Music

A still from Mellow Diamond's "Ashes To Breathe" video.

Music & Culture

Cellist Janel Leppin Desperately Seeks Healing In Mellow Diamond's 'Ashes To Breathe'

11:00am May 16, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

As Mellow Diamond, Leppin builds elegantly somber songs from a pedal board of effects and loops. American God was written and recorded during a fraught election and its fallout.

Soccer Mommy's Collection comes out August 4.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Soccer Mommy, 'Out Worn'

9:55am May 16, 2017

by Marissa Lorusso

Sophie Allison graduates from lo-fi pop to something far more self-assured, but Soccer Mommy's stuck-in-your-head melodies remain.

Daniel Menche with his ferocious pup, Arrow.

Music & Culture

Daniel Menche's Droning 'Sleeper' Is Meant To Soundtrack Those Dark Dreams

1:28pm May 15, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

The antagonistic Portland noise musician turns to the deepest recesses of dreams for a darkly shimmering set of ambient music.

Russian President Vladimir Putin tried hammering out a couple of tunes Sunday in Beijing.

Putin Plays The Piano, With Perhaps Unintentional Undertones

12:19pm May 15, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Was Sunday's episode in Beijing a challenge to France's Emmanuel Macron? A jab at China's piano-tuning skills? Or just Putin passing the time with a little Soviet-era nostalgia?

The late musician and spiritual leader Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, in an undated photograph taken at her ashram in Agoura, Calif.

Music & Culture

All Songs +1: Alice Coltrane's Astonishing 'Ecstatic Music'

12:08pm May 15, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Ravi Coltrane — son of John and Alice Coltrane — talks about the music his mother made after she withdrew from her professional career and founded an ashram.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Katy Perry Announces New Album, 'Witness'

11:04am May 15, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

Perry's new album will feature "Chained To The Rhythm" and the Migos collaboration "Bon Appétit."

Noga Erez's new album, Off The Radar, comes out June 2.

Music & Culture

Noga Erez Imagines A Dystopia Where The Hand-People Judge Us All

10:32am May 15, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

The Israeli singer-songwriter makes politically charged dance music — banging, throbbing stuff full of messages about power and independence.

The Terminals' new album, Antiseptic, comes out May 19.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: The Terminals, 'Glass Walls'

10:00am May 15, 2017

by Doug Mosurock

Culled from New Zealand's weirdest, the band is integral to '90s Kiwi-pop. Hear a swirling, reverb-heavy song from its first record in 10 years.

Tim Darcy performs at Tiny Desk Concert on April 21, 2017 (Marian Carrasquero/NPR)

Music & Culture

Tim Darcy: Tiny Desk Concert

9:25am May 15, 2017

by Bob Boilen

Tim Darcy of Montreal band Ought brings his mysterious solo work, from the album Saturday Night, to the Tiny Desk. The record he says, was his chance to "get back to my roots, in my own voice."

The Mountain Goats' new album, Goths, is out May 19

Music & Culture

First Listen: The Mountain Goats, 'Goths'

9:06am May 15, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

For John Darnielle, goth isn't a sound or a style so much as a state of mind: a source of comfort and connection for more than just the young and lost.