NPR Music - Best new songs: Mitski, Father John Misty, Kim Gordon, more

Episode Date: January 27, 2026

This week we're obsessing over the hilarious and harrowing “Where’s My Phone?” from Mitski, a slightly softer solo cut from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, the confounding but wondrous wordplay of Father John Misty and more.NPR Music editor Hazel Cills joins host Robin Hilton.Featured songs and artists:(00:00) Mitski: “Where’s My Phone?” from ‘Nothing’s About to Happen to Me’(09:29) Robber Robber: “The Sound It Made,” from ‘Two Wheels Move the Soul’(16:01) Father John Misty: “The Old Law” (single)(24:44) Kim Gordon: “NOT TODAY,” from ‘PLAY ME’(31:39) Tinariwen: “Sagherat Assani (feat. Sulafa Elyas),” from ‘Hoggar’(37:21) Vero: “100 Calls,” from ‘Razor Tongue’Support the show with a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell a friend!Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [e-mail] pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Hazel, how are you doing up there? Did the storm hit you hard? It did hit me hard, but I guess it hit New York hard, but I didn't leave my house. I was surprised that people were even leaving their house on Sunday. I was like, I thought we had all collectively agreed to stay inside and hibernate. Did you go to the store beforehand and all the shelves were completely bare? No, I went to the store on Friday during the workday. I was going to go Saturday. And I will say it was pretty crazy, but it was stocked.

Like, I don't know if New York has the same problems as the suburbs or something. I don't know. It wasn't too bad here, actually. Well, I went earlier in the week, too, and it was totally fine. I did think, oh, maybe I should get one more thing, and I went to the store. I guess it was Saturday, early afternoon. And it looked like Whoville after the Grinch has stolen Christmas. Like it was completely bad.

There was some poor souls wandering the aisles looking for stuff. And I thought, oh, I feel so badly for anybody who waited until the last minute because it was totally wiped out. It was bad. You know the thing I don't get is everyone's obsession with toilet paper. Like that's the thing that the store runs out of first. Like, what's everyone doing? Yeah, I don't know. I guess it is the kind of product where it's like if you don't have it, it's quite stressful.

I guess. Or I don't know if you have a large family. or something. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy. Well, we're going to talk about some of the best new songs that we've been listening to. You know, the year started off kind of quiet as far as music goes. We did that preview show. We wanted to look ahead and talk about all the great new albums we knew were coming, but we really didn't know a lot at that point. But just in the last week or so, we've had this whole flurry of releases and announcements, a lot of them coming from some of our longtime favorites. There's a new one from Snailman.

we now know is coming. Courtney Barnett, Moby, Iron and Wine, Tanya Tagak, are just some of a few of the albums that we know are coming. But the one that I want to talk about is a new album we now know is coming from Mitzki. So she recently announced that

she's got a new one due out at the end of February. It's called Nothing's About to Happen to Me. And, you know, there was a minute there where it kind of looked like Mitzki wasn't going to make music anymore. She walked away from the whole industry, And then like a few years later, she had this epiphany like, what am I doing? And she started putting music out again in 2022 with the album Laurel Hell. And this new one, it's going to end up being her third album in the past four years.

So three albums and four years. Again, it's called Nothing's About to Happen to Me. And the first song that we've heard from it is called, where's my phone? Where's my phone? I don't know. This feels like a really big swing to me. Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing that I thought was, when I heard it was, oh, Mitzki is back in, like, rocker mode. Like, I feel like, you know,

I've loved Mitsy for so long, followed her career for so long. And I feel like, you know, her kind of early breakout albums like Bury Me at Makeout Creek were these, like, really intense, emotional, like, indie rock albums. You know, I think about her tiny desk where she was, like, screaming into the guitar. And then she, you know, Laurel Hell had all this, like, 80s new wave on. and her last album, you know, the land is inhospitable. And so are we, it was kind of like a country record. Right. And so I'm like, oh, she is back in this mode that I haven't heard her be in quite a while.

Yeah, I think that's right. And I think it's sort of a Mitzky specialty, though. You know, it's just like this huge sound, very funny and also harrowing at the same time. I just love how she can take the most mundane little thing and that's otherwise meaningless, like losing your phone and channel all of her anxieties and whatever else is kind of rattling around in her head through that mundane thing and then blow it up into this big anthemic stadium-sized rock. I don't know. I have kind of struggled with it because I'm like, you know, we know now that the album is kind of this like concept record about like a woman who is like very reclusive and kind

of stuck in her house and is like maybe sort of unraveling. And I think within the context of that idea, I understand this song. But, like, as a first single, I was like, this is a song about not knowing where your phone is. And, like, wanting to find her. It's not really about losing her phone. I know, I know. Her fumbling around looking for her phone is just the thing that's happening as all these ideas are swirling around in her head, right? I know.

