NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out Feb. 13

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

August Ponthier. Brent Faiyaz. Jill Scott's first album in more than a decade. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is joined by Nastia Voynovskaya from KQED in San Francisco to chat about their favorite albums out Friday, Feb. 13.The Starting 5(00:00) Introduction & Charli xcx, 'Wuthering Heights'(03:06) August Ponthier, 'Everywhere Isn't Texas'(09:38) Brent Faiyaz, 'Icon'(15:29) Jill Scott, 'To Whom This May Concern'(21:09) STAYC, 'Stay Alive'(25:57) The Paranoid Style, 'Known Associates'(32:01) The Lightning Round:- The Olympians, 'In Search of a Revival'- Hemlocke Springs, 'the apple tree under the sea'- Neba Solo & Benego Diakité, 'A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking (The Complete Sessions)'- Aaron Shaw, 'And So It Is'- Ásgeir, 'Julia'Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist on NPR.org/allsongsCredits:Host: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Nastia Voynovskaya, KQEDAudio Producer: Noah CaldwellDigital Producer: Dora LeviteEditors: Otis Hart, Elle MannionExecutive Producer: Suraya MohamedSee 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

A quick note before the show, this podcast contains explicit language. Unbelievable tension, wall of sound, no real reason, and I can't escape it. Happy Friday, everyone from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Nostia Voinovskaa from KQED in San Francisco. Welcome to the show, Nostia. Hi, Stephen. Thanks so much for having me. excited to be here. It is a pleasure. So we should note up front. that Charlie X-CX has a new album of music from the new movie Weathering Heights. One of, I'm just going to pull a number and just go with it,

one of 25 movies featuring the music of Charlie XCX in some way or another this calendar year. I cannot keep track of everything Charlie XCX is doing, but this is one of the big projects she's got this year. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. I think it's super interesting how Charlie has, pivoted away from the success of Brat's summer. She's spoken out about the pressure to follow up something that major. And I think unlike someone, maybe like Beyonce or Taylor, she hasn't put forth another giant artistic statement. She's instead kind of pivoted into this film and soundtrack work.

And I think it's a really cool creative challenge for her. You know, as I kind of alluded to, it's hard to keep track of everything. It seems like every day there's like a new announcement or a new trailer or a different project that she's in, either as an actor or as in the case of Wuthering Heights, you know, a soundtrack maker. You know, I just saw within the last week or two the movie The Moment, which is kind of like a mockumentary about the aftermath of. Brat Summer and kind of Charlie's, you know, effort to figure out what's next. And we should know that the full soundtrack to Wuthering Heights was not made available to us for the purposes of this show before its release. So we're only able to talk about the few songs that are out. What do you think?

Yeah, I think it was such an interesting pivot away from her dance sound on Brat, where she really takes it into this dark, intense sort of chamber pop direction with these really lush, elaborate strings, big anthemic drums. Kind of reminds me a bit of 80s ballads, and she really takes on this theme of tortured love that's so present in the film. She was so taken by director and screenerner in Emerald Fennell's screenplay that she started writing this album on the Brat Tour. and I just cannot imagine holding those two completely different vibes at once. But yeah, I think it's fascinating. I can't wait to hear the rest. Yeah, I mean, Charlie, if nothing else, Charlie X, X, X, X, X,

contains multitudes and that I think is going to be one of the themes of this year in music. And frankly, this is an easy pivot to the first album we're going to talk about in depth, talk about an artist who is extremely self-aware in their music. August Pontier has a new album. It's called Everywhere Isn't Texas. Cat had my tongue and put me in a choke hold forever young. You only speak when you were so told, for there's elders here and they're looking down

and you can't see beyond the trees overt. Oh, what a joke to say I was a scandal. So August Pontier is just a friendly fire, but then they'll run me out till I'm time. So August Pontier is this Texas Born and Race singer-songwriter who recently has been on tour with big names like Brandy Carlisle. And this album, Everywhere Isn't Texas, was written as they really came into their own and figured out their gender journey. They debuted a new name. They also are now going by. them pronouns, and there's this self-assuredness that comes with that, that really lends itself

