The best 2026 albums we've heard so far

Summary

All Songs Considered: The Best 2026 Albums We've Heard So Far

Host: Robin Hilton
Guest: Sheldon Pearce
Date: January 6, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this annual preview episode, Robin Hilton and Sheldon Pearce of NPR Music look ahead to the most exciting new albums of early 2026—from eagerly awaited returns to surprising collaborations and poignant records crafted under unique circumstances. They discuss their personal reactions, production backgrounds, and the wider significance of these releases, all while maintaining NPR’s signature warmth, curiosity, and deep appreciation for music’s evolving landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Ritual of Rediscovering Music

• Hosts reflect on year-end breaks and the importance of listening to older, beloved albums as a “hard reset.”
  • “Art is really awesome to watch and listen to and appreciate. Yeah. And so now I feel great. I'm ready to jump into stuff for 2026…” —Sheldon Pearce [00:55]
• Recognize how the constant influx of new music sometimes overshadows slower, deeper experiences with art.

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Album Spotlights & In-Depth Conversations

1. Dry Cleaning – Secret Love (Out Jan 9)

• Lead single “Cruise Ship Designer” showcased, with frontwoman Florence Shaw’s droll, sharp vocal style highlighted as quintessential post-punk.
  • "There is just something so acerbic, so... piercing about the vocal performances on dry cleaning songs." — Sheldon Pearce [02:42]
• Discussion of working with producer Cate Le Bon for a more studio-oriented, evolved sound.
• Both agree this is the band's sharpest and most cohesive statement yet.
  • "Every member of this band is, like, locked in and knows exactly what they want dry cleaning to be... This matchup between great producer, great band, finding the same wavelength has taken them to a new level." —Sheldon Pearce [04:01–05:12]

2. Juliana Barwick & Mary Lattimore – Tragic Magic (Out Jan 16)

• Described as a “dream pairing” between ambient vocalist Barwick and harpist Lattimore.
  • "Your eyes get wide at the very prospect." —Robin Hilton [06:47]
• Album crafted quickly with improvisational sessions, partly inspired by wildfires in LA and further shaped in Paris.
  • "Still reeling from the wake of that tragedy, they were bonded in performance." —Sheldon Pearce [07:37]
• Highlight track: “Perpetual Adoration.”

3. Ásgeir – Julia (Out Feb 13)

• Celebrated for a haunting, memorable voice: “the first note they sing, everything's instantly better.” —Robin Hilton [09:48]
• First album where Ásgeir writes lyrics himself, though still channeled through a fictional character (Julia) for emotional distance.
  • "He channels it all through this fictional character, Julia... sort of a stand-in for like a mother figure or a girlfriend or ex girlfriend or even maybe just that inner voice." —Robin Hilton [10:37]
• Song "Smoke" played and discussed as embodying both transition and vulnerability.

4. Joyce Manor – I Used To Go to This Bar (Out Jan 30)

• Song: “All My Friends Are So Depressed”
• Robin admires how their collective sound exceeds the sum of their parts, with Sheldon describing their music as “California punk, but with a sunniness,” and highlighting the tension between energetic melodies and melancholy themes.
  • "There's a lightness to zips along." —Sheldon Pearce [18:15]

5. Beverly Glenn Copeland – Laughter in Summer (Out Feb 6)

• Title track “Laughter in Summer” played.
• Record created in collaboration with wife Elizabeth Copeland—after Beverly’s dementia diagnosis—as a bid to capture last memories and thoughts.
  • "It feels like they're trying to record some last thoughts... before it's too late." —Sheldon Pearce [20:32]
• Lyric highlighted: “Laughter in summer, How I remember, June through September here with you.”
  • "The core of the person there and the artist and the power of that voice... Everything that happens on this record is built around that." —Sheldon Pearce [21:38]

6. Gobbin Jr. – Crystal Rabbit Moon (Out Apr 10)

• Song: “Just a Dream”
• Singer/multi-instrumentalist Emma Whitmer’s lo-fi, whimsical, DIY approach discussed.
  • “Dream pop crossed with freak folk... her own thing. Her own little bedroom musings.” —Robin Hilton [25:24]
• Surreal, idiosyncratic sound moving a bit more into synth textures for 2026.
  • "I had it surreal written down right here. I'm like, there's something very... I mean, I think of most like dream pop music as like drifting into the cloud of sound. But this, the synths, they have this like buzzing quality." —Sheldon Pearce [25:48]

