The best new albums out Sept. 19

Summary

All Songs Considered – The Best New Albums Out Sept. 19, 2025

Episode Overview

This week’s All Songs Considered, hosted by Stephen Thompson (sitting in for Robin Hilton), with guest Kyle Meredith from WFPK in Louisville, explores the standout albums released on September 19, 2025. The conversation covers a vibrant range of music—rock legends resurrected, indie gems, pop disruptors, triumphant comebacks, global soundscapes, and more. Each album is discussed in depth with insights into the songwriting, production, cultural context, standout tracks, and what makes them buzzworthy this week.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. The Long-Awaited Return of Buckingham Nicks

• [00:39] Stephen and Kyle open by celebrating the long-out-of-print 1973 album from Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, finally on streaming.
• Musical Preservation: Kyle notes his introduction came from a cover by Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham, revealing just how “fully formed” the duo were even pre-Fleetwood Mac.
• Stephen: “Often when you hear the early works of a given artist, you’ll hear them in their kind of fetal stages… But I mean, this is like right before they were recording and releasing Rumors, which is still on the Billboard charts.” — [01:46]
• Speculation: They wonder if the rerelease hints at more tension or drama between the duo, underlining the album’s mythic status.

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2. Joan Shelley – Real Warmth

• [02:43] First major new release: Kentucky’s indie folk staple Joan Shelley.
• Depth and Calm: Kyle calls ‘Real Warmth’ “another quintessential album for Joan. She just keeps sounding more Nick Drake with every single album.” — [03:28]
• Purposeful Artistry: Stephen admires Shelley and partner Nathan Salzberg for “big opinions about the world” that surface subtly through serene sounds. Especially moved by the track “New Anthem,” about using one’s voice for good.
• Joan Shelley (lyrics): “I want the anthem that feels like first love / I want the chorus that warms like fire...” — [05:54]
• Layered Warmth: The album title means human connection, spirit, and literally, global warming—a “cocktail for resilience, a recipe for desperate times.”
• Musical Activism: Making beautiful, calming music is seen as giving listeners “a reason to go on” (Kyle, [08:44]), not just “the opposite of the boiling frog scenario.”

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3. Lola Young – I’m Only Effing Myself

• [09:01] The rising British pop provocateur returns with an album brimming with sex, chaos, queer love, and brash, catchy pop songs.
• Lived Experience: Stephen highlights track “One Thing” as “the song of the summer that wasn’t… this slinky, funky, funny jam.” — [10:25]
• Lyrical Candor: Lola is compared to Lily Allen for her “confrontational, upfront” lyricism (Kyle, [12:10]).
• Empowerment and Sex Positivity: “F Everyone” is a pansexual anthem with “big guitars… fuming rowdy energy” (Stephen, [13:18]).
• Musical Range: Album blends rowdy rock with infectious pop hooks; Kyle humorously calls for “a few guitar solos… otherwise, no complaints.” — [14:23]

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4. Wednesday – Bleeds

• [18:11] North Carolina’s Creek Rockers return, blending Southern indie, grunge, twang, and poetic narrative.
• Character & Storytelling: Singer Carly Hartsman is praised for painting “a vision of small town life… parking lots and screen doors and details piled up on top of details.” (Stephen, [19:03])
• Kyle: “They remind me of Drive By Truckers and Sonic Youth at the same time… [But] I don’t feel like Wednesday have written their best album yet… And yet every record is a classic.” — [20:00]
• Dynamic Range: Tracks like “Townies” and “Elderberry Wine” showcase both distortion-laden and tender moments; the punk-metal blast “Wasp” is noted for its brevity and intensity. ([23:53])
• Full Band Impact: Guitarist MJ Lenderman’s solo success trickles back into the band’s gnarly, emotionally resonant sound.

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5. Sarah McLachlan – Better Broken

• [24:43] Her first album of originals in over a decade, and a vibrant reminder of her 1990s laurels.
• Nostalgic Yet Fresh: “It feels like a Sarah McLachlan record. And there are songs… that, if they had come out in 1994, would be classics today.” (Stephen, [25:53])
• Kyle loves the beats’ return: “She was always on the peripheral of trip-hop… but she works so well with those ethereal vocals.”
• Meaningful Comeback: The track “Rise” stands out: “There’s this narrative of like, hey, let’s pretend for a second that everything’s better… And sometimes a song hits, and it’s exactly what you needed.” — [28:04]
• Inventive Arrangements: Kyle is fascinated by the album’s blend of unlikely instruments: “Like a ‘70s synth with a banjo underneath it… and a harpsichord!” — [30:22]
• Coda: The album’s closer includes a children’s chorus: “By the end of your first album of new material in 11 years… you’ve earned a children’s chorus.” (Stephen, [30:54])

