamics

• The tone is warm, passionate, and sometimes geekily introspective.
• Robin and Dora riff easily, reveling in discovery, mutual recommendations, and the layered emotionality of the music.
• Both speakers welcome vulnerability and encourage listeners to venture out of their musical comfort zones.

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Summary

This week’s "All Songs Considered" offers a welcoming, emotionally intelligent groundswell of new music—from Gracie Abrams’ powerful vulnerability and the spiritual indie sweep of Zo Omba, through the dreamy pop experiments of Jasmine Bean and Ear, to the raucous LA indie fusion of Evening Elephants and a story-driven, jazz-inspired narrative from Nats. Robin Hilton and Dora Levitt create an inviting space to discern emerging trends, honor artistic authenticity, and embrace the new.

For listeners seeking the freshest music, poignant storytelling, and the joys of discovery, this episode is a rich, essential listen.

Transcript

[NPR News Host]

This week on up first, one trend emerging this election season. President Trump actively opposing Republicans he sees as disloyal and endorsing their primary challengers who've toppled incumbents in multiple states. We're watching key primaries on Tuesday in Kentucky and elsewhere to see if that narrative holds up and what those races might tell us about November. Listen to up first every morning on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Robin Hilton]

This episode of All Songs Considered comes to you from the NPR Music podcast. Your one stop shop for all things in the music verse that are good and great. We've got new drops of this show, new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, along with Alt Latino on Wednesdays, New Music Friday. At the end of every week on this episode, we are talking about the best new songs of the week. Imperial Music's Dora Levitt.

[Dora Levitt]

Hello, Robin.

[Robin Hilton]

How was your weekend? Dora, did you, did you spend the entire weekend listening to the massive Drake drop that we got at the end of last week?

[Dora Levitt]

You know, I spent the entire weekend saying I really need to listen to all three of the Drake albums and I really need to, because I think it would be really funny if I picked only three Drake songs.

[Robin Hilton]

One from each record.

[Dora Levitt]

Yes, one from each record, obviously. And then I never found the time.

[Robin Hilton]

It's a lot. I actually did listen to all three albums. It's just too much. It's too much music. There were little moments as I was listening along where I thought I heard just this one song out of context. I think that's pretty great. That's a pretty great song, but it's just too much. It all just starts to blur together and it just became a big audio mush.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

Be all over the he's going to be like the number one spot through the number 10 or 20 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. When the latest charts come out. I thought it was funny. Of all of the songs that I listened to and all of the lines in those songs, I thought the most appropriate line was all the numbers are final. No T shirts, no vinyl. Y' all about to make me Richie like Lionel. First of all, honestly, that's a pretty great line. And yes, we're all about to make you very, very rich. Well, I actually have been spending a lot more time listening to stuff that is on the Billboard Hot 100. I've been trying to listen to more pop music, like popular music. And maybe that sounds ridiculous to most people, but I don't listen to a lot of pop music. I never really have listened to top 40 radio or anything, but I've been finding a lot of stuff that I genuinely enjoy. Maybe we'll do a whole show about how to love pop. But one of the artists that I've been listening to a lot more lately because we just got a new single from her is Gracie Abrams. I don't know if you've heard the new single yet. It's called Hit the Wall. Have you?

[Dora Levitt]

I haven't heard it.

[Robin Hilton]

No, haven't heard that yet. Just came out. She recently announced that she's got a new album coming out. It's called Daughter From Hell. And again, the first single we got from it is called Hit the Wall.

[Gracie Abrams (singer, performing)]

I'm a crack in the pavement, I'm a slip I'm afraid that my fortress is a glass box? I should know what I'm playing but I forgot Felt good for a day but that stopped and I once saw clearly but it's bloodshot and I want you so badly But I close off like I thought we'd get married but I guess not. Now you can watch me hit the wall. Hit the wall. I just hit the wa. Not a problem you can solve Weighing the cost impossible I hit the wall. I hit the wall. I try to be violent but I get caught A room full of doctors and an ink blood I'm drawn into headlights I have a blind spot pull over and wait for too long I wanna be stable But B, I use when I'm able A downgrade, I barely deserve it if you do stay I wish you would anyway. But I hit the wall. I just hit the wall. I'm not a problem you can solve Weighing the cost impossible I hit the wall.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

I hit the wall.

