NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out Aug. 7

Episode Date: August 7, 2026

Ravyn Lenae. Margaret Glaspy. Overmono. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Liz Warner from WDET in Detroit about their favorite albums out Friday, August 7. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.The Starting 5(00:54) Album No. 1- Ravyn Lenae, 'Blue Island'(08:03) Album No. 2- Overmono, 'Pure Devotion'(15:26) Album No. 3- Margaret Glaspy, 'I Am Both'(21:42) Album No. 4- Man/Woman/Chainsaw, 'Cannonball'(27:36) Album No. 5- Arun Sood & Angeline Morrison, 'Donn/Dubh'(32:43) The Lightning Round- The Mountain Goats, 'Days'- Ceremony, 'Tell Me You're Dream'- Cletus Strap, 'rappers suck.'- Various Artists, 'Sittin' With Blaze: A Tribute To Blaze Foley'- Roy Montgomery & Martha Skye Murphy, 'Nebular'Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.orgCreditsHost: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Liz Warner, WDETAudio Producer: Noah CaldwellDigital Producer: Dora LeviteEditors: Otis Hart, Elle MannionSpecial thanks to Lars Gotrich, Sheldon Pearce and Ann PowersSupport public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See 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

Happy Friday, everyone from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Liz Warner from WDET in Detroit. Welcome back to the show, Liz. Thank you, Stephen. I'm so glad to be back with you. It's so wonderful to see you. There's been some great music that's been coming out. You know, it's kind of summertime. A lot of people are checking out. But I think that the music is still happening. And we're finding out, especially with this episode, that there's a lot to talk about. So I'm really excited. Yeah, we are firmly in, you know, what's technically considered the dog days of summer, and sometimes that means the release schedules kind of slow down, whether you're talking about movies or TV shows or music. But music-wise, it's still a pretty busy week. We've got a lot to get to. So let's kick things off with Raven Linnae.

Raven Linnae's new record is called Blue Island. Never let me go around me. Keep it going, don't it sound so sweet. Never let me go. Never let me go. So Raven Lanay is a singer from Chicago. She's had a fascinating career. She's been, you know, signed to labels for the last decade or so,

but really broke out last year with a song from 2024 called Love Me Not, which was just this really vibrant, catchy throwback to a lot of like 90s and aughts R&B. It achieved this kind of TikTok virality that really caused her to blow up. but she hasn't really had chart hits before or since. And, you know, her music typically traffics in, you know, like I said, R&B, a lot of kind of throwback pop sounds. But this record is pivoting a little harder into pop than I would have expected from the sound of Love Me Not. You know, it's really interesting because this coming back with such a massive hit like that,

she had some choices, right, about how she wanted to present her. herself. And although you're right, there are these pop moments. I'm actually really impressed with some of the underground flavor that's happening as well. There's Karim Riggins, who is a drummer from Detroit and a producer, and he's enlisted for a couple of the cut, which make it really nice. Absolutely. And yeah, there's not just one sound being deployed here. The record kicks off with a song called Handel, which is straight up pop rock. sugar rush. And, you know, coming into this record, I was really surprised by it, you know, because I was expecting, okay, she's had this giant hit. You're going to try to kind of

regenerate those same vibes. And those vibes do turn up later on this record. But right out of the gate, it's rock, it's pop. There's a brightness to it that is more like R&B inflected than R&B focused. You know, it's interesting because when you look at her, her influences, and you think about someone like Janet Jackson, she also is just as equally influenced by Blondie, you know, artists like that. But she is someone who has opened up her mind to the possibilities. And that's what is really amazing. I know you and I have had discussions about some of these artists,

and it's really interesting to see their paths. And these are so early. She's so early. You know, she's starting out. It's going to be incredible to find out what's happening with her 10 years. years from now. Absolutely. And it's interesting, yeah, you kind of refer to these influences, and I'm glad you mentioned Janet Jackson, because I really picked up Janet Jackson several times kind of in the back half of this record. The song Wish You Well. Feels like a lost Janet Jackson

hit. It's got, it kind of wafts in like this, like a breeze, you know, of kind of synth pop adjacent R&B. And, you know, I think, you know, for people who grew up on Janet Jackson's music and wish Janet Jackson were more present in the pop marketplace today, it's a, it's a refreshing little throwback to throw in kind of late on this very, you know, fully fleshed out, fully kind of over, almost overstuffed record. I want to go back to Kareem Riggins right now because it's that production I that he adds on to a song like So Me Back Together. If you're not familiar with him, he has these Motown vibes to him.