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6. Yasmin Hamdan – I Remember I Forgot

• [32:25] The Lebanese-born, Paris-based innovator releases her third solo album after eight years.
• Global Sonic Tapestry: Her music blends Arabic traditions with electronic, trance, and cinematic feel. “Simultaneously haunting, beautiful, trancy, propulsive… weaving in so many kind of Arabic sonic textures.” (Stephen, [34:58])
• Kyle’s Instant Favorite: “It’s my favorite thing… if not all week, maybe all year. Some albums are made for headphones… There is so much going on in this.” ([35:09])
• Standout Tracks: “Shadia" is described as an “eclectic timeless puzzle box,” while “The Beautiful Losers” is a “moodier, more haunting ballad.” The title track is deeply resonant for Kyle: “I think I’ll keep revisiting this one for a while.” — [37:36]

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7. Lightning Round: Other Notable Releases

• [38:08] Hosts run through several strong new releases:
  • Kieran Hebden & William Tyler – 41 Longfield Street, Late 80s: “Heavily inspired by late ‘80s folk and country… hooked me from the jump.” (Stephen)
  • Nine Inch Nails – Tron: Ares Soundtrack: “Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross call it a NIN album… reminds me of The Fragile with so many instrumentals… moments that recall Bowie’s Berlin period and Radiohead.” (Kyle, [39:40])
  • Lawrence Matthews – Between Mortal Reach and Posthumous Grip: “A hard-hitting swirl of darkness and trauma and survival, but also hard-won peace… genreless, with a sense of playfulness.” (Stephen)
  • Joy Crooks – Juniper: “Body politics, queer love, envy, mental health… loose, minimal production with bedroom soul energy. Vince Staples guests on one track.” (Kyle)
  • Joanne Robertson – Blurrr: “Ambient, enveloping, experimental—delicate and beautiful.” (Stephen)

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8. Hosts’ Pick: Best Song of the Week

• [44:31] Kyle: “Title track from Yasmin’s I Remember, I Forget. I’ve probably played it a dozen times.”
• Stephen: “The title track from Sarah McLachlan’s Better Broken is such a revelation… a reminder that 30-plus years in, an artist can still turn out her best work.” — [44:49]

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Memorable Quotes

• “Every one of [Joan Shelley’s] records is like a pellet fed directly to my soul.”
  — Stephen Thompson, [09:01]

• “It would be easy to talk about this being, you know, what it says about sex and how it says about sex. [Lola Young] reminds me a lot of the way Lily Allen would talk about it… Her lyrics… so upfront… confrontational in a great way.” — Kyle Meredith, [12:10]

• “Wednesday’s music is gnarly and beautiful… her songs represent a vision of small-town life… details piled up on top of details.”
  — Stephen Thompson, [19:03]

• “There’s a song on here called Rise… Sometimes a song hits and it’s exactly what you needed in that moment.”
  — Kyle Meredith on Sarah McLachlan, [28:04]

• “Some albums are made for headphones… There is so much going on in this. I think I’m still having that moment because all I want to do is listen again.”
  — Kyle Meredith on Yasmin Hamdan, [35:09]

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Notable Tracks with Timestamps

• Joan Shelley – "New Anthem" [05:54]
• Lola Young – "One Thing" [11:28]
• Wednesday – "Townies" [22:03]
• Sarah McLachlan – "Better Broken" [24:54]
• Yasmin Hamdan – “I Remember I Forgot” [37:36]

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Episode Tone & Flow

The episode is intimate, informed, and enthusiastic—mixing musical geekery with genuine love for each artist and deep dives into the meaning and feeling of each record. The banter is warm, collegial, and peppered with personal anecdotes and musical memories, making the episode a meaningful guide for new-music seekers and longtime fans alike.

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Closing Thoughts

This week’s All Songs Considered is a master class in musical curation, highlighting releases that range from the high-profile to the quietly groundbreaking. Thoughtful analysis, honest enthusiasm, and memorable moments make it an essential listen—or, with this summary, an essential read—for anyone searching for their next favorite album.

Transcript

[A]

Support for npr and the following message come from Indeed. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. Claim your $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com NPR terms and conditions apply. A quick note before the show. This podcast contains explicit language.

[B]

Happy Friday, everyone, from NPR Music. It's new. Welcome to Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Kyle Meredith of WFPK in Louisville. Welcome to the show. Kyle.