[Gracie Abrams (singer, performing)]

In case you playing in hallucinations that I downplay I'm numb till I'm making for the sharp pain Watch my plane ricochet funny in flashbacks of my life What a waste of what a shaming

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

night

[Gracie Abrams (singer, performing)]

Face to face with every girl that I try to play. Sooner or later you'll find out I live in a pattern of breakdowns? You'll bend to my silence it's so loud and then you'll lose me to the crowd Wall? I just hit the wall. I'm not a problem you can solve Hit the wall. I just. I just.

[Dora Levitt]

I really appreciate how much I feel like she's taken a step back from her songwriting. I feel like I. I'll admit I am not the biggest fan of Gracie Abrams music, but I really was a big fan of her before she started releasing music. I used to listen to her singing Videos on Instagram. And I think it was mostly Instagram, not YouTube. And when she started releasing music, I felt disappointed that it felt like she was really trying to make a type of thing rather than, like, the music that I watched her just make with her guitar. Like, she kind of tried to make this image, but here I really like how there is really minimal drums. It's really guided by her voice, and there's a really nice build to the entire song.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, it's pretty spare. It's interesting you flagged that as one of the issues that you had when she started releasing music, because the theme of this song is one I feel like I've been hearing a lot, which is the idea of feeling this pressure to be something that you're not and that you think maybe you're supposed to be. Yeah, I mean, there's nothing new about that idea in a lot of ways. For generations, people have thought, like, oh, I should be this. I should be that. This is what my family wants me to be, or whatever. But I do wonder if it's more intense and more common now and if it just works people over more now just because of social media and you see these images and these ideas of things that you should be and. I don't know, there's something about this song that breaks my heart a little bit. And I don't know if I've just become more sensitive as I've gotten older to people struggling to be something that they think they're supposed to be and hitting the wall and exhaustion and especially seeing, you know, my kids are in fold and teen mode and trying to help them navigate this whole world. Yeah, I don't know, it just kind of broke me a little bit.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah. She is incredibly vulnerable here. And, like, talking about how in this moment, like you said, she is kind of breaking and really trying to do what feels more authentic to her in a way that she hasn't been able to. I feel like there are so many eyes on Gracie Abrams just in popular culture in general, like, beyond her music, her love life, her everything. But I really do like this song more than I have liked her music in the past.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, I've heard the whole album. I got an early listen again. The album's called Daughter from Hell, and I really, really love it. I think it's the best thing she's ever done. That song again is called Hit the Wall. The album it's from Daughter from Hell is not out until July 17th.

[Dora Levitt]

I actually think this next song that I have has a similar sense of Vulnerability and tenderness to it. It's a song from Tennessee based artist Zo Omba. And the song is called Eyesful.

[Robin Hilton]

How do you spell that?

[Dora Levitt]

Z, O, H, A, M, B, A.

[Robin Hilton]

Okay.

[Dora Levitt]

I'm surprised you haven't heard it yet. I feel like you'll.

[Robin Hilton]

No, no. I've also never heard of Zoamba. So this.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Sam.

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

In deep. Breath. I seen you on the shore Dreaming of so much more A life you think you could only see in the sunshine. Seeing you on the shore

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Dreaming of

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

so much more that you think you could only see in the sunshine.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

School.

[Robin Hilton]

Seen your eyes. Wow.

[Dora Levitt]

Right?

[Robin Hilton]

Wow. Totally new to me. Never heard of this artist before. That guitar.

[Dora Levitt]

Isn't it amazing?

[Robin Hilton]

Incredible.

[Dora Levitt]

Incredible. Okay. They were new to me too. And when I heard this was the second single off of their debut album, which is also called Eyes Full, that comes out in June. But when I heard these two songs with their kind of screeching voice with this really crunchy guitar, I became obsessed. And I was reading that they actually started in, like, free jazz. Saxophone.

[Robin Hilton]

Right. I was just reading that too, while we were listening to the song. And I thought saxophone. They play saxophone, flute, guitar, piano. And got their start as a free jazz artist.

