All Songs Considered – "The Contenders, Vol. 21: Tame Impala, Dominic Fike, Amber Mark, more"

Host: Robin Hilton
Guest: Sheldon Pierce
Date: September 30, 2025

Overview

In this "Contenders" edition of NPR’s All Songs Considered, Robin Hilton and guest Sheldon Pierce share and discuss some of their top song picks from 2025—tracks they feel could make their year-end “best of” list. Their conversation celebrates both seasoned musicians evolving their sound and fresh discoveries breaking through, cutting across genres like electronic, R&B, indie rock, and pop. The episode explores not just the music but the meaning, context, and personal resonance behind these standout songs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tame Impala – “Dracula” (New Single from Deadbeat)

[00:51–07:27]

• Excitement for Tame Impala’s new direction:
  Robin opens the episode by sharing the new Tame Impala track “Dracula,” praising its energetic, club-oriented sound that distinctively stands apart from previous work.

  • Robin: “I’m not entirely sure what to even make of it because... it’s completely absurd to me.” (04:33)
  • Sheldon emphasizes the shock of the band's pivot to acid house and rave influence, noting Kevin Parker’s embrace of Australian rave culture and describing “Dracula” as “really euphoric, really fun… so much swelling energy.” (04:44, 05:27)

• Discussion of the band's musical evolution:

  • Sheldon: “I am so excited to hear an artist who has shifted the zeitgeist before, who move so deliberately away from that sound to say, I’m going to do something different.” (05:46)

• Tease of upcoming Tiny Desk performance:
  Robin reveals that Tame Impala recently performed a Tiny Desk set with radically different reinterpretations, calling it “hands down one of the best tiny desks we’ve ever had, period.” (07:00)

  • Robin: “All the songs. Totally different… I don’t want to say anything else any more than that.” (06:47)

• Release date revealed:

  • Sheldon: “That album… October 17th.” (07:27)

2. Discovery of Gabriel Jacoby – “The One”

[07:46–13:06]

• The thrill of finding a rising artist:
  Sheldon introduces soulful R&B artist Gabriel Jacoby, admitting he wasn’t on his radar until hearing “The One”:

  • Sheldon: “I listened to this song on a whim and was just completely blown away.” (08:19)

• Music’s infectious groove:
  Robin loves the song’s length, playfully lamenting: “The only thing wrong with that is it’s not twice as long. So good.” (10:56)
  Sheldon encourages instant replay: “You have to hit replay right when it ends.” (11:02)

• Gabriel Jacoby’s background:

  • Sheldon summarizes Jacoby’s journey from South Carolina to Tampa, working as an audio engineer by day and artist by night, stressing how Jacoby has “come into his own this year.”
  • Comparison to legends: “There are hints of Sly Stone and D’Angelo, but with Macy Gray… a little bit of rasp… so like distinctly like country fried…” (11:25–11:42)

• Describing the song’s effect:

  • Robin: “You could be sitting on the couch not feeling anything. And then second that comes on, you’re moving.” (12:29)
  • Sheldon: “You gotta move.” (12:38)

3. Modern Fragmentation and Dominic Fike – “Quite the Opposite” (Rocket Mixtape)

[15:03–22:57]

• Reflection on media fragmentation:
  Robin laments the loss of monoculture and attention spans, then pivots: “Then, you know, I hear the music of Dominic Fike and I think, well, maybe great things can come out of this…” (15:04–15:38)

• Dominic Fike’s style and the fragmented era:

  • Robin observes that songs on Fike’s new Rocket mixtape are “little vignettes… broken... like little pieces of ideas and fragments.” (18:27)
  • Sheldon expands: “It is pulling from very different worlds at many different times. And all of his songs can swing pretty dramatically in sound, in tone, in mood.” (18:51)
  • Robin: “I feel like I get entire worlds and movies in these, like, two minutes.” (19:39)

• On intentionality and the mixtape format:
  Sheldon distinguishes mixtapes as “sketches of ideas,” sharing that these tracks are “not like my fully fleshed out things, even by his standards.” (20:53–21:51)

• Lyrical and generational resonance:

  • Robin: “I think it’s kind of brilliant… a perfectly rendered picture of what youth in that time is like—going out to parties, all of the anxiety and posturing...” (19:39–20:53)

• Robin’s invitation to Dominic Fike:

  • Robin mentions Fike never did a Tiny Desk and warmly invites him: “Dominic, I still want to bring you in for one, so you are welcome here anytime.” (22:12–22:57)

4. Irish Indie from NewDad – “Misery”

[23:18–30:08]

• NewDad’s atmospheric sound:

  • Sheldon presents “Misery” from NewDad’s album Alter, characterizing the Galway band’s style as blending “lo fi-ness, shoegazing, grunge”—with music that’s “so uneasy… until it explodes on you.” (27:32–27:53)

• Favorite lyric and emotional resonance:

  • Sheldon: “I just really resonated with the idea of ‘feel like I’ve been spit out in a static state of grief.’ I mean, it’s such a great lyric.” (28:21)
  • Robin: “To me, this song is all about the music for me. The production, the guitars, the noise. I love the grit. I’m all in on that. I found the lyrics to be a little… almost like a parody of grunge…” (28:31)

• Intentional dramatism in lyrics:

  • Sheldon defends the lyrics as “intentionally hammy… an intentional dramatism… she is playing up what the experience of being in London for the bit… She’s having fun with this idea of misery.” (29:08–29:30)

5. Maddie Diaz – “Heavy Metal” (Fatal Optimist Album)

[30:49–36:59]

• Playful wordplay and emotional strength:

  • Robin adores the metaphor: “Such a great play on words…It’s a good thing my heart is so heavy metal. I mean, it could mean I’m tough, right?… Or it could mean I am so cold and broken…” (35:16)
  • Sheldon unpacks its emotional complexity: “The real sort of brilliance of this song is in this idea of hardness… it can be toughness. But… it can be like steeling yourself because you are so vulnerable…” (35:37)

• Family themes and vocal delivery:

  • Robin: “I just love the way that she digs into ideas and feelings around family and love and all the baggage that we carry…” (36:22)

• Album info:

  • Robin: “The album’s called Fatal Optimist… It’s out October 10th.” (36:59)

6. Amber Mark – “Too Much”

[37:16–End]

• R&B tradition and forward momentum:

  • Sheldon introduces Amber Mark’s new single, noting her “omnidir-ectional sound…” and deep love for R&B history, calling “Too Much” “an effective microcosm of what Amber Mark is, what her work does… a deep love for R&B history, and yet… so decidedly pointed forward.” (37:16–38:15)

• Warm, inviting musical universe:

  • Robin: “She creates this world that I want to live in when I listen to it. There’s so much light and good vibes, even… when she’s talking about cutting somebody off because they’re driving her crazy.” (38:15–38:32)

• Song interpolates Usher & Alicia Keys’ “My Boo.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Robin Hilton on Tame Impala:
  “This song Dracula has been living in my head for quite a while, since before it even came out because they played it at the desk… hands down one of the best tiny desks we’ve ever had, period.” (07:00)

• Sheldon Pierce on Gabriel Jacoby:
  “Honestly, it feels like discovering an artist at the precise moment when he discovers himself instantly addictive.” (12:20)

• Robin Hilton on Dominic Fike’s “Quite the Opposite”:
  “I think it’s kind of brilliant… a perfectly rendered picture of what youth in that time is like—going out to parties, all of the anxiety and posturing and, you know, you’re trying to like, I’ll be cool. I’m not gonna make this about me. But you are 100% making it about you…” (19:39–20:53)

• Sheldon Pierce on NewDad:
  “It feels so uneasy. I think that’s the great part about the way that it builds. It’s unsettling until it explodes on you.” (27:32)

• Robin Hilton on Maddie Diaz:
  “I think we did mention that she has a new album coming. When we… did the fall preview, I think we mentioned that she has one coming up. We didn’t play anything from it, but the album’s called Fatal Optimist.” (31:03)
  “Such a great play on words in this song… could mean I’m tough, right?… Or it could mean I am so cold and broken.” (35:16)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Song | Key Discussion | |-----------|--------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:51 | Tame Impala – “Dracula” | New single, rave influences, band’s creative shift | | 07:46 | Gabriel Jacoby – “The One” | Discovering a new R&B artist, song’s infectiousness | | 15:03 | Dominic Fike – “Quite the Opposite” | Modern fragmentation, mixtape format, generational mood| | 23:18 | NewDad – “Misery” | Shoegaze/grunge, playful darkness, generational malaise| | 30:49 | Maddie Diaz – “Heavy Metal” | Wordplay, resilience, love & family | | 37:16 | Amber Mark – “Too Much” | R&B tradition, interpolation, positivity |

Tone and Flow

The episode pulses with enthusiasm, curiosity, and warmth, as both hosts embrace new musical directions, cherish unexpected discoveries, and revel in emotional resonance. They’re unafraid to challenge each other’s takes—sometimes dissecting lyrics, sometimes just getting lost in the groove. The tone remains approachable, reflective, and at times wryly self-aware.

Final Note

This “Contenders” episode showcases why All Songs Considered remains an essential space for music lovers: It celebrates both the joy of the familiar and the thrill of the new, recognizing the power of music to soundtrack our internal and external worlds—rainy days and all.