[C]

Hi, Stephen. Thanks for having me here.

[B]

It is a pleasure. Now, the music that we're hearing is from Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 collaboration between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, right before they joined Fleetwood Mac. Their only studio album as a duo has been out of print for decades, which is wild considering how closely it predates classic albums like Rumors. But now it is finally back in mass circulation. It's finally on streaming services for the first time.

[C]

Loved hearing it, too. You know, I will say, the very first time that I heard this album, it was not them doing it. It was the Andrew Bird, Madison Cunningham where they covered the whole thing. And because it wasn't around, I just never hunted it out. I loved listening to it, though, and was surprised how fully formed they were, just like ready to go into Fleetwood Mac.

[D]

But she'll leave you crying in the night she will leave crying in the night oh, she's gonna leave you crying in the night. She's back in time.

[B]

Yeah. And often when you hear kind of, you know, the early works of a given artist, you'll hear them in their kind of fetal stages, you know, and they're not, they're not fully there. They haven't quite found their voice. But I mean, this is like right before they were recording and releasing some of the Some Rumors is still on the Billboard charts. It's like in the top 30.

[C]

Forever and ever.

[B]

Forever and ever. And so if you are into Fleetwood Mac and have not heard Buckingham Nicks because you haven't chased it down in a used record store or you weren't around in 1973 to buy it when it came out, it's new to you.

[C]

But of course, the other side of this is why? Why? Why? Because there's a lot of cryptic stuff that they've been doing, you know, between their two socials. So it's like, what is this? Is this just like, you know what? Finally, I'm sorry it took so long. I'm sorry it, you know, for us to get here, but here it is. Or just reopen the box one More time for the drama that, you know, I live for.

[B]

Well, it's now. It's here for all of us. We're gonna kick off the show, Kyle, with a new album from one of Louisville's greats, Joan Shelley. It's called Real Warmth.

[D]

Son the driver of the day he did bucks and dreams that FR Needs awakened Belize ache all the grief you can imagine on the gold we've been waiting on the gold and the silver.

[C]

We arrived Joan Shelley, based right here in Louisville, Kentucky. Born, of course, singer, songwriter. She's been around now for over a decade. I think we started really noticing her when she was in a trio called Maiden Radio with Cheyenne Mize and Julia Purcell. But her star lifted off after that. I know she's got this great following, especially in Europe, and there's an air of mystery around her. And every album has this sense of place to it. It's not always meaning a city or a country, but really where she's sitting at that moment and what she's looking at. You really hear that in all of it. And with this new record, Real Warmth, which I think is her first one in a few years now, there was an EP in the middle there, but I hear all of that again. She just keeps sounding more Nick Drake with every single album. But I love what she's doing here. I mean, it is. It is another quintessential album for Joan.

[B]

Shelley, you know, and it's really interesting. You've interviewed Joan Shelley, and I've talked to her a few times. She's played the tiny desk. I go to see her live every time she's in town. She's one of my favorite artists, period. Her partner, Nathan Salzberg, who plays guitar on all her records, I love his solo work. I love the work they do together. And talking to them about their music can be a little bit of a different experience from just hearing the music. And you get a sense, a sense of purpose to the songs that they write. You know, they write these songs that are so calming, so beautiful. The album is called Real Warmth. There's a track on the album called for when youn Can't Sleep. Like, there is this sense of kind of a placid quality that's on the surface of all of their records together. But when you talk to them, they have big, big opinions about the world. They have big opinions about how music can be used to navigate the world. And the songs. If you start to listen to their songs closely, you get a sense of that coming through in the lyrics. There's A track on this album called New Anthem. One of my favorite songs on the album. It's just this stunning song about wanting songs to help using your voice for good. And you realize that this isn't somebody who's just, like, in a mellow mood.

[C]

Sure.

[B]

This is just the voice that she uses to speak to the state of the world.

[D]

I want the anthem that feels like first love. I want the chorus that warms like fire. I want the tune that swells like a full moon Knows your deepest desire.

[C]

When she talks about the. The album title, Real Warmth, it refers to three things, right? Actual human connection, spirit, warmth, and then the literal warmth of the planet. In fact, I think it was the. The press release that was like cocktail for resilience, a recipe for desperate times. You can just set back. And it is. It's a very calming record. We know the speed. Like, she has a speed, that. It's a very soft speed. But to agree with you there, to echo you once you get into those lyrics, like, these are very big things in a very calming voice. And she plays it well, as she always does.

