New Music Friday: The best albums out Feb. 20

Summary

All Songs Considered – New Music Friday: The Best Albums Out Feb. 20

Date: February 20, 2026
Host: Stephen Thompson (NPR)
Guest: Evan Miller (WYSO, Ohio)

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Episode Overview

This week, Stephen Thompson and guest Evan Miller break down some of the most exciting and eclectic new albums released on February 20th, spanning genres from boundary-pushing pop and folk-classical hybrids to Turkish psych-rock and experimental art-pop. The conversation highlights left-field music, inventive cross-genre collaborations, and thoughtful tributes to tradition. While big pop and rap releases like Willow and Baby Keem get shout-outs, the focus is on discovering gems that push music in new directions.

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Key Albums & Discussions

Willow – Petal Rock Black

[00:41 – 03:03]

• Willow's surprise album “Petal Rock Black” fuses accessible pop with left-field sounds, featuring guests Tune-Yards, George Clinton (P-Funk), and Kamasi Washington.
• Includes a Prince cover ("I Would Die 4 U") and many fragmented tracks that creatively mix genres within just 26 minutes.

"Willow is extraordinarily inventive and never makes the same record twice. And that really comes through here...you have songs that play out almost as fragments and you know, it's where ideas are ping ponging around." — Stephen Thompson [01:54] "It was quite a pleasant surprise...arrangements are fantastic, a lot of really funky rhythms and grooves." — Evan Miller [01:31]

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Baby Keem – Casino

[03:03]

• Not yet reviewed due to no early previews, but noted as a major release, given his reputation and connection to Kendrick Lamar.

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Pekka Kuusisto – Willow

[04:26 – 09:12]

• Finnish violinist expands beyond traditional classical roots, collaborating with artists like Sam Amidon (folk) and composers Caroline Shaw and Ellen Reid. It’s a mix of classical, folk, and boundary-pushing contemporary music.

"You get these gorgeous, sweeping classical pieces, and then around halfway through, it takes this sharp left turn...melding folk music and classical." — Stephen Thompson [07:30] "Picking Sam Amidon and Nico Muhly for the arrangements for these folk songs is...a very clear choice on success." — Evan Miller [08:28]

Notable Tracks/Segments:

• “Desiderium” by Ellen Reid: Extended techniques, dedicated to Kuusisto’s late brother [05:49]
• Caroline Shaw's “Plan and Elevation”: Revisiting modern classical [06:20]
• Sam Amidon collaborations: Fuses folk/traditions with classical arrangements.

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Manu Delago & Max ZT – Deuce

[09:12 – 13:35]

• Duo of handpan (Delago) and hammered dulcimer (Max ZT) recorded in a 13th-century Austrian monastery — results in radiant, tranquil soundscapes.

"Listening to this record, I get it. That's not wrong. Both, you know, these kind of virtuoso musicians..." — Stephen Thompson [10:28] "There's...almost a dizzying quality to it...but it still has a certain softness to it." — Stephen Thompson [13:35]

• Highlighted as perfect background music (for “dishes” or staring into the distance), showing percussion’s melodic, gentle side.

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The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis – Deface the Currency

[18:08 – 22:19]

• Post-Fugazi instrumentalists and a jazz saxophonist churn out a genuine punk/free-jazz fusion.

"It's wild how much this record feels like jazz and how much it feels like punk. It's really one of the truest genre fusions I've heard in a while." — Stephen Thompson [19:27] "There's always fire kind of lurking underneath...just explodes." — Evan Miller [21:45]

• Tracks bounce between blistering improvisations and head-nodding punk grooves.

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Hen Ogledd – Discombobulated

[23:33 – 28:12]

• Named after “the Old North” (Celtic Britain), this UK band blends ancient and modern: art-pop, folk, psychedelia, and experimental spoken word.

"One of the most appropriate album titles...discombobulated is 100% right on it. I feel like I'm stepping into another universe." — Evan Miller [24:50] "They're weirdos with a lot to say about the state of the world." — Stephen Thompson [25:12]

• Lyrics tackle human rights and systems in collapse (notably, the track “Scales Will Fall”). Songs combine childlike eeriness and social commentary.

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Altın Gün – Garip

[29:52 – 35:24]

• Dutch-Turkish band known for psychedelic takes on Turkish folk. This record is a tribute to Turkish folk artist Neşet Ertaş—evocative, smoky, and deeply emotional.