on this album to some really poignant, really hard-hitting songwriting. Absolutely, and I think it's hard when you look at August Pontier's journey, not to compare it to the journey taken by Chapel Rhone. Another kind of transplant to a different city, another artist who put out a bunch of music on a major label got dropped by that major label, and then kind of used that as a springboard instead of as a momentum breaker. It feels like August Pontier has more momentum than ever, even after being dropped by a label. And I think their music, like Chapel Roan's music, speaks very specifically to the journey that has taken place. I mean, the title track, everywhere is in Texas, is kind of about the process of leaving Texas and finding your,

and kind of coming out as queer. And again, the echoes of Chapel Rhone are there. But the music is very different. It's very lush, indie folk singer-songwritery material that is, you know, like we've said, deeply autobiographical. Yeah, I really liked how stripped down an acoustic the songwriting was on this. especially compared to some of August past work that was a bit more produced, a bit more polished and electronic.

This more stripped down musical vibe, I think, really allows the lyrics to breathe. And I loved that theme of leaving home to find yourself, but also still loving your home, despite that. I think that comes across really beautifully on the album. Yeah, and this is adding to, I think, a growing key. canon of queer music from the south, from the Midwest, that really speaks to a queer experience in places that maybe aren't thought of in LGBTQ discourse in the mainstream. Yeah, and one thing that really jumped out at me about their songwriting here is that it

manages to be specific and relatable at the same time. And you can imagine some of these songs kind of imprinting on people as anthems and kind of people hearing them and hearing some aspect of their own life that hasn't necessarily been expressed in songs before. There's a track here called Handsome that is about, you know, being jealous of a boy's looks and kind of wanting to be in this case, as they say on this record, like kind of a new lesbian it boy, you know, name dropping Timothy Shalameh and Jacob Alorty and Oscar Isaac in ways that feel very specific and very current, but also, I think, speak to what a lot of people, who are going through kind of gender transition experience.

Yes, and I also just want to say the Jacob Allorty reference couldn't be more timely with Weathering Heights, even though this long was a few years ago. I love the line in that song. I don't know if I want to be with you or be you. I think that that speaks to so much queer confusion that is so deeply relatable. And I think it's great, you know, for maybe teenage or younger queer listeners that are going to hear this to have an experience like this actually represented in song, which is definitely something I did not have in when I was growing up. And again, it's not necessarily all exactly specific, right?

There are also songs like I'm Crying Are You, which is this kind of mid-tempo kind of Taylor Swiftian anthem about breaking down in public. And like, I'm sorry, everybody's done this, right? Like just about everybody at some point has like had an emotional breakdown in public and this song speaks to that as well. So like there are songs that are specific to a gender journey. There are songs that are specific to moving from one place to another and feeling this kind of dual citizenship. But there are also songs that are just about being human and having emotions and kind of coming unglued in a public place that that anyone can relate to. That is August Pondon.

Montier, their new album is called Everywhere Isn't Texas. Next up, another terrific record by the singer Brent Fias. It's called Icon. It's you first thing in the morning and late at night to make sure you feel special being mine. So Brent Fias is this Maryland singer that first came onto the scene on Gold Link's huge hit crew. And since then, he's earned a big cult following for his moody R&B jams. And I would say his new album icon is a huge evolution for him. It was executive produced by Raphael Sadiq.

It also features production by Chad Hugo of Neptune's fame. I think Brent evolves beautifully on this album, especially in how he talks to and portrays women. I think in some of his past work, you know, he had that sort of. of Drake-ish, sensitive guy in the club, but also flexing vibe. Sensitive but toxic. Yeah, yeah, I would say there was a bit of that sensitive but toxic combo on some of his past work. He even worked with Drake.