[B]

Yeah. And the songs themselves, I just don't want to understate just how beautiful her songwriting is, just how charming these arrangements can be. There's a track called Give It Up. It's Too Much. And my notes just say, so pretty. Like, oh, great analysis there, buddy. But every time I hear it, I'm just swept away by just how beautiful it is.

[D]

Nothing extra. Leave it at the door. Do let's see something worth begging baring for. You need to meet your an I'm.

[B]

I think along the way, they've figured out that their ability to make music that is calming, that gives comfort to people, is, in its own way, an act of activism, that making your audience feel calmer and feeling a sense of comfort, feeling a sense of warmth, feeling a sense of community and connection. That is a gift that you are giving people, that is helping gear them up for the fight ahead. And so I think it's really interesting to hear them talk about the way that music is to them so much more than just kind of gathering around, making pretty songs.

[C]

I almost think it's the opposite, as you're saying, that of the boiling frog scenario, where that warmth has just eased us into dying, where this is the other thing that warmth is giving us a reason to go on.

[B]

Right. The frog's just taking a bath.

[C]

Just taking a bath.

[B]

Every one of her records is like a pellet fed directly to my soul. This one is no different. It's called Real Warmth by the great and good Joan Shelley. Next up, Lola Young. Lola Young has a new album, the title of which I will have to clean up slightly when I say I'm only effing myself I spent all day.

[D]

Trying to be sober Drowned in my misery Caught up on the so over and I still love him the way I did when I was 19 but it's not easy to let him know I spent all day Wishing the day was over I want to get away Fall from here Pack my bags, my drugs and discipline now you know they I'm not coming back for 15 years I wanna ride a note Living with my next door neighbor Give a shit I wanna get away Far from here.

[B]

So Lola Young has been kind of one of the rising pop stars of the last couple years. She had a big hit album last year called this Wasn't Meant for your Anyway, which produced hit song called Messy. She's already back with a new record. Again, the title, I'm Only Effing Myself. As the title suggests, a lot of brash, chaotic energy, Rowdy pop songs about sex, about being a mess, about queer love, about warning somebody not to treat you badly. But one thing you really get here amid these really grabby songs, you know, kind of explicitly about sex. You also just have some really sunnily arranged pop songs about bad love. You know, a track like Walk all over your that is so, so catchy. A song called One Thing, which sort of felt like the song of the summer. That wasn't. It wasn't a big chart hit. But it's one of the singles from this record. And it's just this slinky, funky, funny jam.

[D]

You know where I wanna be I want you right under me can you just give a little. I'm screaming for you I can't breathe Turn the light off on the Wet the sheets that is enough for me to go break your bed and then the sofa I want to pull you close Everybody wants to know you but me I only want one thing I.

[C]

Don'T know if I'll have to edit myself on this one or not, but somebody. When Sabrina Carpenter's album came out, that said, that's the horniest album I've heard yet. And I thought you haven't heard Loli Young's record.

[B]

But they are companion pieces.

[C]

They are. But it's in that title, right? Because I'm Only Effing Myself is a play on. You can do that two way. It's. I'm the one getting in my own way, right? And it's also the other quite literal way, you know, when we talk about this being a sex album, but that's really, again, only a part of it. And it would be easy to talk about this being, you know, what it says about sex and how it says about sex. She reminds me a lot of the way Lily Allen would talk about it. You know, her lyrics, that they are so upfront and again, it's easy to use the word brash, but it. It's confrontational in a great way. I know lots of women who really identified with Messi when it came out last year, like, they heard that. And I think this is all over the place album. And I love that sense of adventure in the music too. It does remind me a little bit of in the late 90s when rockers found techno. You know, there's a bit of that going on there. It would be hard to follow up that last record. And it's, you know, hearing that, what she's doing right now, hit it again for me. Like, I'm so happy to see her star rising.

[B]

Yeah, totally agree. And I'm really impressed and appreciative of how much kind of rowdy rock energy she manages to infuse these songs with. There's a track called F Everyone Again, I'm cleaning it up, which is just like a pansexual anthem, but just like big guitars, you know, just like big kind of fuming rowdy energy. And it's a true anthem.

[D]

They don't mind I just want a guy and oh my say goodbye.

[B]

Say goodbye So I love the way she's managing to draw from pop music and R and B and like, full on rock and roll in ways that just see her kind of forming into the icon that she was born to be.

[C]

Yeah, it could use a few guitar solos. That's my only notes right there because otherwise you're at. But you know, when you got a song called Post Sex Clarity, which I've never heard as a song before, that's really. It levels out. No complaints. No notes.

[B]

No notes. That's Lola Young. Her new album is called I'm Only Effing Myself. We've got some more records we're gonna get to, but first, let's take a quick break.