"It feels like the band is moving towards a more organic place after getting a lot into the electronics zone...that feels really appropriate for this record." — Evan Miller [31:50] "When you listen to that track, you can practically see smoke wafting from the speakers." — Stephen Thompson [32:16]

• Song “Nerdesin Sen” praised for its driving, psychedelic energy. The band’s leader grew up on Ertaş’s cassettes, making this a personal project.

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Lightning Round: Other Highlight Releases

[35:24 – 39:51]

• Megan Moroney – Cloud 9: Country-pop, heartache anthems, guests Ed Sheeran & Kacey Musgraves. "Future hits." [35:24]
• Chris Forsyth’s What Is Now – Both And: Trio with bass/drums from jazz trio Bark Culture. “Shaggy jams” between rock, jazz, and improvisation.
• Choker – Heaven Ain’t Sold: Psychedelic R&B comeback after a seven-year hiatus.
• MX Lonely – All Monsters: Grunge-inflected shoegaze, part of the genre’s modern revival.
• Mumford and Sons – Prize Fighter: Big roots pop comeback, guests include Chris Stapleton, Hozier, and Gracie Abrams.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Willow’s eclecticism:
  “You have songs that play out almost as fragments and you know, it's where ideas are just ping ponging around and you get through so, so many different sounds in those 26 minutes.”
  — Stephen Thompson [01:54]
• On Pekka Kuusisto’s blending of classical and folk:
  “You get these gorgeous, sweeping classical pieces, and then around halfway through, it takes this sharp left turn...”
  — Stephen Thompson [07:30]
• On Altın Gün’s atmosphere:
  “When you listen to that track, you can practically see smoke wafting from the speakers as it plays.”
  — Stephen Thompson [32:16]
• On Hen Ogledd’s strangeness:
  “One of the most appropriate album titles I've come across in recent memory, discombobulated is 100% right on it.”
  — Evan Miller [24:50]
• On Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis fusion:
  “It's really one of the truest genre fusions that I've heard in a while because it absolutely is both.”
  — Stephen Thompson [19:27]

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Quick Reference: Timestamps for Major Albums

• Willow – Petal Rock Black: [00:41 – 03:03]
• Pekka Kuusisto – Willow: [04:26 – 09:12]
• Manu Delago & Max ZT – Deuce: [09:12 – 13:35]
• Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis – Deface the Currency: [18:08 – 22:19]
• Hen Ogledd – Discombobulated: [23:33 – 28:12]
• Altın Gün – Garip: [29:52 – 35:24]
• Lightning round: [35:24 – 39:51]

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Tone & Language

Conversational, warm, and enthusiastic, the hosts approach music discovery with openness and joy. Technical details get balanced with colorful, accessible descriptions, making the discussion lively and approachable for both casual listeners and music nerds.

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Summary

This episode's spirit is about genre fluidity, the joy of discovery, and music’s capacity to carry both tradition and wild invention. The hosts seamlessly jump across continents and genres, spotlighting records that surprise and delight. Whether it’s a Turkish psych band channeling ancestral roots or jazz-punk that truly sounds like both genres at once, NPR’s music team shows why All Songs Considered has been a flagship for music exploration more than two decades running.

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For more:
Visit npr.org/allsongs for playlists, past episodes, and featured artists.

Transcript

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[Stephen Thompson]

Happy Friday, everyone, from npr. Welcome back to NEW Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Evan Miller of WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Welcome to the show. Evan.

[Evan Miller]

Thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here.

[Stephen Thompson]

It is a pleasure to have you. We have a very unusual week of new music, including an album that dropped on Tuesday morning. We, you know, are kind of still just getting used to it ourselves. It's by Willow Smith, who records under the name Willow. Check out our Tiny desk concert from 2024 if you haven't seen it. Willow's new album is called Petal Rock Black, and the guests alone suggest how facile she is at fusing accessible pop with more left field sounds.

[Evan Miller]

Yeah, the Tune Yards guest spot later in the record makes a lot of sense to me. There's it really does. Vegetation, one of the earlier tracks. As soon as I heard it, I'm like, this sounds like Toon Yards.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yep.

[Evan Miller]

I can tell she's been jamming on maybe the new Toon Yards record. I don't want to say you're wrong.