7. Danny L Harle – Cerulean (Out Feb 13)

• Track: “Crystal”
• Known for PC Music roots—trance, Eurodance, and internet-club energy.
  • "Big time into trance music, into Eurodance... Harl Core was about bringing the club to the Internet essentially." —Sheldon Pearce [29:02]
• Both hosts appreciate that the album is euphoric but not overwhelming, with a sense of wonder and depth in the songwriting.
  • "It gets big but it never overwhelms you... There's a thread of wonder and awe that sort of runs through." —Robin Hilton [29:32–29:58]

8. Auguste Pontier – Everywhere Isn’t Texas (Debut; Out Feb 13)

• Track: “Handsome”
• Sheldon describes first hearing as “Sapphic Sabrina Carpenter,” citing indie pop/country blend with biting, humorous lyrics.
  • "This savvy blend of like indie pop and country. Biting sort of humorous lyrics and then the sort of like eased out voice that feels like almost delivered with a sigh." —Sheldon Pearce [32:02]
• Thematically, the album wrestles with hometown identity and self-acceptance.
  • "If you love yourself, you have to love at least some of what it made you." —Sheldon Pearce [32:37]
  • Robin praises the title’s resonance: "Maybe the life you're living and whatever trouble you've been going through... it won't always be that way." [33:02]

9. Mumford & Sons – Prize Fighter (Out Feb 13)

• Closing Track: “Rubber Band Man”
• Robin, though ambivalent about the rapidly peaking "stomp-clap" folk boom, feels this is genuinely joyful and rooted in real community.
  • "To dismiss it as maybe overly earnest or cringe or whatever it is that turns a lot of people off is pretty cynical in some ways." —Robin Hilton [35:30]
  • Sheldon concedes, “I am cynical... the charms of it have sort of eluded me and I don't know why.” [36:10]
• Robin: “I think there's a realness to the way these songs are recorded... It sounds like a captured moment in somebody's living room or something. It doesn't feel manufactured to me.” [36:48]
• Song about perseverance—“soldiering on, even when you feel like everything is falling apart.” [37:57]

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Rumored and Anticipated Future Releases

• Possibilities: Robyn, Noah Kahan, rumored Beyoncé rock album, Olivia Rodrigo, Phoebe Bridgers, possibly The xx, Death Grips reuniting (new album after 8 years), BTS’s 5th album (March, accompanying world tour), Lana Del Rey ("Stove"), Björk, Courtney Barnett.
  • "There have not been a ton of really, really, really big massive releases announced yet for this year. But there are a bunch of albums bouncing around in the rumor verse." —Robin Hilton [14:01]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dry Cleaning’s evolution:
  "This feels like a studio record in a way maybe the other two didn't... Record 3, sort of really understanding who they are and what they want to do with their songs." —Sheldon Pearce [04:01]

• On Juliana Barwick & Mary Lattimore’s collaboration:
  "It's the kind of pairing where you're like, I can't believe this hasn't happened already." —Sheldon Pearce [06:52]

• On Ásgeir’s lyric-writing transition:
  "He channels it all through this fictional character, Julia... as a way to not expose himself too much." —Robin Hilton [10:37]

• On Beverly Glenn Copeland’s album amid dementia:
  "There seems to be, like, a strengthening of the heart of the artist, even as he is starting to lose some of what makes him him." —Sheldon Pearce [21:38]

  • "You don't have to know what is happening behind the scenes to appreciate just how beautiful this record is." —Robin Hilton [22:24]

• On Gobbin Jr’s style:
  "Dream pop crossed with freak folk or something... really just her own thing. Her own little bedroom musings." —Robin Hilton [25:25]

• On Danny L Harle’s sound:
  "If you are into like thumping dance music, this is the record for you." —Sheldon Pearce [29:11]