[E]

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[A]

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[E]

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[B]

Podcast from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Kyle Meredith of WFPK in Louisville, Kentucky. Kyle, tell me about the station.

[C]

Yeah, so of course we're public radio in the time where public radio is being talked about a lot and the importance of it. In fact, we just came off of four day broadcast at the Bourbon and Beyond Festival here in Louisville and straight into our fall membership drive. You know how it is. And when we say like there's, it's no, there's no more important time than now, well, Suddenly we are 100% community funded for the first time. But we've been hearing from our listeners for the past few months and the overwhelming supports, which I'm also hearing from a lot of our peer stations has been incredible. On the other side of that, I still host the Kyle Meredith with series that usually has a couple episodes every week, two or three episodes. And you know, I've had some great guests on lately like Willem Dafoe and the cast of Alien Earth and Lizzie Hale and Devo. So it's, it's trucking right along as well.

[B]

Fantastic. And how do people get that show?

[C]

You can get that show through any podcast streamer that you like. It's also through NPR's podcast on their website in wfpk.orglpm.org music wonderful.

[B]

Next up, we've got a new record from Wednesday. Wednesday's new album is called Bleeds.

[D]

Picking the ticks off of you. If you need me, I'll call In wino shoes he drags his feet and I crawl toward you and kill you.

[B]

So Wednesday, not to be confused with the TV show Wednesday, is a band from North Carolina to that plays kind of Southern indie rock. They call their sound Creek Rock, which I think is an absolutely perfectly apt way to describe this particular sound. Their music is gnarly and beautiful. It can sound kind of pained, but it's also really lived in. And the, the singer, songwriter at the heart of the band, Carly Hartsman sings about a small town upbringing in a way that rings so exactly true to my own experiences. Maybe there's a little more of a dirtbag quality to it than I was able to experience in Iola, Wisconsin. But. But her songs represent a vision of small town life that is parking lots and screen doors and details piled up on top of details piled up on top of details. She is a fantastic songwriter.

[C]

Yeah. What's the, the lyric that came to mind? Scratch off Ticket for the education lottery, which I feel like, you know, it's kind of hitting on what you said. But. But they are to me, you know, they remind me of like Drive By Truckers and Sonic Youth at the same time, you know, with those narrative heavy songs and the way her poetry just kind of flows over the top of it. Creek Rock is a really interesting way to put that. I too am from deep in the country of Kentucky, so. So I hear that. I love this record and I'm gonna, I'm gonna relate it to Drive By Truckers at the same once again, because I don't feel like Wednesday have written their best album yet. Which is not to say that I don't love this record, but I don't know that Drive By Truckers have ever written their best album and yet every one of their records is a classic, you know, And I think I'm saying the same thing about Wednesday. Like Rat Salt God was one of these, the great albums of that year, 2023.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah. But every time I hear this, every time I've listened to this new record, I'VE thought, yeah, there's still somewhere further that they can go. And I really hope they go there.

[B]

I agree with you that I continue to hear potential at the same time that I'm hearing a band that is really locked in. There's a stormy quality, there's a twangy quality, there's a kind of distorted quality to these songs about growing up wild and feral and unsupervised. You know, there's a track called Townies that to me feels in many ways like the prototypical Wednesday song. It's picking up on all these kind of gnarly curlicues as it's singing about. About her upbringing, about life in this kind of directionless place where you're kind of surrounded by these characters and you don't entirely know who you are yet, but you know that you need help. You know.

[D]

Yelled at you about it cause you went to a party in county.

[B]

There are so many songs on this record that are kind of pulling all those ingredients together in wonderful ways. There's another track wound up here by Holdin on, which has the distortion, the twang, the stories of kind of debauchery and desperation, and they're still all cohering into something that feels really profound and also sometimes sounds really pretty.

[C]

And of course, it should be noted that this is the record after MJ Linderman, the guitarist has had his big breakout solo success as well. I think I was very interested in hearing what that would sound like in here and, and, and, and just knowing that he still brings that. That grit that you're talking about and that tension within the music, you know, that you can go from such a. A nice singalong like Elderberry Wine to just screaming in wasp, you know, like, like they, they do the whole thing. But I love his work. I love their work. It is one of my favorite bands to watch right now.

[B]

I'm glad you mentioned wasp because WASP pops up late on this record as just a full blown like punk metal explosion in like 87 seconds. But it coexists really beautifully with these more. More ambling sweet songs like Elderberry Wine, which is kind of dialing down the distortion in favor of kind of this amble that feels actually fully agreeable without losing intensity.