[Stephen Thompson]

Just let me finish the song.

[Evan Miller]

I admittedly have. I haven't checked back into the Willow catalog since she was making rock music the last time I dropped in. So this one was quite a pleasant surprise addition to this week. The arrangements are fantastic, a lot of really funky rhythms and grooves.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah. Willow is extraordinarily inventive and never makes the same record twice. And that really comes through here. And you can kind of even just tell, looking at the track listing and seeing who the guests are on this record. In addition to Tune Yards, George Clinton from P Funk kind of pops up in the intro. Kamasi Washington shows up and lends, you know, obviously jazz to the mix. There's a cover of Prince's I Would Die for you. And at the same time, all of these ideas are kind of swirling around in an album that is 12 songs in 26 minutes. You know, you have songs that play out almost as fragments and you know, it's where ideas are just ping ponging around and you get through so, so many different sounds in those 26 minutes.

[Evan Miller]

It's funny to hear music from somebody like Prince that's so propulsive, kind of turned into this sort of wonky alternative version it's very cool.

[Stephen Thompson]

That is Willow. Her new album is called Petal Rock Black. Kind of including it as a bonus, bonus entry on this week's show because it just dropped Tuesday morning totally off schedule with the way music is really coming out these days. I also wanted to note that the rapper Baby Keem, who's, you know, known for his musical and familial association with Kendrick Lamar. Baby Keem has a new album out today called Casino with a dollar sign in place of an S. The label didn't make advances available, but it is one of this week's biggest releases and we didn't want it to go by without a mention. So we've mentioned Willow, we've mention Baby Keem, we'll mention a couple more big stars in the lightning round. But for this show, Evan, you and I are going to mostly focus on some left field music. Classical, punk, jazz, Turkish jam, rock, you name it. We're going to kick off with Pekka Kisto and his new album is called Willow. So this is a fascinating hour of music basically split between these kind of gorgeous string based classical pieces and folk classical hybrids that are headlined by the folk singer Sam Amadon. If you're not familiar with Pekka Kuisto, he's a Finnish violinist, conductor, composer, comes from a long line of composers and musicians in Finland and he uses traditional music of Finland as a backdrop but is willing to expand really well beyond it. He's also the artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. He works with all sorts orchestras and so what you get on this record is this collection of collaborations that reach from classical to folk music and beyond.

[Evan Miller]

Yeah, I am a contemporary classical music person myself in my other life. That's what I went to school for. So especially seeing the Caroline Shaw and Ellen Reed pieces appear on this record, those were fantastic. A little bit more in the boundary pushing side sound wise on this record. The Ellen Reed piece has a lot of great extended technique stuff and is actually written for Ku Sisto, dedicated to his late brother Jaco.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, and that song is called Desiderium. You mentioned the piece written by Caroline Shaw and you know who's really one of the great living composers, frankly.

[Sponsor Message Announcer]

Absolutely.

[Stephen Thompson]

She has a piece called Plan and Elevation, you know, which you know, other artists have performed. It's from about a decade ago and here he revisits that piece and it really, it's such a nice pairing because if you love her compositions, you know how good she is at kind of maximum the drama while letting the piece kind of constantly change shape and allow New sounds to kind of scream through the mix. She is such a great composer, and just hearing the two kind of collaborating across time was just wonderful for me to hear.

[Evan Miller]

And she has this great knack of drawing inspiration from the greats of classical music and pushing things forward into modern sounds. A highlight of this album, this Caroline Shaw String Quartet. Absolutely.

[Stephen Thompson]

Part of what is so fascinating about this record. You know, I listened to this album before I really knew any of the context surrounding it. I just was like, Pekka Kousisto hit play. And, you know, you get these gorgeous, sweeping classical pieces, and then around halfway through, it takes this sharp left turn where it brings in Sam Amidon, the folk singer, for a series of pieces. They're from Sam Amidon's catalog, recorded originally recorded by Amadon, you know, between 2008 and 2013. You know, generally traditional pieces, but pieces Amadon has recorded before. And here Pekka Kuisto works with Sam Amidon and the arranger Nico Mooley for these pieces that are melding folk music and classical.