You know, she does this thing that's kind of interesting on this song. She self-censors, that little bleep that you hear in the song. Oh, yes. That's intentional. And she says at one point that someone on the street called her a ditch. So she's clearly playing with that as well. So I kept trying to think like, well, why is she self-censoring? And the only thing I can think of is that maybe it alludes to or conveys that idea of what's happening in her mind, that she has all of these thoughts.

And then she'll have an idea, but then she cuts herself off and she's on to the next thing. It's almost like she's in a state of near panic or having some sort of internal existential crisis. And it's all in there as she's trying to just find her phone. I think I just have to hear it within the context of the album. I will say that I have thought about this song a lot since first hearing it. Like when I need to find my phone. Like what's usually happening when you're trying to find your phone? It's usually like, oh, I've got all this stuff.

if I got to do all these things I've got to tend to. Yeah. It's not like needing the phone. It's like there is a, I need to connect with someone. Right. Or I need to get information about something. And this little box is the thing that facilitates that. And if I can't find it, then I feel disconnected and I feel cut off from the rest of the world.

Well, the album, Nothing's About to Happen to Me, which also great title, nothing's about to happen to me. It is out on February 27th. I wanted to play a song from a band that I was not super familiar with, but they're very on my radar now. It's this band from Vermont called Robber Robber. Okay. I just assumed that this was like some band that everybody knows about but me. You know what? I'm not in the know.

Yeah. Like, you know, I put on airs like I know all music, but I don't. Well, it's very convincing because every time you're on, I think, I got to elevate my game. I'm like, I found this band. They're from a private island. They're like on a random island out in the middle of the ocean. Yeah, no.

But yeah, this band Robber, Robber, like the minute that I heard this song, I was like, oh, this feels like a band that is super up my alley. Why am I not already a super fan? And so I want to play a song that they recently put out titled The Sound It Made. Ask vicious task Charlie problem Vicious man Revolution

Crickestance says a lot That we're with him Well this is awesome I mean it is You said I think it was in your wheelhouse How are you not already a fan I thought exactly the same thing Yeah I feel very

attracted to music in the last few years That I think shares very similar characteristics Like this robber robber song It reminds me of You know the Kim Gordon album That came out a few years ago The Collective or the band Cassie Crutt, who I've probably played on the show before, you know, water from your eyes,

this very kind of like discordant, intense instrumentals, almost like industrialist, like rock music. And then a vocalist who is very kind of coolly and calmly, not even singing, like sing-talking over it or in it or under that music. And I just feel like it's very much the sound of our times. Or like maybe it's the sound of my times, how I'm experiencing this time right now. And, you know, this song is so like when you really get into the nitty gritty of the lyrics, it's very weird and kind of hard to pin down. You know, there's lyrics about like feeling young and then feeling old and, you know, sentiments about like not wanting to get stuck in a certain situation or place. And yeah, I heard the song and I was like, oh, this band is really ticking a lot of boxes for me. I think part of the appeal, at least for me, it's all of that.

And also there's like a lot of interesting contrast in it. Like you talked about, you know, the singer's voice against all these frenetic beats and the chaos and everything. And she seems kind of like monotone. I actually hadn't clocked this as speak singing, but I hear it now that you mention it. But if you listen to the words, she's singing about at least at one point about just wanting to be with someone. Like it's been a while and she just wants some time together, just the two of them. And if you read that without the music, you think, well, that's really sweet or that's really lovely or white and cozy and everything. But the music suggests the exact opposite.

Like another time she says, I hate the rain, hate the weather, but love the way it sounds. I'm allergic to the sun. And, you know, you noted how this sort of is the sound of our times. I think thematically it kind of speaks to the times and I think a theme that is recurring across a lot of the stuff we're playing today. And that is the feeling of being overwhelmed. Yeah. And I also, I don't know, there's something about this song, the energy of this song, it feels like an adrenaline jolt. Like I feel like I'm speeding down a highway in a really fast car.