[Dora Levitt]

I thought, what?

[Robin Hilton]

I'm not hearing any of that in this.

[Dora Levitt]

So I also wasn't hearing any of the free jazz influence, I feel like. But it does make sense because the instrumental is so. Despite it being fairly simple, like a kind of chugging of the same guitar chords, but this whole kind of world that they're able to build in, just the instrumental alone was really impressive.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. I wouldn't call anything about that super conventional.

[Dora Levitt]

No.

[Robin Hilton]

But it wasn't quite as loose or free form as I sometimes think with free jazz. But, man, the way that guitar just roars and screams behind the whole song. Oh, yeah.

[Dora Levitt]

And I love the way that they wrap their mouth around the words and the lyrics and the lyrics. It's kind of repetitive. It's just this interrogation of what it means to have your eyes full. Like your eyes full of love and full of longing and. Did you ever read the book Bluettes by Maggie Nelson?

[Robin Hilton]

No. No. I don't know.

[Dora Levitt]

It's this whole book that is just kind of excerpts on the color blue and exploring all aspects of the word blue and the color blue and, like, where blue shows up in the world. And the way that they shape the term eyes full and the way that they explore it, like how you stretch the way to say eyes full. But also everything that that term could mean really reminded me of that book and just stretching a single idea to the absolute limits.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, I love when you can go super, super deep and just keep going deeper on what seems like the simplest idea. Did you hear Adrian Linker a little bit?

[Dora Levitt]

Yes, completely.

[Robin Hilton]

I thought, boy, they ought to do something together.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, I heard Adrian Linker and I heard a lot of the divine and spirituality in Dragon New War Mountain, I Believe in youn.

[Robin Hilton]

The Big Thief album.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, the Big Thief album.

[Robin Hilton]

So Zo amba Z O H A M B A the song Icefall. And that's the title cut.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

And it is out, looks like on June 5th.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

Wow, what a great pick.

[NPR News Host]

We flush a lot of things down the toilet, you know, the obvious ones, but drugs like cocaine are also going down the drain and into our waterways. That's changing the animals that live in it.

[Robin Hilton]

It's definitely present in most ecosystems on Earth. Now, unfortunately, we're only sort of really starting to scratch the surface into understanding the potential consequences of that.

[NPR News Host]

Forget cocaine bear. Learn about cocaine salmon on shortwave, in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Robin Hilton]

I've got a couple more that I. I bet you're gonna love. I'll start with Jasmine Bean. Do you know Jasmine?

[Dora Levitt]

I do know Jasmine.

[Robin Hilton]

You do know Jasmine Bean. Okay. Singer from London. I think if you listen to the stuff that they've put out in the. Over the past few years, a couple albums, some singles and EPs, actually quite a bit of stuff just in the last few years. It's kind of all over the place, sonically. Like, sometimes it's just these gnarled, gritty, loud guitars, sometimes it's heavy electronics, sometimes it's even like dance beats. It's just kind of all over the place. Well, Jasmine Bean just dropped a new single that again, is totally different. It's called Darling and we can just listen to it. Have you heard this yet?

[Dora Levitt]

No, not yet.

[Robin Hilton]

So we'll just listen to it and you'll hear what I mean. It's just a very super sweet, kind of a catchy little piano ballad with kind of a late 60s Brit folk and pop vibe to it. Jasmine being darling,

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

You loved me. As sick as a dog. Good days and bads all through it

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

all

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

you left me in April and June. Summer came round and left us soon. You make me feel spectacular. A crack of light shone through the door. Kiss me just one last for no time. You make me feel alive. Come on, galvanize me my d.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Look

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

at you magnetic and char. Come on, govern nicely. My darling darling. My still Heart your puppy dog Ey. Give me that look I know it's fun. This house is not a home without you here I feel alone I take my time reliving paradise? You saw me through all of the commotion? All the wounds and all the pain and you loved me all the same so me and color diamond summer promise me we never change How I loved you all the same. Galvanize me, my darling look at you, magnetic and charming? Your blip of kisses a longing. Come on, galvanize you, my darling darling. Come on, governor,

[Robin Hilton]

Come on.