[Evan Miller]

I wish I was a poet

[Commercial Announcer]

could

[Stephen Thompson]

write in fine hand

[Evan Miller]

I'd write my love a letter One she'd long understand yeah the blending of folk music and classical is so strong all over this release. Picking Sam Amadon and Nico Muhly for the arrangements for these folk songs is. I mean, it's a very clear choice on success for these both folks with lots of experience in not only, you know, crystal clear arrangements, but taking such care and time with this folk music. It's beautiful, beautiful work.

[Stephen Thompson]

That is Pekka Kuisto. His new album is called Willows. Next up, gorgeous record from Manu Delago and Max zt. It's called Deuce. So if you're not familiar with these artists. Manu Delago is an Austrian musician and composer. He's been playing the hand pan, which is kind of like a steel drum. You play with your hands. It produces this kind of soft, ringing form of percuss. He's been playing around with that kind of percussion for decades now. Max ZT plays the hammered dulcimer. It was funny when I was reading up on them, I saw the phrase hailed by NPR as the Jimi Hendrix of the hammered dulcimer.

[Evan Miller]

Oh, I saw that too.

[Stephen Thompson]

Which was like, man, npr, you know, we are what we are.

[Evan Miller]

Big shoes to fill. Big shoes, exactly.

[Stephen Thompson]

But honestly, like, listening to this record, I get it. That's not wrong. Both, you know, these kind of virtuoso musicians, you know, they've worked with a bunch of other people. Mano Delago is toured and performed with people like Bjork and the Cinematic Orchestra working together. They recorded this album in a 13th century monastery in the Austrian Alps. And throughout this record, you get a pairing of this ancient instrument, the hammered dulcimer, with a pretty new instrument, the hand pan. And what you get is just this timeless, beautiful, radiant set of songs.

[Evan Miller]

I am actually a percussionist, so thanks for tossing me a percussion record to listen to break especially. I hear, like, buzzing in the dulcimer. There's. It almost sounds like water might be being used with the handpan. There's this sort of like, bending to the pitch of it. I'm trying to root through my own experiences. I'm like, how did they do that? I feel like I might know.

[Stephen Thompson]

I could imagine water being incorporated because, like, hearing this instrument and, you know, people have heard a sample of this sound, you can almost feel that he's hitting a pan with the heel of his hand. Like you can. You can feel like that is the soft pad of a hand making this percussion sound. It's some of the softest percussion you'll hear.

[Evan Miller]

Yeah, the handpans are really fascinating instruments. I first heard these with Portico Quartet years ago. So if you like the sound of this instrument, maybe go check them out too. The fundamental pitch it can hold, especially in bass, is so strong but so delicate. It's a really, really neat instrument. Which is not to say that the hammer dulcimer is not also a very fascinating, interesting instrument.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, and they pair so beautifully. There's kind of a softness to the combination of sounds. There's a track here called Love all, and it's just a stunner, you know, it's this kind of softly chiming, meandering piece. And the. The music pairs beautifully with that title. It feels listening to it, the world feels like a more welcoming.

[Evan Miller]

I am always welcome and amenable to presentations of percussion that show their more lyrical side, their capabilities beyond just rhythms that they're so open the possibilities with these instruments, especially when they're melodic and harmonic like these. I really loved this record, especially I had to listen to it while I was doing dishes.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, yeah, this is the perfect Dishes.

[Evan Miller]

Oh, I just got to zen out while doing dishes.

[Stephen Thompson]

It was fantastic. Like, why am I enjoying this? There's another one I wanted to call out on this record, 40 40, and it's a busier, more technical piece. There's almost a dizzying quality to it where you're really getting a sense of the technique and the precision that artists are able to bring to the song, but it still has a certain softness to it. That again, not only does it pair well with dishes, it pairs with staring into the middle distance on a Sunday morning, which is how I'm going to enjoy this record going forward, That is Manu Delago and Max zt. Their new album together is called Deuce. We've got some more records we're going to discuss in depth, as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite records out today, February 20th. But first, let's take a quick break.

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[Stephen Thompson]

It's NEW MUSIC Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Evan Miller from WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Evan, before we get to our next record, tell us what's going on at the station.