• On Mumford and Sons’ endurance:
  "Maybe you just want to turn it off instantly. But... there's real community in it. There's real joy, almost euphoric joy. And these are good things, Sheldon." —Robin Hilton [35:30]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:17–01:31 — Intro/New Year rituals with music
• 01:31–05:12 — Dry Cleaning, Secret Love & “Cruise Ship Designer”
• 05:20–07:54 — Juliana Barwick & Mary Lattimore, Tragic Magic & “Perpetual Adoration”
• 07:54–12:45 — Ásgeir, Julia & “Smoke”
• 14:01–16:31 — Rumor mill: Robyn, Noah Kahan, Beyoncé, BTS, Death Grips, etc.
• 16:31–19:11 — Joyce Manor, I Used To Go to This Bar & “All My Friends Are So Depressed”
• 19:18–22:31 — Beverly Glenn Copeland, Laughter in Summer & title track
• 22:44–26:21 — Gobbin Jr., Crystal Rabbit Moon & “Just a Dream”
• 27:35–30:36 — Danny L Harle, Cerulean & “Crystal”
• 30:49–33:43 — Auguste Pontier, Everywhere Isn’t Texas & “Handsome”
• 33:43–38:22 — Mumford & Sons, Prize Fighter & “Rubber Band Man”
• Throughout — Reflections on the state of 2026 releases, rumors, and music culture

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Final Thoughts

The NPR crew’s early 2026 overview strikes a thoughtful balance: from the nostalgia and subtlety of Ásgeir to Bon Iver–ish new voices, the wistful introspection of Beverly Glenn Copeland, the evolution of indie darlings like Dry Cleaning, and euphoric but probing dance music from Danny Harle. For diehard fans and casual listeners alike, this preview maps a bright and varied terrain for the months ahead, peppered with human stories and sharply observed music criticism.

Robin Hilton: “Sheldon Pearce, looking forward to a new year with you. Thanks as always.” [38:17]

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For in-depth listening, see time-stamped sections above. All albums and artists discussed (excluding those in the rumors/anticipated section) are confirmed releases with firm dates, and Sampled songs are played throughout for illustration.

Transcript

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[Robin Hilton]

Sheldon Pearce. Welcome.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Hello, Robin.

[Robin Hilton]

How was your break? Oh, it was pretty good.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I feel like I always need that last week and a half to hit reset on my brain for the new year. I always take that time to consume art that I haven't spent time with in a long time. Cause in the flow of new music, you just listen to new music a lot. Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

No, I mean, I've said this before. Whenever I have time off and I listen to music, I'll pick some album I haven't listened to in 20 years or whatever and I'll think, oh, you're right. Yeah, I really like music. I forgot.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Turns out there was some good stuff they came out with before this year. But that two weeks, I'm like. I always feel myself sort of like getting fried near the midpoint of December. And I'm like, oh, I need a hard reset in order to get me psyched up. And so sometimes you need a refresher that it's like, yeah, you know what? Art is really awesome to watch and listen to and appreciate. Yeah. And so now I feel great. I'm ready to jump into stuff for 2026, have it all ruined for you.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, it is. All songs considered. I'm Robin Hilton. Sheldon Pierce here, and it is our 2026 preview. We're looking as far out into the new year as we can at this point, at the new albums we're looking forward to. Let's start with the band Dry Cleaning. They've got a new album coming out this week. It's one of the earliest releases of the new year. It's out on January 9th. The album is called Secret Love.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

I'm a cruise ship design iron. I'm striking while the iron is hot. I'm making the most of a bad situation. Cruises are big business. I don't personally like them, but I need to serve a useful purpose. I desire very much a place in society. So designing cruise ships is my pastime and my living and my challenge. Designing cruises is for me a privilege and a lesson. Need to do it all the time.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I've brought a lot of post punk to this show before. I'm a big fan of post punk and there is something about this band that it feels like quintessential post punk to me. I think a lot of it is maybe Florence Shaw's voice, who we are hearing now, the front person for dry cleaning. There is just something so acerbic, so. Something so dry, but something so piercing about the vocal performances on dry cleaning songs. I think that is the charm for me. It's gonna rub a certain kind of person the wrong way.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. I mean, if you're not a fan of the whole, like, speak singing sort of droll, sort of emotionally disconnected kind of sound, maybe this isn't for you. But, I mean, they're one of those bands that, for me, they. They feel like they've been around forever. And I think it's because they have such a classic sound.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

But I mean, you know, and their fans are very devoted in a way that might make you think of maybe more veteran bands. But, I mean, they only put their first album out in 2021.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

And then they had a follow up in 2022. Those were very informed and shaped, I think, by the pandemic and early post pandemic era. And for this one, they're kind of stepping out of their usual workflow and trying some new things.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I think they worked with producer Kate Laban on this one.

[Robin Hilton]

So cool.