But on ICON, all of his songs are pretty much talking to women and this very emotionally nuanced way that I would say in a post-heated rivalry world is a very welcome. emotionally vulnerable portrayal of masculinity. Yeah, I think that non-toxic nature runs through these songs. I was also just struck by the sonic confidence going on here. This record opens with a song called White Noise, which is kind of this instrumental throat clearer, but it's like setting sonic stakes that this is a lushly crafted production.

One vibe that I kind of picked up throughout this record was this record reminded me how much I miss Frank Ocean and how much I want and feel entitled to a new Frank Ocean record. You know, the ability to kind of morph between musical arrangements that feel very current, very present, right? The trap beats that kind of work their way in a lot of these songs. But also this deep fluency in 80s R&B in like 90s Michael Jackson, you know, kind of, kind kind of liminal in between pop and R&B, his proficiency with a falsetto that comes through

in songs like butterflies, which has these kind of billowy synths, but also just this totally timeless, gorgeous voice. Yes, I loved butterflies. It has that very 80s boogie funk kind of vibe that I enjoy so much, and that really feels like such a Raphael Sadiq touch on this record. For those that don't know, he came up in Tony, Tony, Tony in the 80s and 90s in Oakland. Right now is nominated for an Oscar for his soundtrack work with sinners. This was such a great marriage of a classic producer and a talent in his prime.

And Butterflies, I loved that there's this vibe change at the end, and the beat changes and then Brent has this beautiful line where he's talking to a woman and he says, I appreciate how much you give to others, but I can't help but wonder, do they do the same for you? And I think so many women feel underappreciated

in their lives and are going to really feel that line. What is worth, girl, you inspire me. That's Brent Fias. His new album is called Icon. I think it's going to be a big one. We've got more records 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 Nastia Voinovskaa from KQED in San Francisco. Nostia, tell us what's going on at the station. KQED arts and culture, the team that I'm proud of be part of, is just coming off a huge week because the Super Bowl was in the Bay Area. So we all had Super Bowl and Bad Bunny mania. I had so much fun covering it. I interviewed Bad Bunny's sign language interpreter, which was very, very special. Yes, and I was able to speak to her about the historic moment of Puerto Rican sign language being featured on the Super Bowl stage.

And I also talked to a bunch of disability justice advocates in the Bay Area about how it continues this long legacy of fighting for accessibility here locally. So that was very, very rewarding. And I think all of us in the newsroom are kind of coming down from the Super Bowl. but some of my colleagues are also very busy covering a historic teacher strike in San Francisco. So that's what's going on with us. Wow. Well, everybody can check that out. Is it kQED.org?

KQED.org and KQED.org slash arts if you want to see my coverage specifically. Wonderful. All right. Next up, we've got a new album by Jill Scott. Jill Scott is back with her first album in more than a decade. It's called To Whom This May Concern. Honey still just from my life. And it's amazing

Take time for paper to pin I watch my face And I love my couple of friends No fake a chase And penthouse high in the sky Still fuck with basements Placement Wherever I won't be

I'm still gracing Take time out of my mind But I be thanking Take a little note of my dreams And I be saying Glory to the love And me and the many faces Jill Scott

legend, absolute Philly legend. She first came onto the scene in 2000 with the classic, who is Jill Scott, and cemented herself as one of the most important voices in Neo-Soul. And since then, she's done so much. She's been on Broadway. She's acted in films. She's released several other acclaimed albums. And I think this new record, to whom this may concern, really shows a maturation of all the things that she's been already, the incredible insight. a gorgeous voice, but it's also so much fun. I loved this album. Yeah, I mean, this record feels very liberated in a lot of ways.

And it very much feels like the work of somebody who doesn't really have anything left to prove, but still has tons and tons and tons of ideas they want to explore and put out into the world. And in its highlights, I mean, because this is a big album, this is a sprawling album, It runs more than an hour. It's 19 tracks. It's all over the place. In its highlights, this thing is really, really bold and fresh. You know, there's a track called Be Great, you know, which is just this grand horn-drenched kind of.