[Evan Miller]

Well, actually in a few weeks from now we will be moved into our brand new studios here in Yellow Springs. We are just wrapping, wrapping up, getting new gear installed and putting the finishing touches on the building. It'll be our first location not on the campus of Antioch College since our founding in the 50s. So a big moment coming up for us this spring. Meanwhile, we're a mixed format station. So we have news from npr, of course, in our great local newsroom. We have music, we have storytelling with our Community Voices program and our center for Preservation and archives musically for our purposes. Now, we're about a year and a quarter into our AllMusic channel, NovaFonic FM, that will be moving with us over to the new station. And I host two programs at wiso. I host our midday music show from Monday to Friday, and then I have an experimental music program called the Outside I do on Sundays, which comes in handy for some of the stuff we're talking about on this episode.

[Stephen Thompson]

I was gonna say I'm glad we picked you this week as you're perfectly suited for this set of records.

[Evan Miller]

Thank you.

[Stephen Thompson]

Nice.

[Evan Miller]

And people can [e-mail] yes, wyso.org and Novafonic FM.

[Stephen Thompson]

Excellent. All right, next up, a new record from the Mesthetics and James Brandon Lewis. It's called Deface the Curr.

[Evan Miller]

So the Maesthetics are one of the several post Fugazi offshoot bands. Joe Lolly and Brandon Canty, bassist and drummer of Fugazi respectively, joined by Anthony Pirogue on guitar. And this is their quartet with the saxophonist James Brandon Lewis. It's their second album together and also their second on the Mighty Impulse Records. You know, taking the kind of punk rock free jazz thing that the Maesthetics were already doing and just adding James Brandon Lewis into the mix, who is a fine jazz saxophonist in all sorts of contexts on his own. So just sort of amping up the intensity with an additional member in the group.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, I mean, it's wild how much this record feels like jazz and how much it feels like punk. It's really one of the truest genre fusions that I've heard in a while because it absolutely is both. And you know, the Masthetics records, you know, the Masthetics are an instrumental band, so they've certainly gone down jazz paths before, but here it's really wild how much it sounds exactly like both.

[Evan Miller]

Yeah, their bonafides in all of this shine so clearly and they're able to bounce back and forth effortlessly between just like blistering free jazz improvisations and then just kind of get into these more straight ahead punk modes together. I somehow have missed, I think, two different opportunities to see this group group where I'm at right now. And now with this new record coming out, I, I will fix this now. I will go see them because I really want to. After listening to this record.

[Stephen Thompson]

It's remarkable hearing it, how you know many directions they're able to go with this. And you have a track like the title track, Deface the Currency, which is just a blast of, like, twisty, hard, driving jazz punk. And it just keeps building up in intensity. But then it kind of gives way to a track called Gestations, which is much heavier on the jazz side of the punk jazz equation. But then even that song is then able to kind of ramp up over the course of its runtime to give way to these like, kind of just big, blazing, scronky guitar solos.

[Evan Miller]

Yeah, there's always fire kind of lurking underneath some of this or just right out in front of you. Like, Universal Security was one that I distinctly remembered having this more kind of lyrical head to it almost. It reminds me of, like, a Mingus kind of line, but then it's. And just explodes after that comes out. I'm like, okay, great, we're back to the. We're back into the flames here.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, I mean, that track is just a wall of noise and static and just this free jazz storm, you know, that plays out over the course of that song. And then, you know, you get the closing track. Serpent, tongue, parentheses, slight return, you know, which is kind of gives you this, like, atmosphere before the storm at first, before building to a kind of perfect maesthetics. James Brandon Lewis. Frenz. That is the maesthetics and James Brandon Lewis. Their new album together is called Deface the Currency. Next up, Evan. We're gonna get even. We're gonna get weird. Next up, Hen ugled. Their new album is called Discombobulated. Spoken words are violence make matters worse with silence to hear it when it's spoken to feel how it's broken I forgotten and race to wear an arid

[Commercial Announcer]

reb they want us to feel but

[Stephen Thompson]

workers can win and dancing contagion releasing rampaging our bodies in union Spontaneous communion resistance uprising Kinetic catalyzing Keep moving, keep shaking your senses reawaken. So if you're unfamiliar with Hen ogled, their name comes from the Welsh phrase for Old north, which is the Celtic region that contains southern Scotland and northern England in the early Middle Ages. You know, each of the band's four members is from kind of a different tribal region of the Old North. And the band's songs are all about mixing, you know, as you can imagine, the ancient and the modern kind of a recurring theme. And this week's episode, the traditional and the avant garde. How it comes out is as this wild, weird mix of art pop and folk music. And Psychedelia and spoken word children's voices pop up. It is a very, very strange sound.