[Sheldon Pearce]

It's just like a match made in heaven. It's kind of weird. You wouldn't expect that partnership, but, I mean, Kate Le Bon, like, a producer du jour. Right. One of the great sort of studio minds that we have, I think, to your point, like, this feels like a studio record in a way. Maybe the other two didn't. Maybe that's a result of the way that things were over the course of the Pandemic and recording conditions and how difficult it was to make a record during that period. Maybe it's just a natural evolution of this band Record 3, sort of really understanding who they are and what they want to do with their songs. But I'm like, cruise ship Designer. Feels like a pretty good example of what is happening throughout this record. It is just so sharp, so funny, so on edge. Like, it feels like every member of this band is, like, locked in and knows exactly what they want dry cleaning to be. I think this is. Might be my favorite record of theirs so far. And I think this matchup between great producer, great band, finding the same wavelength has taken them to a new level.

[Robin Hilton]

So Dry Cleaning the album Secret Love, that's the name of the album that is out again January 9th. So that one's coming right up. What else?

[Sheldon Pearce]

I'm gonna jump in with what is probably my Favorite album to start the year, and it's coming up pretty soon. It's from Juliana Barwick and Mary Latimore. It's out January 16th, and it's called Tragic Magic.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Sa.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, this one is one that I was really excited about as well. I mean, you put Juliana Barwick and Mary Lattimore in the same sentence, and I'm fully on board.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah. Your eyes get wide the very prospect.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

It's.

[Sheldon Pearce]

It's the kind of pairing where you're like, I can't believe this hasn't happened already.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Like, I mean, Mary Lattimore, obviously great harpist. Juliana Barwick, electronic music producer who often loops her own vocals. Both very crystalline and ethereal musicians who seem to operate on the same plane. And lo and behold, here we have this album that proves the overlayer of their two styles is a perfect match.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, yeah, their musical language complement each other, I think, really, really well, but they also seem to lead each other in really nice directions. It fit together so beautifully. I read that they recorded this pretty quickly, like in less than a couple weeks or something.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, their sessions were improvised. They started in Paris shortly after the Los Angeles wildfires. And still reeling from the wake of that tragedy, they were bonded in performance.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, the song we've been listening to is called Perpetual Adoration, and again, it's from the album Tragic Magic, and you don't have to wait too long for that one. It's coming out on January 16th. Well, I want to go to an album that's coming out from the Icelandic singer Auskier, an artist we've been following on the show for a good while now. He did a tiny desk a number of years ago. He has. If you don't know his work, he just has an incredibly memorable voice, like somewhere between a tenor and a falsetto, but really gorgeous. I guess you would call his music maybe folk pop. He gets a little bit into electronica. He's got a new one coming, a new album coming in February called Julia. And this is the song Smoke.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

She used to tell me which way to go if I was standing on a dividing road Quiet whisper A little clue was enough for me to know what to do but there's only the cold silence now Everywhere I go I don't know which way is I put down can somebody let me know?

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, Just the second his voice comes in, I I He's one of those singers I I say this every now and then with certain singers, like, the first note they sing, everything's instantly better.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Yeah.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I mean, this Was a new experience for me. I was not familiar with his work before. The voice really is magic. It really is a special voice, which is interesting because I read that this record was the first upon which he thought about writing lyrics for himself. Previously he's worked through translators and with the poetry of his father. And this is foregrounding his lyrics. Were you feeling like a transition from previous work to this one?

[Robin Hilton]

It's not super noticeable. It's not like, oh, okay, clearly now he's doing his own lyrics.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Okay.

[Robin Hilton]

And I think maybe that's in part because, I mean, he does get into some more personal topics. You know, he's a little more vulnerable on this album. He's revealing a bit more of himself, but at the same time he channels it all through this fictional character, Julia, which is the name of the album. And this fictional character is sort of a stand in for like a mother figure or a girlfriend or ex girlfriend or even maybe just that inner voice. He had to give some sort of external name to it and identity, I think, to channel all this through. I also read that it was sort of scary for him to put himself out there like he does on this album. And so it kind of tracks that maybe he needed to find some creative way to sort of deliver it so that it's not too. I don't know, it doesn't expose himself too much or something. I don't know.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I was gonna say there is something almost meta about the songs that I've heard from this record, including Smoke, where it's like Julia often feels like the personification of his inner guide. And you can hear him sort of trying to navigate that relationship with himself. There's the outer him who has been performing his music this whole whole time, obviously. And now there is something inside of him that is trying to unite his inner voice with that outer voice that sings. And sometimes you need an intermediary.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, when you've got a voice like he has, you can do just about anything you want.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Right?