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

Governance. Dara.

[Dora Levitt]

What a sweet, sweet song.

[Robin Hilton]

Isn't that just wonderful? Yeah, it's so. Do you hear, like. I'm hearing, like, a little, like Nico. Like Nico the Belvedere. Little like, that era, too. Sort of like late 60s, early 70s. It's just a song about loving someone who's been there for you, who's kind of gone through it with you and has always been by your side. Had your back. Such a great earworm, too.

[Gracie Abrams (singer, performing)]

Yeah.

[Dora Levitt]

And I love the build and especially how it kind of, like, peaks at the very, very end in a way that I kind of thought the song was gonna have, like, a slow build and kind of live in a sweetness, but it really gets so exciting in the end. And I love the lyric, come on, galvanize me, my darling. Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

What do you make of that?

[Dora Levitt]

I don't necessarily think of the word galvanize as a very romantic idea, but it's so nice to have this idea of, like, you're so in love that you want to be, like, active together, and you want to be exciting together, and you want to push the other person to be exciting in the world.

[Robin Hilton]

I want you to shock me.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, Shock me, Shock me.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't think that I would have ever thought to compare Jasmine Bean to the band king, but I kept hearing Keen as I was listening. Like, you listen to the top of this song. I walk an empty land. I knew the totally the back of my hand. Yeah.

[Dora Levitt]

Oh, my God.

[Gracie Abrams (singer, performing)]

Yeah, totally.

[Dora Levitt]

You know, Totally.

[Robin Hilton]

But it works. It's like. Because there is this sort of almost surreal undercurrent to it all. It's not just straight pop.

[Dora Levitt]

Totally. It's very dreamlike. And they have the same sweetness that I think makes Olivia Rodrigo shine in her music of just this excitement about the world and about the possibilities of being so in love.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. Well, Jasmine Bean's still kind of coming up. They haven't completely broken yet, but definitely some rabid fans out there. Like, they're, you know, Huge TikTok following. There's a Jasmine Bean Wiki page, you know, like, what is it? Like the Jasmine Wiki or whatever, you know, where it. Like, for all the rumors and speculation and stuff like that. One of those rumors is that they've got a new album coming up called Here Lies the Body of a Dreamer. That is a total rumor. There's no confirmation of that whatsoever. The only official word for now is that they've got the single Darling and it's from an upcoming project.

[Dora Levitt]

I love pop culture rumors.

[Robin Hilton]

I really do too. I miss the days when there was no Internet at all and you just. You had to believe it, you know, all these urban myths and everything around artists. There were so many around bands, like, you know, all the metal bands in the 70s and stuff.

[Dora Levitt]

You know, I love learning about like really insane musical conspiracy theories where it's like when you just like completely pick apart a song in a way that an artist had no intention of. Like Boards of Canada. There was this.

[Robin Hilton]

Paul is dead.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

Is the patient zero in that?

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

Where do you want to go?

[Dora Levitt]

Okay. I want to do a song that I kind of thought you were going to pick.

[Robin Hilton]

It's Drake, right?

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, it's Drake. Yeah. This song is by the twee electronic duo Ear. It's a one off.

[Robin Hilton]

Oh, I love Ear, but I didn't know they had a new song. Oh, awesome.

[Dora Levitt]

Shout out. Otis, he sent it to me. It's called Ne Plus Ultra.

[Robin Hilton]

Is that French or Latin or what is that?

[Dora Levitt]

I think it's Latin. It's Latin for nothing further beyond

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Are

[Robin Hilton]

you videoing me right now?

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

Could hardly look around.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Could have been enough But I couldn't

[Jasmine Bean (singer, performing)]

get this far Money that I spent.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Forever and so that's.

[Dora Levitt]

One plus one equals one.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

To. Look, Sam,

[Robin Hilton]

I'm not gonna lie to you. I think we're really crushing it on this episode.

[Dora Levitt]

I think so too.