[D]

Sweet song is a long gone I drove you to the airport with the E brake on Ain't heard that voice in a long time had to check back there to make sure you were alive.

[B]

That is Wednesday. Their new album is called Bleeds. Next up, a familiar name. Sarah McLachlan is back with a new album. It's called Better Broken.

[D]

Maybe if I catch my breath maybe if I wait a little I'd remember how it hurts and stop for a fall I'd forget to come apart and catch my myself and hold on tightly Let memory wash over me Forgive but don't forget so you come back to me begging why'd you leave? Tell me why how could you let this go? Well, let it be all it is Small and still a memory like a stone Jagged edge made smooth by time Let it be all it is Some things are better broken.

[B]

So Sarah McLachlan has been around, gosh, since, I would say, about the early 90s. Canadian singer songwriter. A big part of the kind of singer songwriter boom of the 90s. She was instrumental in bringing the world the Lilith Fair and is an artist who, frankly, I would say has been due for some mainstream hindsight appreciation, really, for decades now. Sarah McLachlan's. The records that she broke through with are fantastic. And she has been on a little bit of a break from music. Her last album came out in 2016. It was called Wonderland. This is her first album of originals since 2014. And shine on. And I just love the way it feels like it picks up where it left off. It feels like a Sarah McLachlan record. And there are songs on this album that, if they had come out in 1994, would be classics today.

[C]

100%. In fact, the title track was better broken there 100. As soon as it started, we've been playing it a ton at FPK it. I was like, oh, I'm so happy to hear her bring the beats back. Because she was always on the peripheral of trip hop. She was never really that. But. But as that was happening and those beats were landing with those, you know, I don't know if ethereal is the right word, but, you know, the way her voice takes off, especially when you think of songs like into the Fire, you know, and even Building a Mystery, you know, like, she works so well. We also called it sometimes folktronica at the time, you know.

[B]

Yeah, she.

[C]

I always thought we were young.

[B]

We didn't know better.

[C]

Yeah. Put a name on everything. But. But I always thought that that was. It was at least my feeling. Favorite lane of hers. And she can do a lot. I mean, even, you know, when you look at other classics like angel, which did none of that, you know, it was just her and the piano. But hearing that on Better Broken and thinking like, this is the Sarah that I want to hear. It's a Sarah that I missed. And again, for to be no original music in 11 years, especially when Alanis was doing her thing and making her comeback and Jewel even had a small comeback and I kept noticing, where's Sarah? What's she doing?

[B]

What's she doing, buddy?

[C]

And it's.

[B]

I hope, I hope she's living in a castle, counting her billions of dollars.

[C]

Well, I would be. I don't blame her at all for that. I would be doing exactly that. But it is. And, and there's a song on here called Rise. It's toward the end of the album and, and this is kind of a world gone mad record lyrically, yes. At least that's how I took it and everything. There's that moment on Rise when I heard it that, that can sometimes be cliche and we're gonna rise up and everything, but there's this, there's this narrative of like, hey, let's pretend for a second that everything's better, that we got everything we ever wanted, that, you know, here we are in the utopia, we did it and this is what it'll take. And sometimes a song hits and it's exactly what you needed to hear right in that moment. And I think there's several of those right on the record. I'm, I'm, I'm so happy to have her back.

[D]

This time we're gonna do better if we can cool things down. I know your tales, the warning bounce, your thirst for higher ground but there's nothing gained from envy or your lust to prove me wrong Embracing what divides us it'll never make us strong Come on, we got knees.

[B]

I wanted to mention another song, one in a long line, which is another, I think, very, very strong highlight from this record. Kind of grand, catchy, mid tempo song. Soaring in the chorus with like a note of defiance. And, you know, you do have the sense, you know, like when you come back after a long hiatus, I hope you're gonna have something to say. And Sarah McLachlan came back and has something to say, but she's also saying it with that seemingly effortless, not at all effortless songcraft that, that made her famous in the first place.

[D]

I live.

[C]

Did you notice instrumentally that all through the record she would place two instruments that had no business playing with each other. Like there's a moment, I think towards the end where there's like, like a 70s synth with a banjo underneath it and you know, and there's. And a harpsic. I mean it's just all like, that had to be a choice I would love. Like, I'm really hoping for the interview one day for this one because I want to know about that. Like, it just seemed like a game that shouldn't have ever worked and I think just lifted the album even higher.