And that is an energy that I want from music right now. And yeah, I just, I, this band is definitely, definitely on my radar for this year. Their album is titled, Two Wheels Move the Soul, and it's out April 3rd. Well, when we think of the albums that we know that are coming out and all the rumors about albums that we've been hearing about, one of the blips on my radar is labeled Father John Misty. Don't know if he has a new album coming, but we've been getting a handful of new songs. from him, Josh Tillman, who is Father John Misty. The latest one is called The Old Law. This is a song that he started playing live a couple of years ago. And at the time, he was calling it God's

trash. God's trash. But it's gotten a proper release now. It's been reworked a little bit. And again, it's called The Old Law. He always comes off as kind of a mad genius to me. But I'm very curious to hear what you think because I'm well aware that Father John Misty turns a lot of people off. I think a lot of the things that I love about him are things that other people hate or I may be kind of receiving all of his sort of antics a little differently than other people. Well, yeah, I was thinking about that. I mean, to be honest, I don't know if I've spent like a ton of time with Father John Misty's music, but I don't find him to be the annoying polarizing character that I feel like a lot of people find me,

but I think it's because, like, you say mad genius, I feel like Father John Misty is an artist who is very aware of performing genius or ideas of genius and, like, is sort of, I don't know, I feel like there's so many moments in his music where he's kind of fashioned himself as, like, a mystic or someone who's, like, calling out aspects of culture. And, I mean, in this song alone, he, like, mentions fast fashion. Right.

And, like, or something like that. But I liked this song. I don't know. I feel like it's very, it's very funny. Like, what is that line early on where he's like, I karate chop across the stage? Is that weird? I mean, I honestly have no idea what he's on about. But that's part of the charm, right?

I mean, it's like, it makes me want to just ponder it all. It doesn't put me off. Yeah. You know, like, I don't know that he takes a terribly positive view of humanity in this song. feels like it's sort of about the folly of being human and kind of how pointless all of it seems. It's like just a bunch of nonsense. I do think, again, there's that sense of being overwhelmed and exhausted. If you go to Apple Music and you look at the little video of him that's looping on his landing page, have you seen that?

No, I haven't. It, to me, sort of sums up perfectly everything about him. It's Josh Tillman wearing these sunglasses like a rock star. And otherwise kind of slumpy, you know, wearing just like a, you know, ruffled shirt. And he's dancing around comically with these really exaggerated moves all over the city, like in different little moments. It's funny. Yeah. But incredibly ironic.

Yeah. Like in an almost subversive way. And I think that that's the thing about him. Like where people see that side of him and they don't see someone who's being funny. or whimsical. They see someone who's just really cynical or even a little cold. Yeah, which, I mean, are aspects and artists I often admire. Right. But yeah, but even like that, it's like I don't think if it was an artist who takes himself too seriously,

but I think people take him very seriously. Maybe I'm a Father John Misty fan now. I don't know. I was kind of indifferent. Maybe I need to listen. Well, we don't know if there's a new album coming out, but I guess I'll have my ears open. Yeah, no word on a full album. It sure feels like he's gearing up for one. Yeah. But we've got this song, a couple others out now, again, this one, the old law.

And if it sounds familiar to some fans, it's because it's an earlier song that he was calling God's Trash before he gave it this official release. Well, I mentioned Kim Gordon earlier on the show when I was talking about Robber Robber. And she's actually back, which is great for me. I'm a huge fan. Really wrapped her album, The Collective, which is quite polarizing when it came out a few years ago. But she's back. And with a song that I feel like is a little different than what she's been making for the past years, the song is called Not Today. Yeah, I just feel like this is such a lighter, looser sound for her, at least in the past few years because, you know,

The Collective, which was, you know, her album that came out in 2024, was this really kind of like heavy, like, trap. She was like, almost like rapping over trap beats. It was like very, almost kind of scary. It was kind of a scary chilling album at times. And this song, not today is, it's so much softer. And it's like, it's almost like a crout rock song. It's like the sound of the guitars. And, you know, she's kind of singing a bit. And, you know, she's kind of singing a bit. And. more and you know I still feel that she is working in a very you know similarly like dark poetic space lyrically but when I heard the song I was like oh I heard like a loosening of what she was doing on the collective yeah a lot less abrasive for sure but I felt like it has a lot of that same kind of deadpan humor and some you know like if you think think of the song by bye by from the last album where it's like this laundry list or a to do list or whatever it was right that she turned into high art like on this one there's so many great lines but my favorite is when she says where's my gum postmate yeah the delivery service postmate

like just the well first of all just the idea that she ordered gum to be delivered yeah to her house uh like and that this is like that this is the hill i'm going to die on today It is the sound of someone who's just not having it. Yeah, just not having it. And, you know, there is this kind of a lot of contradiction in this song to me. And also she released this, like, beautiful music video for the song where she's kind of like spinning around an empty house and this like gorgeous designer Rodarte dress. And, you know, there's so much of the song where she's talking about like, you know, never mind the mess. It's just my dress.

