Luke Combs's new album, Fathers & Sons, is his first since his cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" became a pop smash in 2023. Zach Massey/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Ann Powers Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent.
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Friday
Tuesday
On Santa Cruz, the third in Pedro the Lion's planned five-part album series, David Bazan continues to understand himself and the world that made him. Ryan Russell/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Friday
Arooj Aftab's new album, Night Reign, is one of our favorite albums out May 31. Shreya Dev Dube/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Sunday
NPR's forecast for the 2024 song of the summer? Lots of country, with a little bit of espresso
Wednesday
Artists like Superchunk, Neurosis, Pixies, Low, Mogwai and Joanna Newsom came to recording engineer Steve Albini when they had something righteous or defiant to proclaim. Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty hide caption
Monday
The Tortured Poets Department is the latest album from Taylor Swift. Beth Garrabrant/Republic Records hide caption
Friday
Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department, immediately became one of the most anticipated releases of 2024 when she announced it on stage at the Grammy Awards in February. Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
New Music Friday: Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' and the best albums out April 19
On Taylor Swift's 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, her artistry is tangled up in the details of her private life and her deployment of celebrity. But Swift's lack of concern about whether these songs speak to and for anyone but herself is audible throughout the album. Beth Garrabrant/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Wednesday
Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter has ignited discourse about the place of Black musicians in country music. But it's also evidence of its creator's desire to break genre walls by following her most eccentric impulses. Mason Poole/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Friday
Friday
Kacey Musgraves' album Deeper Well is one of a number of anticipated releases out March 15, 2024. Kelly Christine Sutton/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Friday
Kim Gordon's new album, The Collective, is out March 8. Danielle Neu/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Tuesday
Benson Boone's song "Beautiful Things" has crossed over from TikTok phenomenon to full-on global chart hit. Dennis Leupold hide caption
Friday
Faye Webster's latest album, Underdressed at the Symphony, is out March 1, 2024. Michael Tyrone Delaney/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Friday
With The Past Is Still Alive, Hurray for the Riff Raff's Alynda Segarra has created a epic tale of life on the road, a nearly mythic version of their own life story that stands alongside other great American musical travelogues. Denny/Courtesy of the artist hide caption