It kind of evokes, you know, homecoming and HBCUs and, you know, just trombone shorties on it. And you just hear how much pent-up energy is coming out on this record. Yeah. And it's Jill talking to herself and pumping herself up. And I think that throughout her discography and especially on this album, there's this theme of connecting to yourself, coming home to yourself, but also just pumping yourself up to do something amazing. And this is an anthem for that. And if anyone needs a track for their motivational playlist, be great. That's a really good point.

I feel like everybody should have a playlist for every emotion that our brains can muster. And if you need motivation, if you were looking for an empowerment anthem, Be Great is just the latest to toss onto that stack. Absolutely. There's a song that I think is really complementary to that. It's called Pressure. I loved this one. It was one of the singles. And it has a much more low-key energy, but it is about being yourself, despite.

the boxes that people try to put you in. And it has this very laid-back, head-knotting, cool kind of vibe. And I want to give a shout-out because it was arranged by Kev Choice, who is an incredible local musician here in the Bay Area in Oakland. He's kind of been at the forefront of bridging the world of hip-hop, classical music, and jazz. He's an emcee and a really talented pianist. And fun fact, he was also just the musical director of the Tiny Desk experience, in San Francisco during Super Bowl weekends.

So, yeah, I was super excited to see him on this album. So much pressure to appear just like them. Just like them. Just like them. So much pressure. You mentioned kind of the collaborative nature of some of these songs. I already talked about Be Great and how it brings in trombone Shorty. I think the tracks on this album that feature guests often have,

kind of the most explosive energy. It's like she's feeding off the energy of the people that she's bringing in. In the song, Northside, is this kind of hip-hop jam that pairs her with another superstar from Philly, Tierra Wack. And you really hear how well their voices and styles mesh together. The top is lonely, but I never feel alone. After all this time, they've made so many clones, the almighty. I'm winning because God likes me, most likely, surviving with the shi-stie.

Jill Scott is an excellent rapper, even though rap isn't even her main thing. She's just so good at so many things in this album proves that. But I loved her and Tierra Wack going back and forth. It's so fun to hear just an incredible R&B singer rap, like Beyonce. I love whenever Beyonce rap. So this is such a fun treat. When I stack my papes, when I deal with these men, none of them could ever be me. J-I-L-L-S-E-O-T-T.

In the place to be, North Philly Bay. That's Jill Scott. Her new album, first in more than a decade, is called To Whom This May Concern. Next up, very different record, by the K-pop group Stacey. It's called Stay Alive. So for those who aren't up on the seemingly thousands of K-pop bands putting out records every week, we wanted to highlight a group called Stacey, which is a sour. Korean K-pop girl group. They've been around since 2020. Stacey is spelled S-T-A-Y-C. And like so many K-Pop groups, their sound is a mash-up of essentially every pop-adjacent genre on earth. You hear synth-pop, EDM, R&B. I got a lot of hyper-pop vibes listening to this record. And, you know, Stacey is kind of coming up through kind of the

K-Pop system. You know, a lot of dance training and, you know, a lot of, you know, kind of singles and EPs. But this is a full-length record full of these just impeccable three-minute slabs of youthful synthy pop. In this case, singing in Japanese as well as Korean and other languages. Yeah, when I heard this album, the first thing I thought of was this is just a sugar rush in the form of music. Just a straight dopamine hit to the brain blasting you with these pumping synths, super catchy melodies, and really, really good vibes. Yeah, I mean, their producers describe their sound as teen fresh. They create a kind of a portmanteau, teen fresh. And in a way, like that kind of seemingly nonsensical phrase does

sum up the vibe of these songs. You listen to a track like Bebe, youthful, synthy pop. Like I said, It's teen fresh, it's young, and it is sonically kind of mashing together tons and tons of extremely youth-friendly pop sounds. Yeah, it kind of honestly took me a little bit back to the 90s Euro dance era that produced songs like Barbie Girl. They really lean into a more house derived sound on this album and with tracks like I Want It. It's really about how everything will just be okay. And it's a song that you want to hear when you're just cruising down a coastal highway with the top down or rollerblading down Venice Beach or something like that. And yeah, I really enjoyed it.

And there are little bits of innovation beyond the kind of strict three-minute K-pop template. There's a track called Tell Me Now, which is kind of mixing that kind of head rushy hyper-pop sound with a disco-feet. It's got almost like a daft punk effect on the vocals. And it's a song among many on this record that will lodge itself in your brain and not let go. I was watching some of Stacey's music videos on YouTube and I saw in a lot of the comments. They have a really passionate fandom

that kind of sees them as underdogs compared to some of the K-P-Roups. So it will be interesting to see the impact of this album. That is Stacey, S-T-A-Y-C. their new album is called Stay Alive. We've got one more record we want to talk about in depth, plus a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, February 13th. But first, we're going to take one more quick break.

From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Nostia Voinovskia from KQED in San Francisco. Before we get to our lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, we're going to talk about one more record. It's by the band The Paranoid Style. It's called known associates. is an acclaimed indie rock band based out of the DC area and they are very heady. They're led by journalists and singer-songwriter Elizabeth Nelson and they actually take their

name from this 1964 essay from Harper's Magazine called The Paranoid Style in American Politics and it's all about how a small minority can leverage anger and fear for political gains. So I think that for many, full sound reflective of the times we're living in, and certainly the songs on known associates speak to that. Yeah. Now, this is where I have to state up front, Nostia, that I'm conflicted because Elizabeth Nelson and Timothy Bracey, who's in her band, they're good friends of mine. And so it's hard for me to sit up here and speak objectively about their music.

I mean, I was at their wedding. So I might kind of leave it to you to give kind of critical opinions on this record. But what I will say is that even before I knew them, these are brilliant people. You know, Timothy Bracey used to be in a band called the Mendoza line. Elizabeth, as you mentioned, is a journalist, a writer, a commentator. And really, I would say, a historian of music, somebody who really studies music from the last, you know, 50, 60 years and is extraordinary. extremely deeply conversant in it. It's worth noting, you know, she did the liner notes to a, you know, a reissue of the replacements, let it be. She's somebody who thinks very deeply about music and very

passionately about music, as well as, as you kind of said, the world. These songs kind of unfurl in these complex, wordy bundles where it's like everything she has to say cannot fit into a single line of a song. I noticed that there's some very elaborate storytelling on these songs where the songwriting is so not stereotypical. You have to listen to these songs over and over to really get into the storytelling on them. One I really liked is a barrier to entry. Super catchy kind of country rock foot stomping song. And the title, I think, really speaks to this false promise of meritocracy that any feel about navigating systems in America.

And yeah, the storytelling in it is very dense and deep. Time store hooch in a silver cup. Take a job as a waitress. Serve the land in gentry where one quarter through the century, it's a barrier to entry. That's a song that really stood out to me, too, in part for its themes, but also for its arrangement, which feels very timeless, very rooted in classic rock. And then the song, tearing the ticket, you know, which is kind of a story, a tale of D.C. that references late D.C. music legends like Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan, the more you know about music history, the more you know about music history in D.C., the more you're going to find to latch on to in this record.

I'm trying not to editorialize, because like I said, you have to take anything I say about this band with a grain of salt, because these are two lovely people who are my friends. friends. Washington, D.C. is the place you go for action, but we lost Roy Buchanan and we lost Danny Gatton. I've got more ways to the end line. I've got way more as blues. I've got a lot of choice, but I can't choose. Taring the ticket.

