Music & Culture

NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Ann Powers survey the new albums out August 9, ranging from Ravyn Lenae's focused R&B to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's scuzzed-up glam-rock and an elegant solo piano album recorded by Japanese pop star and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto just months before his death in 2023.

Plus: A new album made by 39-year-old American bassist esperanza spalding and 81-year-old Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento leads to a discussion of collaborations across generations.

Featured Albums:
• Ravyn Lenae, Bird's Eye
• Beabadoobee, This Is How Tomorrow Moves
• King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Flight b741
• Latto, Sugar Honey Iced Tea
• Ryuichi Sakamoto, Opus
• Oso Oso, Life Till Bones
• Thee Marloes, Perak
• Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding, Milton + esperanza

Links:
• Sidney Madden's interview with Latto from season 2 of Louder Than A Riot
• Ann Powers reviews Zach Bryan's Springsteen-mythologizing album The Great American Bar Scene
• Watch a Tiny Desk (Home) concert by Milton Nascimento and esperanza spalding recorded in Nascimento's living room in Rio de Janeiro

Now that we're in the dog days of summer, host Brittany Luse wants to know - do we have a song of the summer this year? According to NPR Music reporter Sidney Madden and NPR Music host, writer and editor Stephen Thompson, there isn't one song - but many songs.

"We are more disparate than ever, that's why it's hard to chart a single song right now," said Sidney. "It's more like choose your own adventure."

So - we're choosing our own adventure today and discussing the many contenders for song of the summer - and hearing why each song tells us something a little different about our cultural moment.


Want to be featured on IBAM? Record a voice memo responding to Brittany's question at the end of the episode and send it to ibam@npr.org.

As the sport makes its Olympic debut in Paris, a small crew of dancers from Ukraine look forward to representing their war-torn country and its rich culture on the world stage.

On Motewolonuwok, the Canadian Indigenous musician sings in both his native Wolastoqey and English for the first time.

Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre run through their favorite new music, including new work from Venezuelan artist Danny Ocean in the midst of the country's political crisis, Girl Ultra leaning into her techno side, funky, electro-cumbia from Superfónicos and more.

Songs featured in this episode:

•Superfónicos, "Renaceré"
•Girl Ultra, "lalala"
•Fuerza Regida, "TUQLO"
•Danny Ocean, "por la pequeña Venecia"
•Lisa Morales, "Hermanitas in the Rain"
•Jazz Orishas, "Deniye"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Taylor Haney, with editorial support from Hazel Cills. Our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.