And he brings that in a heavy degree. So the soulfulness really comes through, especially on that cut. It really takes that almost old school. You can almost hear the Motown coming through, which is really sweet. And we should note, you know, Raven Lanay has a real warm place in our hearts over at the tiny desk, because she was one of the very first artists to come back and perform a tiny desk concert in that space after the pandemic lockdowns, where we hadn't really had many opportunities to actually go back to our offices and record those with a crowd. And Raven Linnae was one of the very first.

And, you know, that was back in 2022 after Linnae had just put out her kind of full-length debut. And so I will tell you, you know, across the NPR music team, there is this real warm spot, you know, for her as somebody who kind of christen the return of the tiny desk. She's part of the family. That is Raven Linnae. Her new record is called Blue Island. Next up, Overmano. Overmano's new album is called Pure Devotion. Over mono, they're a couple of brothers from. whales. They have a penchant for experimenting with equipment and basically make fun sounds with it. So they have a lot of fun. There's a lot of fun running throughout all of their songs. If you listen,

a lot of lightheartedness. If you like Chemical Brothers, if you like underworld, orbital, weevil, those kinds of bands, then this is something that you might gravitate toward. It's party music. It's either going to the party, coming home from the party, being at the party. Somehow or another, the party is with Obramano. Absolutely. And, you know, they are a duo that is very, very accustomed to collaboration. You know, not only have they done remixes for, you know, everyone from Ed Sheeran to Tom York to Fortet, but there is a lot of collaboration on this record.

This album deploys voices in really curious and unpredictable and surprising ways, where the record, you know, kind of sonically is held together by these, you know, thumping persistent beats. But the way voices are woven in brings in so much variety. You know, the first song, Lockup, is using voices almost like sirens, you know, as the beat and the arrangement around them kind of throbs and becomes more intense. The voice isn't, you know, isn't foregrounded, but it's an extremely compelling part of that mix. And then you go into it with the song Night in Shining Prada, which slows everything down to bring in this kind of spoken word piece

while the song kind of builds and builds and builds, you know, to something more and more intense. I'm not sure if I'm getting closer to you or further away. I shut my eyes and try to picture your face. Those two songs sit back to back to kick off this record, but have very, very, very different sounds. And so I really appreciate the way no two songs sound alike on a record that could have easily gotten samie. That song that you mentioned, Night and Shining Prada, features a poet, John Joseph Holt. Apparently what he did is he wrote this cut when he was walking his dog.

What he's doing is he's talking to a brother of his. that he lost. It's actually a little bit of a binding moment between this poet and over Mano because he is attracted to the energy that his brothers have because he can't have that anymore with his own brother. And it's kind of sad when you know that. But it also gives a little more drama, a little more meaning, a little more movement to that song. So whether he's talking to his brother or his dog or whatever the case is, it seems to have a very powerful. Powerfully fact. Yeah, and I wanted to throw in for the song Even Angels Ghost, which is, feels probably the

closest here to something that, like, fully feels like a pop song. It's still electronic dance music, but it's bringing in this kind of soft, feathery voice. The guest is Kandora. And so you have, like, this group that can be really out there, that can really make these songs that are just, like, pure, hard-driving dance music. But they also have a really. gift and a real affinity for working in kind of pop music settings. And I think that track stands out as a really accessible entry point into this record.

That is Overmono. Their new record is called Pure Devotion. We got more albums we're going to talk about, but first, let's take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Liz Warner of WDET in Detroit. Liz, what's going on with the station? Oh my gosh, Stephen. You picked the right week to ask that. We are doubling down on our music commitment to the community. I mean, Detroit is such a huge music town. And we are adding two new shows here at WDET, which makes me so excited. One of the shows is called Segways with Ralph Valdez. Ralph has been a longtime mentor of mine since my very early days of broadcasting. He has been off air for a long time working behind the scenes. But now he's back with his show, and I'm so happy. It's a new show for him. And he's such a master at taking so many genres and bringing them together in such unique ways. So that is happening on Sundays. And also happening on Saturdays, we have Fat Cat, who has worked with Jay Dilla, he's worked with Slum

Village. He's a rapper. And he's going to bring a new show, funk, soul, new music, music in the rap vibe, 80s, 90s, bringing all of that back. And also just bringing some fresh tunes as well. So I'm just, I'm so excited right now. It just keeps getting better here at WDET. Nice. And people can listen at WDET.org? That's right. WDET.org is the spot. Wonderful. Well, next up, the singer-songwriter Margaret Glasby. She is back with a new record called I Am Both. Hope can only get me. so far I also have to be willing

to catch a few scars and I also have to be willing to apologize and I also have to be willing to scrutinize and I also have to be willing to not be right but I also have to be willing

to fight, fight, fight do is something. thing I do too. So, Margaret Glassby is a veteran and it feels like hellness starts to make sense. So Margaret Glassby is a veteran singer-songwriter. She's been floating around for 10 or 15 years now.