[B]

Absolutely. And you know, she throws in at the very last song. The song's called this Is the End. And children's chorus. Just why not just throw everything in there, you know, by the end of your first album of new material in 11 years, kind of a capstone to a long career. This is her 10th album. You've earned a children's chorus. You've earned a children's chorus. That's Sarah McLachlan. Her new album is called Better Broken. We've got one more record we want to discuss in depth, as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, September September 19th. But first, let's take a quick break.

[A]

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[B]

From NPR Music, it's NEW MUSIC Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Kyle Meredith of WFP in Louisville. We've got a lightning round coming up of some of our other favorite albums out today, September 19th. But first, we wanted to talk about one more album in some detail. It's by Yasmin Hamdan. It's called I Remember I Forgot.

[D]

SAM.

[B]

So I Remember I Forgot is the third album by Yasmeen Hamdan. It's her first album in eight years, but she's been rattling around for a while. Yasmin Hamdan was half of the kind of indie electronic duo Soap Kills, which formed in the late 90s. She was born in Beirut. She's based in Paris, and her music has the this beautiful sense of place to it. And on this record, she's writing about Lebanon. And her songs managed to sound simultaneously haunting, beautiful, trancy, propulsive, with this weaving in of so many kind of Arabic sonic textures. Her music seems like it's coming from all over the world. But if you read translations of her lyrics, you are really getting a sense that this is about her birthplace. This is about a place that she has a deep attachment to, for which she has deep concern.

[C]

Yeah, this is my introduction. I didn't know her music before, you know, researching this episode. It's my favorite thing that I've heard, if not all week, maybe all year.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

You know, some albums are made for headphones, and I. I just happened to, in that moment, have the headphones on. There is so much going on in this. I wasn't looking at the lyrics. I didn't know what she was talking about. It was all about the mood to me. And it was a thing where if someone had come up and tried to talk to me, I would not have allowed them, like, no, do not bother.

[B]

This is happening.

[C]

I am having a moment right now, and I think I'm still having that moment because now when I think about this right record, I want to listen to it immediately. It's really. It's done. It's got its claws in deep on me. There are moments that remind me cinematically of like something the Dust Brothers would have done. I'm imagining the movie that doesn't exist to go along with this. But you're right. Going back, and I still haven't read all the lyrics, but I have read about some of the songs and just to kind of get a grasp on what she's talking about, I mean, gives this album even more layers than I think I was even expecting to be aware of.

[B]

Yeah. And there's so much of a range. You know, you've got a track like Shadia, which is this kind of wonderfully eclectic little timeless puzzle box of a song. All these shades and sounds and eras all kind of swirling together with this kind of jaunty holding it all together. And then you've got like a moodier, more haunting ballad like the Beautiful Losers, which the arrangement is slowed to a crawl, but it is still completely compelling. You lock onto every. Every note. I was really struck by what a multi sensory experience it felt like, how much it was conjuring not only a sense of place, but. But visuals, smells, feels that that's. That's a remarkable accomplishment.

[C]

It really does. And it goes through eras, too. You'll hear some 70s in here, but all through this, this kind of trance thing as you're talking about. The title track is the one I think I keep coming back to over and over and over. And, you know, just to get in about. In forced forgetting, you know, murder is normal, despair is normal. I remember. I forget gets. I mean, that's. Like I said, it's listening to this and just letting myself get lost in it, you know. I do think I'll keep revisiting this one for a while.

[B]

Yeah, it's a great one, that is. I remember I forgot the new album from Yasmeen Hamdan. So, Kyle, we're still in September. We are still getting a flood of new music. We could not possibly get to everything that came out today, September 19th. So we wanted to do a lightning round with some of our other favorite records. I'm going to kick us off with one that is really has become near and dear to my heart already. Kieran Hebden is a musician, a producer. He also records under the name Fortet. William Tyler is a prolific innovator on the guitar and they've just made an album together that's heavily inspired by the late 80s folk and country music that they and I grew up on. It's a stretch to call this a covers album because they're extrapolating off of song fragments, but it works on many levels. And it hooked me absolutely from the jump, in part because its first track is an 11 minute piece inspired by Lyle Lovett's if I Had a Boat, which is straight up, Kyle, one of my favorite songs of all time. Kieran Hebden and William Tyler's new album is called called 41 Longfield street, late 80s.

[C]

So there's a new Nine Inch Nails album that also happens to be the same soundtrack to the new Tron movie Ares. This is the third Tron movie. Daft Punk did the last soundtrack and Trent Reznor and Anais Ross has picked up for this new one. Now they do scores all the time, but this time they're calling it a Nine Inch Nails record, which is true and not true at the same time. There's about, I think four or five songs on here that have vocals. Most of it is instrumentals. Those instrumentals though, they remind me of what Daft Punk did. Resnick kind of put his spin on that one. They remind me of the. The Bowie Berlin instrumentals. There are moments that recall Radiohead on there. And as far as the. The ones with vocals, there's actually a duet. Reznor does a duet. And I think it's about as close as I've ever heard him come to crooning, which is interesting. But as a Nine Inch Nails album, I think it reminds me of the Fragile because there were so many instrumentals. That was before he really got into scoring. I think that was the album that led him filmed his scoring. And I do hear a lot of the Fragile. I'm a very big fan of anything that Reznor does and and this soundtrack slash album didn't let me down. That's Tron Erez from Nine Inch Nails. The way it makes me feel infection.

[B]

It'S almost like a tongue on the.

[C]

Back of my neck and if I had a choice connection I never had.

[B]

A chance to catch my breath Lawrence Matthews is a fascinating young talent. He's a rapper from the Memphis area who's equally adept at hip hop, soul rock and the many, many points in between. His songs are kind of a hard hitting swirl of darkness and trauma and survival, but also hard won peace. His reflections are intense and deeply felt, but the genrelessness of it all really gives it a sense of playfulness that I think serves his music extremely well. Lawrence Matthews's D debut album is called Between Mortal Reach and Posthumous Grip, Maggot fool and Sky Phone Devils. Lost my main knee Boy cover Recognize.

[D]

That I died for heaven left time so float around with breath I feel like I'm channeling spirits of every man in my family Making it happen. The wheel of many in this tiny.

[C]

Vessel Escaping the chains with rapping Life hit you fast with instant disasters. You gotta be ready for that sometimes. Stuff coming back to back so quick.

[D]

It won't even let me.

[C]

Joy Crooks returns with her latest, it's called Juniper. This comes after the Mercury nominated Skin album and. And like you were just talking, you know, Joy. Also, you'll hear soul, you'll hear indie and rock on here. There's a little bit of light hip hop, the big theme, body politics, queer love, envy, Mental health is on here. Vince Staples guests on one of the tracks. I love that it's loose and minimal. She does so much sometimes with only two instruments or maybe three at max, but you still get a bit of that bedroom soul to go along with it. That's Joy Crooks and Juniper.

[D]

When a World feels against Us.

[B]

Finally. Joanne Robertson is a singer born in Manchester, based in Glasgow, whose music is ambient and enveloping. Sometimes it's spare and desolate, sometimes it's head filling and expansive. At all times it is delicate and beautiful. If you're into experimental ambient artists like Juliana Barwick and Grouper, as I very much am, make sure you check out Joanne Robertson. Her new album is called Blur with three R's. Now, Kyle, you and I listened to a lot of music to prepare for this show and I have to say this was a very strong week. There's a lot of great stuff, great stuff, but this is where this is where we kind of put each other on the spot and say, what is the best song that you listen to? Preparing for this week's show, I feel.

[C]

Like I already gave myself away a little bit earlier. But the, the title track to Yasmine's I Remember, I Forget, that's the one that's I've with every other record. I listened to the album, you know, a few times. But that song in itself, I've probably heard it a dozen times at this point. So easy winner for me.

[B]

Nice. I mean, that is a great record and that's a great song. This was very hard for me this week. Cause I love that Wednesday record. I love every breath that leaves Joan Shelley's body and makes a sound. But I'm gonna go with the Sarah MacLachlan record. Why not? Nice. The title track from Better Broken is such a revelation. It's such a reminder that, you know, 30 plus years into an artist's career, you can still turn out some of your best work. And as we kind of said in that segment, there are tracks on this record, including that one that would be classics if they had come out in the 90s. And people who love those songs, people who have appreciated Sarah McLachlan's music, people who maybe aren't old enough to remember, you know, kind of the height of her career, check out that song and then maybe go back and reconsider a lot of her earlier work because she has been making great music for a very, very long time and I'm thrilled to have her back.

[D]

Let it be all it is Small and still a better left alone. Some things are better broken.

[B]

That is our show for this week. Thank you so much, Kyle, for taking time out of your week at WFPK in Louisville.

[C]

Thank you so much for inviting me on here. This was so much fun.

[B]

It's been great. Thank you so much for being here. 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 edited by Otis Hart. The executive producer of NPR Music is Saraya Muhammad. We'll be back next week to discuss new music with Evan Miller from WYSO in Ohio. Until then, take a moment to be well, stay home if you're feeling under the weather and treat your yourself to lots of great music.

[E]

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[A]

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