Tearing a ticket. I think what you're saying really rings true. Also on tracks, like it's a dog's breakfast. Which I didn't know that phrase, but it was a British phrase that basically means hot mess. I've watched enough cooking shows to have heard that phrase. Totally.

But yeah, that is a tribute to the great singer-songwriter and rock and roll hall of famer, Linda Ronstat. And I think it really takes a snapshot of this very chaotic time in her career when she was coming up. And Elizabeth Nelson also actually wrote an essay to go with that song.

So as we're saying, very thoughtful. pulling from a lot of music history and political history. And yeah, a record that I think is really worth repeated listen-ins, very rewarding. That is a transitory disenchanted moment with all due respect to your distinguished opponent. You sent your ancestors back overseas. I can't find your name on the guest list. It's a dog's breakfast. That is the paranoid style. Their new album is called Known Associates. So, Nostia, as you know, we could not get to every terrific album out today, February 13th. We wanted to do a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums that are out today. I'm going to kick us off.

It has got to be a tough time to release an album when your band is called The Olympians. You can't really set Google alerts that are going to be of much use right now. But there is a new album by The Olympians today. It's a slab of cinematic, orchestral, instrumental soul. It's performed with joy and style and such verve. The band is a project of a guy named Toby Panzer. His compositions would sound fresh in really any of the past 60 years. The Olympian's new album is called In Search of a Revival.

I love that one. And I also want to shout out Hemlock Springs new album, The Apple Tree Under the Sea. I got into Hemlock during pandemic lockdowns when she blew up on TikTok. She became known as this awkward kind of quirky bedroom singer-songwriter, and it always kind of remains to be seen how someone like that will follow up with a fully produced album on a label. In this case, this one was produced by Burns, who's collaborated with Lady Gaga. And I think it really works.

There's this new dark intensity that I hadn't really seen from Hemlock before. one track that I loved is called the beginning of the end and it opens with this really hard-hitting line about opioid addiction and overall you really hear these inner battles play out over this dark really synth-driven production and I think it's

one that is really worth playing on repeat. That's Hemlock Springs and her new album is the apple tree under the sea. Two Malian music legends have a terrific new album together. Sibba Solo plays the bellophon, which is kind of like a marimba, while Benigo Di Aquite plays the Donso Tengoni, which is a hunter's harp. These two instruments aren't typically heard together, but on their new album, they are used to hypnotic, beautiful, celebratory effect with occasional vocals that can be haunting or ecstatic or any number of points in between. Niba Solo and Benego di Akeete's new album together is called Ajin Eniqaeda.

hunter went walking. Aaron Shaw has an excellent new record called And So It Is. He is a rising star from LA's Jazz Tee and he plays tenor saxophone and flute. And this album was actually composed when he was diagnosed with bone marrow failure that led to him having shortness of breath. So he had difficulty playing the very instruments that he's dedicated his entire life to. And so this album is a personal reckoning. It has some spiritual jazz influence, but it also is enveloped in this sort of dark fog. And I think it's a really, really beautiful record about coming to terms with something you can't control.

And it really arrives at this moment of clarity and transcendence at the end. So that's Aaron Shaw's new album, and so it is. Finally, Asgir is a superstar singer-songwriter in Iceland, where his son. first album became the biggest selling debut in Icelandic history. Since then, he's recorded music in both English and Icelandic, played a tiny desk concert, and released a string of albums full of beautiful, sweeping, elegant, swoony folk pop. Alskier's new one continues in that lovely tradition. It's called Julia. And that is our show for this week.

Thank you, Nastia Voinovskia for taking time out of your week at KQED in San Francisco. Thank you so much, Stephen, for having me. This was so much fun. It has been a pleasure. 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 Soraya Mohamed.

We'll be back next week to discuss more new music. with Robert Moore from 90.9 The Bridge in Kansas City. Until then, take a moment to be well, rewatch that bad bunny half-time show one more time, and treat yourself to lots of great music.