You can go back, find her Tiny Desk concert in our archives. She's been putting out records for a long time. They've always grabbed me. I've liked her kind of since her, since her first record. But this record really feels like she's leveling up somehow. She's, she's working in these kind of acoustic settings and really drawing focus to her, not only her vocals, but her songwriting and storytelling and her kind of gift for parsing out telling details about human nature and dysfunctional relationships and, you know, the kind of the two wolves that live inside us all.

I really appreciated just how strong and evocative her voice is from the very first song, which happens to be called Michigan, the state in which you reside. That's right, which is quite a pleasant surprise. She says that she has visited Michigan and was just really taken with the beauty that surrounded her when she was here. And so she decided to focus on that, highlighting how things change over a breakup. And watching your heartbreak. Well, I could relate because you broke mine. And now I'm in Michigan.

And I'm doing just fine. Seriously, though, Stephen, this is some of the finest work I think that she has done. It's really raw. She's definitely on beat with the authenticity that is becoming more and more important with songwriting. And this, to me, finds her truly at her most authentic. authentic as well. And a song like Michigan really highlights that as well. It's the imagination. It's taking you not only to Michigan, but to some other places in your mind. Well, yeah, and using Michigan as a metaphor for starting a new life after a breakup. You know, I think she really has a gift for detail that

comes through again and again here. And she's got a lovely way of kind of changing up her vocals throughout this record. There are songs that have kind of, she's singing in a little bit of a lower register, a little bit growlier, working in kind of blues rock settings. And then in, I thought she was a song, she's using kind of spoken word in the verses

and then singing just so beautifully in the choruses, you get a sense of just how confident she has become in her voice. I was looking on. I wishing I was that strong. Some thought she was a hellion But no, she was a song I thought she was a song

I thought she was a song sung by a choir of one million strong With voices like fire That can do no wrong Or I thought she was a song One of my favorites is sharp knife It's such an interesting song lyrically and the whole way that you can consider the context of a sharp knife and the self-protection essentially is what ends up coming through as this theme. But it really highlights a certain kind of vulnerability that once again, you know, we're talking about this rawness, this authenticity, and she's exposing herself in new ways.

That's a perfect song to highlight what it is that she's going through. And he said, I carry a sharp knife on my body in case a fist fight turns to something more. Words get thrown like rice at a wedding. If I'm on the floor, then I'm reaching for my sharp. I did want to throw in a shout out before we move on to the next record. Our dear friend and colleague Anne Powers is writing about Margaret Glasby in this week's NPR Music Newsletter. Anne is a big fan of this record and we'll have lots to say about it.

Go to npr.org slash music newsletter right now to get a copy in your inbox this weekend. That is Margaret Glasby. Her new record is called I Am Both. Next up, the group Man Woman Chainsaw has a new album. It's called Cannonball. You're probably wondering who are man-woman chainsaw. That's what a lot of people are wondering right now because they're brand new. They basically are making their first record.

It's already getting a lot of attention. They have so many different references in the indie rock and art rock zones. and they pull it off so well with such confidence that it is a little bit tricky because you tend to think like, wait a minute, there's no way this is their first record. Yeah, and, you know, it's a theme we've kind of come back to again and again with the records that are out this week is this idea of containing multitudes and making a record that is never really sitting at the same point twice. And this record captures that idea, I think, beautifully.

You know, the song Only Girl, you know, kind of shows up early on. It's this big, blustery, stormy, string-swept indie rock jam. And you can just feel it kind of bursting out of a stadium. But then pretty quickly, you're also bringing in a track like goddamn lizard man, or goddamn lizard man. Which, you know, because there's an exclamation point. and a comma, where the singer Billy Ward steps in to kind of preside over a song that, like, fully reflects its title. It's this big, weird, blues rock rumbler.