[Robin Hilton]

I think we're playing some really, really good music here. I love Year. I hadn't really heard anything since. Since like late last summer or so. We played a song on the show and then I think they followed it up immediately. There was an album, their debut album, but I haven't heard anything since then. This is much more gnarled and harsher and sharper. It's very, very cool than what I was expecting.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, I love how dense it is. It's such a patchwork of. I feel like where they've been since the album. It really feels like they're taking us on a mood board of what a Next project could be like, if. It's like I heard like a cat meowing in there.

[Robin Hilton]

Right.

[Dora Levitt]

I loved when that voice comes in and it just goes like, gone, Gone forever. It's gone forever.

[Robin Hilton]

It's very much like the books, if you know that group, the books, like very collagen, but in this case it's like they've sharpened all of the edges and made them as just as tight as possible.

[Dora Levitt]

I really appreciate how casual a lot of artists are recently. Like, especially like younger electronic music. It's.

[Robin Hilton]

Do you mean like just that it feels like they're just hanging out and this is all very organic and just kind of thrown together?

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, yeah, it feels very organic. And also it feels like they're just putting out music as they make it.

[Robin Hilton]

Lars Gottridge and I were just talking about this, in fact on the show last week about a favorite band of ours, Black Swan Network, how back in the 90s they were throwing music together like this, you know, sort of as a collage. Loose on the fly, friends hanging out in a room. And he actually thought we were hearing more of this in bands like ear completely.

[Dora Levitt]

I feel like I hear it in Bass Victim as well, which is like another electronic duo where they're just kind of putting out all of this really great, really, really dense patchwork music. It reminds me a lot of DJ Shadow's music of just like really incredibly sample rich and interesting sounds.

[Robin Hilton]

So ear for people who don't know it's a duo, is it Yael Avton and Jonah Potts? Yeah. And last I heard they were. Maybe they went to Bard College.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah, I actually found them because they play my college when I was there, Vassar College, which is right next to Bard.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, yeah. Very, very cool. Great find. So just a one off single for now.

[Dora Levitt]

Just a one off. For poor people in one of the world's fastest growing megacities, development means displacement and violence.

[Robin Hilton]

We are homeless now. Nowhere to stay, nowhere to sleep.

[Dora Levitt]

On the Sunday story, the human cost of building Lagos, Nigeria into the Dubai of Africa. Listen now to the Sunday story from the upverse podcast on the NPR app.

[Robin Hilton]

All right, I've got one more that I want to play. And again, I don't know. I heard this and I thought this sounds very Doricor. I could be wrong, but it's got this kind of woozy, warped, out of tune feel to it a little bit that I know you love. It's kind of me.

[Dora Levitt]

It's classic me.

[Robin Hilton]

Yes, very Dora. It's a band called Evening Elephants. Do you Know Evening Elephants. This is a duo from Los Angeles and they've got a new album coming at the end of July called Wholeheartedly Terribly Sweet. Wholeheartedly Terribly Sweet from Evening Elephants. The song I want to play from it. It's the latest single.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

It's called A Digital Touch. If it's up then I'm up I'm stuck in a different light time you say good luck she my baba younger with the digital touch Color core tonner when she doing too much Hands like Medusa eyes like stone Cowboy Bebop space telephone Face of an alien brain like Akira I've been telling them that don't go nearer Bang bang like a killer Bang bang like a killer in the peace you gotta hold sometimes with the peace you want to stay in the peace you will not go sometimes so the peace will run away if you're running from the inside out Cuz an apple taste so sweet me Is there something we should talk about? Must you stay this? I just want to it all up. My hair and my teeth is a slow burn oh, it's your turn then it's your turn oh, I'm going till the sun comes up it's your turn oh, it's your turn. I blush they said I'm pupping now Blue crush get high, stay high get in a bar fight Black eye I'm not a profit don't stop it Picture cinnamon good luck when I'm dropping no coffin I'll be buried like a smile in the peace you gotta hold sometimes if the peace you wanna stay in the peace you will not grow sometimes and the peace will run away if you're outt from the inside out there's an apple to be so sweet. Is it something we should talk about? Must you speak? I just want to it all up don't match me don't you think it's about the topic?

[Dora Levitt]

It's amazing how you. How you just like totally clocked a song that I totally love.

[Robin Hilton]

I wasn't sure. I was kind of trying to read the room while I. Cause I was like, man, this is hitting so hard. I am just absolutely in this. And I looked over, I was like, well, I'm not sure if she's digging this or not.

[Dora Levitt]

It's like heavy drums and like glitched out echoey vocals. And then in the middle it just gets like super weird with like screaming. That's.

[Robin Hilton]

There's something about this. Like. I don't know what I would call this. I mean, it's obviously. It's got a Little bit of hip hop, a little bit of pop, a little bit of rock, and it's all kind of smashed together. It's a very 90s sound.

[Background Vocalist/Chorus]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

And like I said, it's familiar, but at the same time, I can't really come up with anyone else who sounds quite like this.

[Dora Levitt]

It immediately reminded me of the song Doorman by Muramasa in Slow Tie that came out a few years ago that is just like this really, really heavy drum beat and kind of like wandering, screaming vocals on top that you can see yourself raging to, but also clubbing to as well.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, there's definitely an element of that in this.

[Dora Levitt]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

So these two guys, Sam Boggs and Brandon B. Leslie from Los Angeles, like, they've been coming up, playing backyard parties and stuff like that and really kind of blowing up in the local scene there. I don't know. They're definitely on the rise, and I really love what I've heard. They've got one other cut from this album, a new cut that's a lot quieter, a lot more reserved, kind of beautiful, certainly compared to the chaos that you hear in this one. So real cool range to these guys. Yeah, definitely got my attention. Evening Elephant.

[Dora Levitt]

That is totally just the type of music that I love.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, Dorichor.

[Dora Levitt]

Totally Dorichor.

[Robin Hilton]

So that album from Evening Elephant is out July 31, the very end of July. But, Dora, I know you got one more you want to play.

[Dora Levitt]

The last song that I picked feels out of my comfort range in terms of talking about music, which I think is maybe good that I wanted to pick it. It's a song from this jazz album that just came out by the band Nats. And the album is called A Great Day in Newcastle. And the specific song that I want to play is called Carpet Doctor. And the whole album is produced by. By Jordi Greep, who was in black midi. And I do feel out of my wheelhouse when talking about jazz music. I feel like that's, like where a blind spot that I have that I want to become better at. But the reason that I was so drawn to this album and this song in particular, is how incredibly, Nats, which is a duo, build this picture of Newcastle, which is where they live, with these incredibly rich characters and this really cinematic image of a town that they clearly really, really love.

[Robin Hilton]

And is Nat's Gnat in a K, K, of course. K N A T, S. Well, this is new to me. I don't know. I obviously don't know, Nat.

[Dora Levitt]

It was new to me, too. I was a huge Black Mitty fan. So.

[Robin Hilton]

Okay, Yeah.

[Dora Levitt]

I love all of the spinoff projects that have happened since then.

[Robin Hilton]

Remind me of the song again.

[Dora Levitt]

Carpet Doctor.

[Robin Hilton]

Carpet Doctor. Thanks, Dora. This was awesome.

[Dora Levitt]

Thanks, Robin. We played the best music that's ever been heard.

[Robin Hilton]

I really think we did. And you're listening to ALL SONGS CONSIDERED from NPR Music. Let me tell you a story. The convict who gets sent down. He's made some mistakes, but he had a hard life. He gets out and vows never to come back. Sets up a successful business and rejoins society. But he feels like he's never accepted the same. This is the story of the carpet doctor.

[Carpet Doctor (narrator or singer)]

I know I've changed, But what does it matter out there? Will I be butterfly or caterpillar? Distaste on old faces mutter as I wander by. Am I the caterpillar? Mother butterfly? Nowhere my bread is buttered Nowhere I'm up for dinner about the butterfly, mother caterpillar, I've all got the gutter. Is that where I'll die? Am I the caterpillar? Am I the butterfly? Put down your pesticide. I've killed what's left inside. I'm not the caterpillar, I am the butterfly.

[NPR News Host]

It can be hard to keep up with all the new movies on streaming services. How do you tell the good ones worth watching from the bad or the silly ones you can laugh along with or act at? On NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're recommending some fun movies you may have missed. Listen via the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.