[Evan Miller]

One of the most appropriate album titles I've come across in recent memory, discombobulated is 100% right on it. I feel like I. I'm like stepping into another universe when I hear music like this. I'm trying to wrap my head around how you make this. And I. I'm bewildered in. In the best way.

[Stephen Thompson]

I think bewildered in the best way is a really good way of putting it. But at the same time it's weird and in some ways it can feel weird for the sake of weird, but at the same time there's really real force behind it and there's real lyrical energy where the messaging that comes through is. Is pretty powerful and pretty profound. You take a track like Scales Will Fall, you know, which is this eight and a half minute, truly eccentric journey full of these weird bouncy synths and half wrapped vocals. But then you listen to those words and they're about human rights, they're about. About systems in collapse and you get a sense of like, these aren't just weirdos, they're weirdos with a lot to say about the state of the world. Kids rise up Tearing down the corporate

[Commercial Announcer]

wall Hands in the dark Building futures for us all Money doesn't matter we

[Evan Miller]

claim what they stole. You see the change for the first time. It's final call. You know, this ongoing theme of folk music, especially popping up on this round of albums. English folk music, like what they're pulling from sonically in some ways, definitely has a lot to do with that kind of lyrical material often. So they're sonically pushing in a million wild directions, but still playing into this tradition of work. How you fold those things together successfully, the way they're doing is amazing.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, and in some ways it kind of keeps getting weirder. Right. There's a track called Clara, which may be the weirdest song here, which is really saying a lot. It's got this mix of strange distorted voices and effects and these sing song verses and these minimal kind of drum patterns and it's dark and childlike at once. And honestly, Evan, I don't even know how we excerpt this song in a way that conveys how strange it is.

[Evan Miller]

Oh, producers, good luck.

[Stephen Thompson]

Take your pick. Noah Caldwell just gave thumbs up from the booth.

[Evan Miller]

The low voice that pops up periodically in this is the Thing I remember the most. Like, what is that?

[Stephen Thompson]

And that kind of gives way to this like spoken word track called Land of the Dead. And, you know, and eventually, you know, you're just listening to this record. I don't know how you know your process of prepping to talk about these things. I just kind of take a lot of notes and my notes say land of the Dead is get this weird.

[Evan Miller]

Correct.

[Stephen Thompson]

That is hen ogled. Their new album is called Discombobulated. We've got one more record we're going to talk about in depth, as well as a lightning round of some of the other terrific albums out today, February 20th. First, we're going to take one last break.

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[Stephen Thompson]

From NPR Music, it's NEW MUSIC Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Evan Miller of WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Last up, before we get to our lightning Round, new album from Altine Gun. It's called Gareep Guna Hum Sini Se Make Me.

[Evan Miller]

So. Altingun are a Dutch Turkish psychedelic band which is always really fun to explain to people. When I tell people about this band, a lot of their music is steeped in Turkish folk traditions, but taken in this psychedelic or electronic way. And this one in particular is all music from Turkish folk artist Nashet Artaj.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, and it was really interesting. Like, that gives it kind of this thematic through line and a certain consistency that allows them to explore beyond it. But you really do get a sense of like, I need to check out Nishat sound. You know, he died in 2012 and this is kind of a tribute to him. But these songs really kind of take the bones of his songs and use them as kind of a frame for some really sonically expansive and beautiful and just really interesting arrangements.

[Evan Miller]

Yeah, it Feels like the band is moving towards a more organic place after getting a lot into the electronics zone over their past couple of records or so. That feels really appropriate for this record. Record taking on exclusively Turkish folk tunes.

[Stephen Thompson]

The album opens with a track called Neridesin Sen. And it's just this kind of wild, barreling rock jam. You know, they've got this really great kind of psych rock sound. And when you listen to that track, you can practically see smoke wafting from the speakers as it plays. And it's so. It was so interesting to me listening to this record again last night, you know, under headphones, kind of late at night. And how many of the songs for me somehow managed to evoke smoke? You know, this sense of like, there's something in these arrangements. There's something about the way these songs kind of undulate, and it's like the pattern that smoke can make as it drifts into the sky. And that's a really heady feeling to have when you're listening to a record.