And, you know, a song kind of gets bigger and louder and more vain-burstingly intense. This is really a record that, like, no two songs sound the same. The bigger jump, the real tough thing with it is, you've loved him since you were kids. and suck your blood and hang you out to dry Little things you're full for every time I like their use of violin That's something else It's sort of in this, let's call it a pop realm

Even though it's indie rock, whatever you want to call it, it's not classical. In some cases, you have the violin On something like nose dive That adds to very much in a melodic sense Steven, have you seen the video for a nosedive? I have not. It's a really fun video, and it's basically your average guy waking up,

heading out to the store, picking up some what we'll now call a magic potion, and then suddenly everyone wants to follow him back to his house, and there's a big old party, and it's almost like a mosh pit in his living room, or his bedroom, I don't know what it is, but it's so much fun, and it is magnetic, and it is. something that just kind of makes you envision of being in the mosh pit of their live shows. That is Man Woman Chainsaw. Their debut album is called Cannonball. We've got one more record we're going to talk about in some detail, as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite

albums out today, August 7th. But first, we're going to take one last quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Liz Warner of WD. in Detroit. Before we get to our lightning round, we're going to talk about one more record. It's by Aaron Sude and Angeline Morrison. It's called Don Dub. Sorean Soe Aaron Seude and Angeline Morrison. They are, so Aaron Seude and Angeline Morrison, they are are a Scottish duo, fascinating approach here, you know, because they are fusing kind of traditional sounds, a lot of Gaelic music, with very, very modern approaches, ambient, drone, electro-pop. The two approaches kind of combine in this way that feels truly ancient and timeless.

The title of the record, Don, D-O-N-N-S-D-D-U-B-H, is referring to ancient texts in which westerly winds were considered brown or dawn and northern winds were considered black or dub. And Sood and Morrison are themselves brown and black. And they're tracing the way that their personal roots intersect with Scottish music. And at times, it can be very ambient. At times, it can be very haunting. And almost always, it can be so beautiful. I agree, Stephen. It goes so many places in some spots, it sounds like a folk hymn. And there are other spots where it gets to be almost like a movie in the way that the music comes across. Like I thought of Kwanisgatsi more than, more than once, with the music by Philip Glass in that case. And it is transporting. It's something that has that

introspection involved. It's just embedded throughout the entire release. Absolutely. And again, coming back to multitudes, you know. Take the track Tommy Skith. This track gets at so much of the charm of this record and how much fits into a single track on this record. It's like you mentioned movie scores. It's got elements of movie scores. It's like part children's recording,

part science fiction, part field recording. But then you also have these tracks like Salter Naran, which is this flowily ambient piece with a spoken word vocal that's like murmured more than it's spoken or sung. Like the vocals on a lot of these tracks feel like they're kind of transmissions from distant satellites. And I think that does a beautiful job of conveying what they're trying to get across here, which is that this is timeless music. This is music with roots dating back hundreds and hundreds of years,

but it's also presenting it in ways you've never heard before. I think one of my favorites is Oren Melet, which it is a very relatively beat-filled, even though nothing's really, we're not talking about the dance floor here at all, but it has a movement to it that kind of brings you along and you're going places. That's Aaron Sude and Angeline Morrison. Their new album together is called Dawn Dope. So Liz, as always, we could not get around to every new album out today, August 7th.

We wanted to do a lightning round. Bring in some of our friends and colleagues from NPR Music to join us in rounding up some of the other terrific records out today. I'm going to kick us off. John Darniel is one of the best and most prolific songwriters on earth. As leader of the Mountain Goats, he's written concept albums about goths and wrestlers and action movies and truly countless other subjects along the way. His songs are so rich in detail with deep references that get funnier and more thoughtful the deeper you dig. The Mountain Goats' new album is out today and it's a look at the way we view the past with an emphasis on the 90s in tracks like song for Lane Staley, Charlie Sheen reaches out to the feds, and a fantastic song about a band that

gets its big break opening for Candlebox. It's a terrific record that's the Mountain Goats and their new album, it's called Days. Liz, what do you got? Well, Stephen, I'm focusing on ceremony this week with the release, Tell Me Your Dream. This is something that finds the Central California, punk band in some pretty good form. They've been around for a couple of decades. This latest record is quite more refined than it was, let's say, two decades ago when they first started, and the power of a song like Justify holds its weight. That's one of my favorites. It has sort of a tip of the hat to that sticado melancholy of Mark E. Smith of the fall and maintains that proper

punk attitude that we need so much today. ourselves anything to justify our valum. That's ceremony, and their new record is called Tell Me Your Dream. Awesome. Thanks, Liz. Sheldon Pierce. Welcome back to the show. What do you got, buddy?

Hey, Stephen. My pick is the Englewood rapper Cletus Straps new record, Rappers Suck. Straps, music fuses, the sexy drill of New York rapper producer Cash Cobain, with the lo-fi marble-mouth lyricism of more experimental artists. like Earl Sweatshirt, who appears on the single, Nonchalant. And nonchalance is pretty much a great effective descriptor for what is working about this music.

His deadpan delivery sort of like sets up a nice contrast with glowing, vibrant beats. And he's got a real matter-of-fact process that encourages close listening. All of these kinds of releases are more compact and a bit more abstract than a lot of what is happening in mainstream rap. so they won't be for everybody. But there is something about it that is just sort of really exciting. That's Cleod's straps, rappers suck.

I was stupid fat. I was just admiring. I can do no wrong. She think I'm inspiring. It's a real deal. I'm not aspiring. Dream come true. We were just conspiring.

Crown spilled, no for what? That shit wasn't expiring. We don't got a way. Nice. Thanks, Sheldon. Anne Powers. Hello, Stephen. Before we get into it, I just have to say, you mentioned Candlebox and I'm obligated.

I have a family obligation. My sister-in-law, Cindy, went to high school with one of the guys in Counterbox. So shout out Cindy Powers. I have to, every time Candibox comes up, I got to mention her. Honestly, that is a claim to fame. Truly is. But my pick is going to take us, not to Seattle, but Austin, Texas. It's a tribute album, Sittin' With Blaze.

So, you know, it's funny how certain songwriters, are celebrated like over and over again, but others just, they aren't celebrated enough. And Blaise Foley, who was an Austin, Texas legend when he died too young in 1989, he's a strange case because his story has been told. There's even a movie about him directed by Ethan Hawk, but his songs should still be better known that they are. This lovely tribute album, Sitten with Blaze, released by his posthumous home label, Lost Art Records, it's a great way to discover his melody,

his melancholy down-home genius. It features stars like Lucy Dacus and Americana faves like John Morland, Lydia Loveless, Joshua, Joshua Ray Walker, and John R. Miller. The 13 track set calls from the fruitful early period when Blaze lived in a treehouse in West Georgia. Isn't that crazy? Like, he literally lived in a tree house. And in fact, Lost Art Records released the original versions of these songs on a compilation called Sitting by the Road in 2010.

But to hear these all-new, loving takes is to really feel the spiritual depth and resonance of Blaze's songs, his writing, as well as his humor. So that's Sitten with Blaze, Lost Art Records, a tribute to Blaze Foley. I'm tired of running around looking for answers to questions that I already know. I could build me a castle of memories just to have somewhere to go. Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back in the saddle again. Feed the pigeons and clay. Turn the night and the day. Start talking again when I know what to say.

Thank you, Anne Powers. Finally, Lars Gotrich, take us out. What do you got? Sometimes I have found that when life feels too overwhelming, that I need music that matches that energy. and there's a new collaborative album called Nebula by the artist Roy Montgomery and Martha Sky Murphy. Martha Sky Murphy is a new name to me. She's from London. But Roy Montgomery, he's been making these beautiful ambient guitar symphonies for well over three decades.

And he's been a part of this small but mighty New Zealand scene that places an emphasis on texture. repetition and leaving in the mistakes. And within the last decade, Roy has taken to more vocal collaborators like Gruber and Giuliana Barwick. But on this album, Montgomery and Murphy, across great distance, they traded files across the oceans. They live in the layers. They got shimmering guitars and distant echoes of piano and sense

and worthless vocals that kind of waver between beauty and banshee. but every and out again there's like the faintest hint of a pop song but they just never lean into it instead they want to be in the staggering sublime uh this is a beautiful record if you ever just need to stare out a window so that's the album nebular by roy montgomery and martha sky murphy thank you lars that is our show for this week thank you liz warner for taking time out of your week at w d et in detroit Thank you, Stephen. It's always a pleasure to beat with you. Thanks for having me. Always a pleasure to have you. If you enjoyed this week's show, we always appreciate a positive review on Apple or Spotify or whatever app you're listening to right now.

This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and El Manion and edited by Otis Hart. Our production assistant is Dora Levitt. The executive producer of NPR music is Saraya Mohammed. We'll be back next week to talk about more new music with Samantha VAL from WMNF in Florida. Until then, take a moment to be well, make art, and treat yourself to lots of great music.