[Robin Hilton]

There's sometimes.

[Sheldon Pearce]

It certainly simplifies things, right? Because on the. On the front end, there's not a lot of work left to do.

[Robin Hilton]

Right. I mean, yeah, like here, here's a menu. If you could just sing this, I think we'll be good. But I mean, and he's an incredible craftsman, he's an incredible musician. So it's not remotely surprising to me that he pulls this off as well as he does. But really, really beautiful. Again, it's called Julia. That song, Smoke from Auskir, and that is spelled A S G E I R and again that is out February 13th.

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[Robin Hilton]

So normally when we do one of these preview shows, we talk about how there are just there's so many albums we could talk about more than we could ever fit on a single show. Like this time last year on our preview show, we were talking about FKA Twigs, the, the Weeknd, Sharon Van Etten, Japanese Breakfast, Jason Isbell, Lucy Dakis, perfume, Genius, tons more. And this year, at least at this point, not so much. I did a lot of poking around and emailing people and calling people, trying to get kind of an inside line on different things. And I wasn't able to confirm much more than kind of what we already know. And there have not been a ton of really, really, really big massive releases announced yet for this year. But there are a bunch of albums bouncing around in the rumor verse. I think there's a very good chance we're gonna get a new Robin album this year. Also a very good chance we're gonna get a new Noah Khan album at some point this year. People are talking about maybe we're gonna get that rock album from Beyonce this year. I don't know if you've been reading about that.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, it seems like it's probably coming.

[Robin Hilton]

Also, I think Olivia Rodrigo, maybe Phoebe Bridgers. Again, these are just rumored albums, though. I Feel like there's probably a pretty good chance with these. I also saw the XX is working on new material. We might get something from them. And Death Grips. Did you see the Death Grips? I did not see that. Would not in a million years have thought Death Grips would be coming back with a new album this year. But they announced that they are working on a new one. It would be their first album in something like eight years. The guys in BTS have all completed their military service and, yeah, they're back.

[Sheldon Pearce]

They announced recently their fifth album will be out in March and they'll be going on a world tour.

[Robin Hilton]

So what else are you kind of eyeballing? Lana Del Rey.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Lana. That was the first one I was about to list. I mean, Stove, as it has been allegedly called, has been sort of in the offing since last year. There's talk of maybe Bjork releasing something.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, I saw that too.

[Sheldon Pearce]

2026. Courtney Barnet has been sort of.

[Robin Hilton]

And it's been a minute.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yes, it's been a while.

[Robin Hilton]

Again, all rumors. We can't confirm very much at this point. But let's go to another one that we do know about. Joyce Manor. Joyce Manor has a new album coming out at the end of January. It's called I Used To Go to this Bar.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

When I look into your eyes I feel pain on houses dry Humbly I do accept Biggest chain around my neck why exist? Who gives a load up? Off to catch a truck we will stay but real nice never guess what happens next you caught me I was wrong I was just trying to sing along Got it wrong can't move on Been away far too long 3pm can't get dressed all my friends are so depressed Easy come and easy go Dishwasher just overflowed Key lime pie in Frampton lock Wish that I would die Chalk it up to rotten lock Time and space have come unstuck I pursue a deeper dream Kill it with a laser beam.

[Robin Hilton]

So this song from I Used To Go to this Bar is called All My Friends Are so Depressed. This is a band I don't know. I'm curious to hear what you think. This is band that I think is. It's like the sum is greater than the parts for me. Like there are a lot of individual elements or hints of things in their music that I don't always go for. It's a little bit new, wavy here and there. Not always my thing, especially in the guitars and some of the rhythms. There's a kind of sanded down quality to their sound in a way. I don't know how else to describe it. It's like, it's not overproduced. It's not, like, too slick, but very pristine, almost sanitized. And again, I'm talking about how these are. They're just little hints of these things here and there, which is why I say, when they put everything together, I really love it.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Right. Yeah. No, I think a lot of that is a fair assessment, I think. I mean, they're California punk. There's a sunniness to it that. A brightness that is maybe giving it a more polished sheen, I think. But, I mean, I love the thrust of it. I love its tensions of. I mean, depression, but also, like, there's a lightness to zips along.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, that certainly is a selling point for me. I mean, I don't really, honestly even have to listen to this. If you just tell me. The album's called I Used to Go to this Bar, and the song is called All My Friends Are so Depressed. All right, I'm in.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, you get the gist, right?

[Robin Hilton]

It's all right there, and I love it.

[Sheldon Pearce]

And I mean, that's. I mean, that's always how the. Their albums are. Never longer than 30 minutes. Like, you can sit with them very quickly. They breeze by. But I like that about this music.

[Robin Hilton]

Joyce Manor, I Used To Go to this Bar is out on January 30th. What else are you looking at for this year?

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, I'm gonna shift gears a little bit and pick out the new album by Beverly Glenn Copeland. It's called Laughter in summer. It's out February 6th. I want to hear the title track, Laughter in summer.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

How I remember. June through September here with you.

[Robin Hilton]

This is so beautiful.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

And such a moving story behind it as well.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Beverly Glenn Copeland was diagnosed with dementia in 2024, and this record was created with his wife, Elizabeth Copeland, who also is a poet, but produced because his faculties are diminishing and have been diminished in recent years. It feels like they're trying to record some last thoughts, get them on the page in a certain sense, before it's too late. And also, there's, like, a real dialogue happening between them in real time, sort of like trying to remember shared moments. That's what this song, Laughter in Summer, is about.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, I read that he wasn't even sure he wanted any lyrics on the song at all, but he was inspired by a simple afternoon sitting with his wife by a lake, listening to the loons. And they just capture it so beautifully on this song like this that there's this line that he repeats through it. Laughter in summer How I remember June through September here with you. That just. That just absolutely.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I mean, it's really powerful. And Elizabeth Copeland has said that there seems to be, like, a strengthening of, like, the heart of the artist, even as he sort of is starting to lose some of what makes him him, which has been a devastating process for the both of them, obviously. But there is, like, still the core of the person there and the artist and the power of that voice. And everything that happens on this record is built around that. Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

What an amazing place to land when you're going through something like that. He's 81 years old. Really beautiful, really inspiring. I mean, all these songs, honestly, would be very stirring and gorgeous, regardless of the story behind him.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah. You don't have to know what is happening to behind the scenes to appreciate just how beautiful this record is.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, it really is. Laughter In Summer again, is the album out February 6th from Beverly Glenn Copeland. And we were listening to the title cut. Do you know the singer that goes by the name Goblin Jr. Do you know Gobin Jr?

[Sheldon Pearce]

I was not familiar with Gobin Jr. For this.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. So this is the project of Emma Whitmer, singer and multi instrumentalist. She's originally from Wisconsin, from Madison, and just, you know, she makes very lo fi, very DIY songs. A little idiosyncratic, a little whimsical. I don't know. Are those trigger words for you, whimsical and idiosyncratic?

[Sheldon Pearce]

No. You're speaking my language, man.

[Robin Hilton]

Okay, good. I mean, the minute you mention the word whimsical to my wife, she's out.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Okay.

[Robin Hilton]

I'm not watching that movie.

[Sheldon Pearce]

No sense of whimsy whatsoever.

[Robin Hilton]

No whimsy. Okay, well, Emma Whitmer, as Goblin Jr. Put out her debut album in 2015, had a follow up in 2018, and then that was pretty much it. Has not really released any new music of her own since then until now. Goblin Jr. Has a new album coming out in April. It is called Crystal Rabbit Moon. And the first single that we're getting from it is called Just a Dream.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Teeth falling out. Woke up in a cold sweat. Still haven't figured out. Put it open. It's just a dream.

[Robin Hilton]

It's just a dream I actually haven't heard the whole album yet, but this song. Yeah, no, I haven't heard the whole thing, but this song has a bit more going on in it than some of her earlier stuff. She's trying some new sounds. There's a lot more synths on It. I hesitate to say that it's more expansive because it's still. It's still pretty cozy and diy, but she's mixing it up a little bit.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, I was gonna say, like, how would you sort of classify the music that she was making before this?

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

I don't know.

[Sheldon Pearce]

What is it? Dream pop.

[Robin Hilton]

Dream pop crossed with freak folk or something. I don't know. I mean, it's really just her own thing. Just her own little bedroom musings. You know, in a way, it kind of has a Twin Peaksie vibe to it.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

I don't know if you clocked that, but it might just be because her voice reminds me like little Julie Cruz on this.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Okay.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

I don't know. But there's also a hint of surrealness to it.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I had it surreal written down right here. I'm like, there's something very. I mean, I think of most like dream pop music as like drifting into the cloud of sound. But this, the synths, they have this like buzzing quality. It really is whimsical. Some of it is like almost like spring loaded in this amusing way. I mean, and this song is literally about a dream and sort of like dream logic and like carrying that into a relationship.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. I really, really love what I've heard so far. Goblin Jr and that's all one word. G O B B I N J R the album Crystal Rabbit Moon coming out in April. April 10th.

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[Sheldon Pearce]

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[Robin Hilton]

Go to Danny Harle. Danny L. Harle, a British producer and electronic artist. His name might not be instantly recognizable to a lot of people, but he has worked with a lot of artists. I'm sure people do know Pink Panthers, Tame Impala, Dua Lipa he's worked with. He's got a new album coming out also in February, on February 13th. It's called cerulean.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Last night I was crying did you hear? I was it all for nothing? Crystallized my tears? You have the strangest power over me Give meaning to my sadness Crystal. Last night I was dancing, did you see? Oh, was it all for nothing? Crystal liked my tears. You have the strangest power Just power over me.

[Sheldon Pearce]

This is exactly Danny L. Harle, if you know anything about his music. Obviously PC music veteran.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Big time into trance music, into Eurodance, his debut album in 2021. Harl Core was about bringing the club to the Internet essentially. So you know exactly what you're getting with the music that he makes. And I think if you are into like thumping dance music, this is the record for you.

[Robin Hilton]

But it's more than that, I think. I think what works for me so well. And we talk about this a lot with the dance music I tend to gravitate towards, which is it's not just hitting you over the head with pure escapism. Four on the floor club music. It gets big but it never overwhelms you. And it kind of. It's still a little inward looking. It kind of straddles a couple of different universes. Like there's a thread of wonder.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

I think in awe. That sort of runs through this music in a way. It's not just for the body. Yeah.

[Sheldon Pearce]

There's no one thing happening in his music ever, I think. But it also never loses sight of what he is really after, which is like a euphoric full thrusted feeling. Like it is still wondrous. Like large music. Like it's not a quiet record.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

No.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. I mean there are moments, there are quieter moments.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Right. It does, it does retreat into itself, but it. I you, you would not mistake it for anything other than a dance album, listening to it.

[Robin Hilton]

Right. So again, the album is called Cerulean from Danielle Harle and that is out February 13th. There is another release also out on February 13th. Kind of a busy release day that I know you were excited to talk about.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Yeah.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I want to talk about the debut album by the singer songwriter Auguste Pontier. It's called Everywhere Isn't Texas. And I want to listen to Handsome.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

Handsome, handsome boy the world loves you don't know if I wanna be with you or be you Handsome, handsome boy I'm jealous of you I wish they saw me from your golden point of view maybe I would Be handsome. Like. Charismatic, automatic. How do you do it? So magnetic. I'm upset. Like, how are you human?

[Robin Hilton]

Auguste Pontier, pretty much new to me. I, I, I really, I heard the name and that's about it, but I really, really love this.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah. The first thing I wrote down when I listened to this was Sapphic Sabrina Carpenter. And that feels a bit reductive. But the components are all there. Like this savvy blend of like indie pop and country. Biting sort of humorous lyrics and then the sort of like eased out voice that feels like almost delivered with a sigh.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah. I mean, there's a sturdiness to their voice in a way, but also lovely.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

And the music, I don't know, it's nice and breezy. Yeah, it's really working for me.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, there's, there's a real lightness to. Feels fun. There's an ease to it. And that's interesting because this record is kind of about how your hometown was a difficult place to grow up, but also coming to terms with the fact that a lot of your identity is tied up in that no matter what. But if you love yourself, you have to love at least some of what it made you.

[Robin Hilton]

I mean, it's just the title, Everywhere Is In Texas. I mean, I think that's a brilliant title because it's such a simple but effective reminder that maybe the life you're living and whatever trouble you've been going through, like, it won't always be that way.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah.

[Robin Hilton]

Or this isn't necessarily the way it is everywhere. Right. I mean, things get better. It's not you, it's not the circumstances or maybe the place that you find yourself in. I don't know. It's really potent. A lot wrapped up in that.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah. It really is sort of the perfect title and the perfect kind of statement to make about yourself as you are introducing yourself to the world. Right. I mean, this is their moment.

[Robin Hilton]

So, August Pontier, that album Everywhere Is In Texas Again is out on February 13th. One more that I want to play and we can go out on this. One of the bigger releases that we do know about at this point, at least. Big for some people is a new one from Mumford and Sons. It's called Prize Fighter. This is an interesting one for me because they're a band, you know, they came up as part of the whole stomp clap. Hey. Phenomenon in the mid to late 2000s. And I don't know what you think, but I think that's a sound that peaked very quickly and ultimately had a pretty Short tale.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, that's fair. And also, it wasn't for me, I can say that confidently and honestly.

[Robin Hilton]

It was for me, but only for a very, very, very short time. And I think kind of like everybody else. And I'm not sure why it had such a short tell because a lot of people really love that sound and a lot of people still really do. But I mean, like we saw over the summer with Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros. I don't know why the song came back up. It's 15 years old. But, you know, the song Home got completely dragged over the summer as being quintessential hipster cringe.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, well, it got unfairly, I would say, brought up in a conversation of the worst songs of all time.

[Robin Hilton]

Yeah, let's everyone just relax here for a minute.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yeah, yeah, let's take a step back. Let's. Nowhere near that it is chill, please.

[Robin Hilton]

But, you know, I don't know, I feel like that the whole stomp clap tag maybe has dogged Mumford and Sons for a while, but I don't know, I've spent some time with this new album and I think it's pretty wonderful.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Can. Can you tell me what it is you're hearing in this one that is.

[Robin Hilton]

Going to completely elude you otherwise? Yeah, well, you know, there are some of those big group sing alongs. It is pretty anthemic in places, very acoustic. There's banjo. All of the telltale signs that you might be. I don't know, that maybe you just make. You want to turn it off instantly. But I think to dismiss it as maybe overly earnest or cringe or whatever it is that turns a lot of people off is pretty cynical in some ways. I feel like if you sit with this music, I don't know, there's real community in it. There's real joy, almost euphoric joy. And these are good things, Sheldon.

[Sheldon Pearce]

They are good things. I would say I am cynical and I wouldn't even say I have necessarily been turned off by the earnestness of this music. The charms of it have sort of eluded me and I don't know why. I want to know what specifically it is about the components that really draw people in, because I think a lot of the things that you have described are present in a lot of other music that I think of as more robust, more intricate, more complicated, more ambitious. And so I guess I'm just curious what draws people in.

[Robin Hilton]

I think this music is very evolved and intricate and, you know, exquisitely produced and performed. They are incredible musicians. I think Marcus Mumford has a really powerful, moving voice. I think all of those things are in there. But if you don't like your euphoria and sense of community delivered with a banjo, then maybe this isn't your. Your sound. But I think there's a realness to the way these songs are recorded, especially when you get everyone together, singing together. It sounds like a captured moment in somebody's living room or something. It doesn't feel manufactured to me. It feels very real and, yeah, maybe earnest but honest, and I connect with it. And I was really surprised by how much I love this album. The song I want to play, I don't know if I said the. Did I say the name of the album? The album is called Prize Fighter. Yeah. And the song that I want to play is called Rubber Band Man. Not to be confused with what I think are maybe a half a dozen other songs called Rubber Band Man. But it's about soldiering on, you know, even when you feel like everything is falling apart. And maybe that's what I need to hear right now, but I think it's something that a lot of people want to hear right now.

[Sheldon Pearce]

I'll have to listen to find out for myself whether or not we're really back.

[Robin Hilton]

Well, maybe you'll have a moment here again. The album is called Prize Fighter. It is also out February 13th. Very busy release day from Mumford and Sons. Again, this song is called Rubber Band Man. We'll go out on this. Sheldon Pierce, looking forward to a new year with you. Thanks as always.

[Sheldon Pearce]

Yes, thanks so much for having me.

[Robin Hilton]

For NPR Music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered.

[Musical Artist or Song Lyrics]

When you can't win for losing and the beggars start choosing the chaos in your head calls the cracks to start showing all knowing all glowing with the light of the dying to raise the dead. You're a world away but you're still the same. I know you by your heart I will call you by your name Lives a long way from the crack to the break you know that I remember everything. Steady yourself in your tumbleweed words Be a street corn preacher or just feed the birds but don't hold to yourself with hard mortar and stone Be a rubber band man make the water your bones dying just to live and now you're a world away but you're still the same. I know you by your heart and I will call you by your name. And it's a long way from the crack to the brain you know that I remember everything. When I said forever, you said get back in the car. Nothing lies forever baby.

[Sheldon Pearce]

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