She's singing about having a hole in her heart. and it's this very, I mean, honestly, it feels like you could pair it with the Mitzki song that we played. There's some sort of like beautiful chaos that's happening here. And I hear a little bit of like an unraveling. But, you know, the Where's My Gumline? It's just such a classic example of like Kim's very kind of like sneaky social critique. I feel like there was a lot of many moments on the collective where she was, you know, critiquing consumerism and and vise. and, you know, conservative American values. And I feel like that, to me, is a way of her slipping in that sensibility into this song. So that album, what is it called? It's titled Play Me. And it's out March 13th. Well, I want to change it up with something totally different from everything else that we've been playing so far on the show.

This is from the band to Narwin. This is a West African band. one of the most prominent voices in Desert Blues music, and they've been doing it a long time, more than 40 years, anyone who's listened to this show for any amount of time has heard us play their music and talk about them a lot. The album that they recently announced that they've got coming is called Hagar. And the song that I want to play from it is called Sagarat Asani, and it features the gorgeous voice of singer Sulafa Elias.

salad dade d'i'i'na t'armu'u'u'a sa'ad d'i'i'i'i'n'a I want her kajelima that's herrhaefat her chilella and her ch'erogra

and shewbuehah you know what you'd or by herrwara The kittssofa Med tally Tillyen Tyeyeyeyeye

Tsofa Milden Tyea In the Wurja Wherein Kvitt Bataa

Saka Myrida Myrida Shear Thecheera and the Achelew The Wail

Aine And I love to the eyeing and the arduca I love everything this band does their music is always so transcendent, So meditative, so transformative, I think. It always leaves me feeling better. I loved this song. Like the minute I put it on and I started to hear those guitars in conversation with each other, I was just like, oh, this is insanely gorgeous.

Yeah. And the singer sounds really good on it, too, Sulafa Elias, who I did not know. And they don't always have a lot of women singing on their songs. It was actually a pretty special thing that they were able to bring her onto this recording. they said in a statement about the song that it's just because of where they live and a lot of the oppression that women live under in that region, it's very hard to find women singers to sing on songs. And either they're not allowed to sing or they're not allowed to go to school for music. And so it was really special that they got her on it. And it just sounds incredible. When she first comes in, it was like, oh, what is this? This is amazing. There's like a lightness to it.

You know, you said, you know, their music is kind of transcendent. you know, makes you feel better after you listen to it. I certainly feel that way listening to it. Because it's just, you can just tell that there's so much love and care put into every moment of this song is what I hear. Well, it's also a very gorgeous song, always happy to get new music from Tanarwin. So the album, Hogar, H-O-G-G-A-R is out on March 13th. The Hazel, I know you've got one more song that you want to play and take us out on. here. Yeah, I want to play a song from a Swedish band that I feel like hasn't gotten a lot of shine, hasn't gotten a lot of love, but I've been a fan of theirs for a minute now. It's a

band called Vero. Was this a discovery for you because this is totally over me? This was a discovery. They put out an album in 2022. It was their debut album called Unshoothing Interior. And I remembered hearing it being like, okay, I'm into this. And they have a new album coming out and have been releasing some songs from it. And one of those songs is titled A Hundred Calls. Well, we'll let this music play us out. And since we're not coming back, I'll just say, I'm curious what you think about this. When I was listening to it, I kept getting the pretenders.

But like a very mumbly Chrissy Hine, like there's something in it that I think has this sort of late 70s, early 80s. sound the guitars kind of chug along but kind of jingly i don't know no i think it's so funny that you say that because i do love the pretenders and i didn't clock clock that and now i'm like oh well that makes sense because i like them too but yeah i just think there is such a intense emotion in this song but it grows it's a very it's a slow burner of a song which is something that i always appreciate in music um and just like a sense of i don't know relief by the end of it. There's like this lyric in the song that I really love when the singer Julia Bowman sings, you know, my friends are happy that I came. I want to tell them that I made it.

And the way that she sings that line, it's like, it's such a simple thing. Like, I made it. Like, I came. And whether it's like a gathering or I'm in my mind, I imagined her like arriving at a party or something. And the way that she sings it, it's like, it's the greatest thing that's ever happened. Or just made it in life. Like I made it. Yes. Yeah, true. Yeah, there's so many ways to read that line. And yeah, this is a special, a special song. All right. Well, thanks so much, Hazel.

Always a great hang. Appreciate you bringing all these tunes and just having some time to decompress here a little bit. I love to play a little music. Love to play a little music. Love to chat about a little music. One of the great joys in life. Take care. Be well.

Thank you. And you'll be well, too. For NPR music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered.