NPR Music: New Music Friday — The Best Albums Out March 13
Release Date: March 13, 2026
Hosts: Stephen Thompson (NPR Music) and Amelia Mason (WBUR, Boston)

Episode Overview

This installment of New Music Friday dives deep into the week’s most essential new releases across genres, from boundary-pushing country and protest records to luminous indie folk and experimental icons returning to the scene. In a lively back-and-forth, Stephen Thompson and Amelia Mason highlight the musical innovation, topical lyricism, and rising stars that define this week's album drops—providing expert context, insight, and a slew of quotable moments, all in NPR Music’s conversational and passionate tone.

Key Albums & In-Depth Discussion

1. Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds (Sturgill Simpson) — Mutiny After Midnight

• Introduction [02:24]
  • Sturgill Simpson, maverick of country and Americana, returns with his second album as Johnny Blue Skies. Noted for never making the same album twice, Simpson’s new project melds country twang and hedonistic funk, with a clear protest edge.
  • Notably, the album is only available in physical formats—as a stand against digital-era disposability.
• Themes & Highlights
  • “Who says there are no protest songs?” [04:45]
  • Tracks bristle with political critique and social malaise, notably the opener “Make America F Again” (censored for broadcast).
• Memorable Quotes
  • Stephen: “This record also feels to me like an answer to the question, like, who says there are no protest songs?...There's been this kind of debate percolating that in this very tumultuous era, you don't have the same widely heard protest music...This record definitely contains songs that I think quite qualify as protest songs...” [04:45]
  • Amelia: “You don't feel like you're being lectured to, but you do feel a perspective. Like he's not both sizing it at the same time. He's like, no, things are effed up, to quote him.” [06:44]
  • On the searing closer “Ain’t That a B”:
    Stephen: “This song contains, I would say, some of his most pointed and maybe most didactic lyrics... ‘Keep the peasants scraping by on minimum wages. Lock up all the minorities, Put their babies in cages.’ Anybody speak out, you simply dismiss them.” [07:05]
• Notable Moment
  • Comparative analysis with Tracy Chapman’s lyricism and “poetry in protest.” [08:27]

2. James Blake — Trying Times

• Introduction [09:06]
  • UK singer/producer James Blake releases his first LP on his own label, channeling the anxious zeitgeist through fragmented, dreamy electro-pop.
• Themes & Highlights
  • The album explores the psychological effects of global uncertainty, focusing on the interior experience of “trying times.”
• Memorable Quotes
  • Amelia: “I do think it's more about the experience of living through these times, personally. It's more interior in how it explores. It's like, you know, what are the psychic effects of watching the news?” [11:02]
  • Stephen: “He has managed to kind of straddle these different genres. Kind of always there to use his voice as needed, as kind of his most haunting instrument.” [12:39]
  • On “Doesn’t Just Happen” feat. Dave:
    Stephen: “James Blake kind of turns this song over to Dave, who raps about, like, trying to be a good person in unethical systems...the pairing of those two guys and the ideas that they bring to music, I think works really well.” [13:18]
  • On “Death of Love”:
    Amelia: “He’s pointing at sort of like the death of love in society. But it is an elegant way, I think, to address some of these ideas and the way that the song feels, I don't know, it's almost at odds with the lyrics, gives you this hopeful feeling, even though the words are, you know, a little more ambivalent.” [14:00]
• Notable Moment
  • Discussion of how James Blake’s sound has become foundational in pop, hip hop, and R&B. [12:21]

3. Anjimile — You’re Free to Go

• Introduction [16:25]
  • Singer-songwriter Anjimile, formerly of Texas/Boston and now Durham-based, unveils a record of intricate songwriting and delicately ornate melodies.
• Themes & Highlights
  • Known for sophisticated guitar work and poignant, personal lyrics—touching on estrangement, trans identity, and personal evolution.
  • Comparisons surface to both Tracy Chapman and Sufjan Stevens, though hosts stress Anjimile’s growing singularity.
• Memorable Quotes
  • Stephen: “Those raw materials have been there from the beginning. But are continuing to be refined from record to record...the attention to detail in the songwriting here. The comparisons to Tracy Chapman are not only in the detail of the songwriting, but also in this kind of dusky, distinctive voice...” [19:01]
  • Amelia: “As time has gone on, he's found his own way...there's a Now there's an Anjimile kind of like, flavor to the melodies...writes these, like, sort of quietly devastating songs.” [20:41]
  • On “Point of View,” a stinging, minute-long Sufjan-esque miniature:
    Stephen: “At the end of the song, there is just this kind of bracing and profane angry closing line.” [22:04] (song’s repeated refrain: “You fucked up. You fucked up everything.”)
  • On “Waits for Me”:
    Amelia: “When I was a little girl, I wanted to be free…by the end, he kind of writes it differently, 'When I was a little boy, I wanted to be real.' It's just so succinct and elegant and deeply felt. I think you can guess what it's about. But it could mean so many things at the same time.” [22:20]

4. Kim Gordon — Play Me

• Introduction [23:12]
  • Experimental icon and Sonic Youth cofounder Kim Gordon delves into abrasive hip hop, noise, and arty spoken-word on her latest boundary-breaking outing.
• Themes & Highlights
  • Tracks bounce from fractured art-rock to hip-hop beats, with lyrics reflecting modern confusion and societal critique, sometimes by literally quoting Spotify playlist titles.
• Memorable Quotes
  • Amelia: “The production was very cool. I'm not sure I always thought it worked with her voice...I was confused hearing her over a hip hop beat, frankly. Even if it was a cool bit of production. But, like, Girl With a Look I think worked.” [25:10]
  • “She has these, like, cool ideas, you know, in the lyrics and how she's sort of commenting on the modern era and politics. She's just reflecting it back at us in a kind of warped funhouse mirror, you know.” [26:51]
• Notable Tracks
  • “No Hands”, “Girl With a Look”, “Not Today”, “Bye Bye 25” (the latter a surreal collage of contemporary jargon and commentary) [27:35]

5. Blessing Jolie — 20 Nothing Thing

• Introduction [28:32]
  • Rising singer-songwriter from Texas delivers a genre-hopping debut (album/mixtape/EP), chronicling Gen Z experience—blending indie, R&B, folk, and hip hop.
• Themes & Highlights
  • The album explores coming-of-age themes, ambition, family/familial expectations, navigating identities as a Nigerian American, and the realities of musical aspiration.
• Memorable Quotes
  • Stephen: “She has these this real ability to just kind of skid across genres without ever really bothering to land on one in particular...This record is really meant to kind of chronicle her youth and kind of coming into who she is as a musician.” [29:47]
  • Amelia: “She reminds me a little bit of Olivia Rodrigo sometimes in her lyricism or the sound. I actually think there's a whole crop of female singer songwriters…who write really well with this kind of self deprecating rye tone. But she has her own way…” [31:23]
  • Stephen: “…if you love music and you try writing your own song and playing your own song and you've never done it before, it's probably gonna be hot garbage…music is a craft and a skill like anything else. And having a point of view is a craft and a skill.” [33:36]
• Notable Tracks
  • “Software Developer” (playful, self-aware); “Regular Schmegular Girl” (rap-rock inflected, references Limp Bizkit and playful self-differentiation); “20 Teens” (sticky, melodic hook) [32:14–33:14]

Lightning Round Recommendations [35:19–40:20]

Stephen Thompson's pick:

• Morgan Nagler — I've Got Nothing To Lose and I'm Losing It
  • “Her songs have this kind of low rumbling, menacing quality…she came up alongside members of Rilo Kiley…she even co-wrote ‘Kyoto’ with Phoebe Bridgers…Now Morgan Nagler has a fantastic new solo album.”

Amelia Mason's pick:

• Tinariwen — Hugar
  • Long-running Tuareg collective from the Sahara, fusing African and rock influences, renowned for political edge and infectious grooves. Includes new generations of musicians.

Special Guest Picks:

• Jorge Drexler — Takara
  (highlighted by Felix Contreras)
  • Legendary Latin American singer explores Afro-Uruguayan candombe traditions in a career-best, Grammy-ready release.
• The Tallis Scholars / Nico Muhly — No Resting Place
  (highlighted by Tom Heisenberg)
  • English choral ensemble presents intricate works by the American composer, ending on a moving immigrant tribute.
• Fugazi — Albini Sessions
  (highlighted by Lars Gottrich)
  • Legendary D.C. punk band’s fabled 1992 Steve Albini basement sessions finally get an official release.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Who says there are no protest songs?” — Stephen Thompson [04:45]
• On music and craft:
  “Musicians do not just come out...They have to work on their craft. And if you love music and you try writing your own song and playing your own song and you've never done it before, it's probably gonna be hot garbage...music is a craft and a skill like anything else.” — Stephen Thompson [33:36]
• Regarding standout protest lyricism:
  “He has a way of being straightforward and still being, I guess, original in his phrasing. He still surprises you. He's still. Yeah, the guy's got a way with words. It's almost like he does this for a living.” — Amelia Mason [07:58]
• On rising voices: “You might not be able to strum a guitar yet, but if you know what you like and you have something to say and you think you know how you might want to say it, that's gonna serve you really, really well once you've figured out how to play music.” — Amelia Mason [35:19]

Episode Structure & Timestamps

• [00:37] Introduction, Oscars chit-chat
• [02:24] Johnny Blue Skies/Sturgill Simpson: Mutiny After Midnight
• [09:06] James Blake: Trying Times
• [16:25] Anjimile: You’re Free to Go
• [23:12] Kim Gordon: Play Me
• [28:32] Blessing Jolie: 20 Nothing Thing
• [35:19] Lightning Round: Morgan Nagler, Tinariwen, Jorge Drexler, The Tallis Scholars/Nico Muhly, Fugazi
• [41:57] Farewells

Tone & Takeaways

The hosts balance deep critical insight with accessible, good-humored banter, honoring both the artistry and the context behind the week's new records. Threaded throughout the episode is a recurring celebration of the "quotable"—those hooks, lines, and lyrical perspectives that make artists stand out and feel essential within (and beyond) their respective genres.

Whether you’re hunting for a protest anthem, a dreamy sonic landscape, or the next voice to define a generation, this week’s music offers resonant, surprising answers—free of algorithms, full of surprises.

[Listen for the individual album discussions at the timestamps marked above. Skip to [35:19] for quick-hit recommendations and genre-crossing picks from the wider NPR Music team.]