[Evan Miller]

Psychedelic music has such a long history of taking on folk music or music of this kind. Like, I immediately think of the 13th Floor Elevators doing, like, Dylan tunes back in the 60s. The qualities you can pull out of these simple arrangements when you. You kind of open them up in these other contexts is so cool.

[Stephen Thompson]

So many highlights here. There's a song, Older Benny, which is this kind of trippy psych jam. The synth line that runs through this song is so noodly and irresistible. But it's kind of this framework for the song to get wilder and freakier as it goes along, but in a way that feels thoroughly inviting as a listener, even though this is not necessarily music that I'm familiar with. I'm not. Not, you know, deeply entrenched in Turkish music.

[Evan Miller]

No, neither am I, but.

[Stephen Thompson]

But I. You know, I never want to assume, but it really. But it really lets you in and it feels like a gateway.

[Evan Miller]

When I was reading about this record, the frontman for this band, Erdench Ucheved Yildiz, he was inspired to become a musician in childhood listening to these cassettes that his family had of Artage's music. It feels like a very personal album to finally be able to put some of this music that he grew up with to tape this way.

[Stephen Thompson]

That is Altine Goon. Their new album is called Gareep Evan. As you know, we could not possibly get to every big record out today, February 20th, and obviously we went, you know, we went a little left field, you know, for this show, but we did Want to include a lightning round of some of the other albums out today? I'm going to kick us off with Megan Maroney. She's one of the decade's biggest breakout stars in country music. She mixes kind of classic country vibes with a conversational heartache forward sense that pairs really well with contemporary pop. Her last record, Am I okay? Was a major breakthrough and now she's followed it with a sparkly kind of pop flecked set of country jams that sound like future hits to me. Megan Maroney's new album, which features guest appearances by Ed Sheeran and Casey Musgraves, is quite called Cloud 9. Tell his oldest time I guess when you couldn't care more, I couldn't care

[Evan Miller]

less you a little too late to the party Heartbreaking what doesn't kill you cause you Six months later so my first lightning round pick is new music from guitarist Chris Forsyth. He has a new trio called Chris Forsyth's what is now joined by John Moran on bass and Joey Sullivan on drums, both from a great Philly jazz trio called Bark Culture. It's like a three piece record of these about 20 minutes minute kind of shaggy jams that move around between jazz or like freer rock and improvisatory contexts. All three of these musicians have one foot in one world and one foot in the other as far as the sounds covered on this album go. And they're really playing at some of their best on this one. Chris Forsyth's what Is now with their new album Both and.

[Stephen Thompson]

In the late 2000 and tens, the Michigan RB singer songwriter Choker looked like he was kind of a major rising star. His vibey stylish psychedelic sound drew comparisons to Frank Ocean. He was, you know, following a successful album called Honeybloom with a string of eps. Then he took a nearly seven year hiatus. Now he's back with a new full length record that picks up kind of where he left off and promises to reignite all that next big thing talk. Choker's new record is called Heaven Ain't Sold.

[Evan Miller]

The New York band MX Lonely has a new one out now called All Monsters. As I'm sure some of your listeners might be aware of, Shoegaze in adjacent music has really had quite a roaring back in the past few years. MX Lonely kind of occupies a little bit more grunge influenced corner of this with their new album All Monsters.

[Stephen Thompson]

Finally, the Grammy winning folk rock powerhouse Mumford and Sons released a comeback record called Rushmere last year. It was their first album in almost seven years. Now We've already got a follow up less than a year later and it sounds like the stuff of a big roots pop resurgence, complete with guest appearances by Chris Stapleton, Hosier, Gigi Perez, Gracie Abrams and more. Mumford and Sons new album is called Prize Fighter.

[Evan Miller]

You're a world away but you're still the same. I know you by your heart. I won't call you by your name. Listen long way from the crack to the break. You know that I remember everything.

[Stephen Thompson]

And that is our show for this week. Thank you so much, Evan Miller, for taking time out of your week at WYSO in Ohio.

[Evan Miller]

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

[Stephen Thompson]

It has been a pleasure 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 and Elle Manion and edited by Otis Hart. Our production assistant is Dora Levitt. The executive producer of NPR Music is Soraya Mohammed. We'll be back next week to discuss new music with Raina Duras, host of World Cafe at WXPN in Philadelphia. Until then, take a moment to be well, step outside and take a big gulp of fresh air and treat yourself to lots of great music.

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[Stephen Thompson]

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