NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out June 6

Episode Date: June 6, 2025

Pulp. Turnstile. Little Simz. It's a packed release week, and NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is here to walk you through it, along with friend of the program Izzi Bavis of WTMD in Baltimore.Featured albums:• Turnstile, 'NEVER ENOUGH' (Stream)• Pulp, 'More' (Stream)• Little Simz, 'Lotus' (Stream)• McKinley Dixon, 'Magic, Alive!' (Stream)• Lifeguard, 'Ripped and Torn' (Stream)Check out the long list of albums out today and sample more than 50 of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.CreditsHost: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Izzi Bavis, WTMDProducer: Simon RentnerEditors: Otis Hart and Elle MannionExecutive Producer: Suraya MohamedVice President, Music and Visuals: Keith JenkinsSee 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. Happy Friday, everyone, from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Izzy Bavis from WTMD in Baltimore. Welcome, Izzy. Hi, I'm so happy to be back. You're back and you're back for Turnstile Day. Yes, oh my goodness. I am so excited about the new album and I feel like so special to be like in Baltimore while it's happening. June 6th is a wild release day because there are any number of records we could have used to lead this week's show. Pulp, their first new album in 24 years, is out today. Little Sims, you know, one of the biggest kind of rising stars in hip-hop, has a new album out, TikTok star Addison Ray. But this turnstile record is big enough that there is an accompanying movie.

There's a lot of hype and excitement around this record. Yeah, this is going to be a big record. Well, let's get to it. Turnstile's new album is called Never Enough. So Turnstile's Never Enough. It's a really big deal for the hardcore scene, as well as just music in Baltimore. Turnstile has been making music since like 2010, and they've put out a handful of projects, and this one definitely feels the most introspective. I particularly love the song Lookout for me. which was one of their leading singles. And it has this admirable nod to Baltimore

in their music video, as well as the O to Baltimore Club at the end of the song, which is one of my favorite parts of the record, is all the different ways that they shout out Baltimore. The song you mentioned, Look Out for me, opens with these very 80s guitars. You could imagine that song beaming from a college radio station in 1986, and then it kind of segues,

these chunky 90s riffs before breaking into electronic music all in the expanse of a six and a half seven minute song. Their roots are in hardcore gives their songs this kind of sturdy structure, this big, buzzy, chunky, riffy sound. But they move around within that sound. There are dream pop elements of these songs. There's kind of fully screaming hardcore. If you can hear a song like dreaming or a song like a song like Dull and not hear echoes of Jane's Addiction, then you are way younger than me because I was immediately pulled to those kind of classic 90s. It's indie rock, but it's, it's structured for an arena. I really want to talk more about dreaming. I was like, what is going on? Because you have these horns and then it just like kind of builds and builds and builds.

And the song just takes you on this sonic journey that made me realize that Turnstile is not afraid to take risks, even now that they have, like, you know, more commercial success. If you are a pop fan who wants to indulge in heavier sounds, this is a great gateway record for that. If you are a hardcore fan, this is a gateway into softer sounds. This is a gateway into shoegaze. I really appreciate the overarching ambition of this record. There's another track called Sonshower, which is getting into, kind of speedball hardcore. Not hardcore laced with pop, just heavy, heavy music. Then the song detours into this new age interlude.

When people think of hardcore music, you often think of kind of rigid structures. You are staying true to your hometown scene. Anything that deviates from that runs the risk of alienating longtime fans. Turnstile is making this push, making a transition from a club band to a theater band to an arena band. To the point where this album has a visual companion that will be screening on more than 300 theater screens. Like, this is a big swing. The closing track of this album, Magic Man, made me so emotional. It's this beautiful, peaceful closure of a very up-and-down record.

It's very apparent that they're working through their success, being. more famous, but also being true to who they are. They love Baltimore. That's Never Enough by the band Turnstile out today, June 6th. Next up, the first album in 24 years from the band Pulp. It's called Moore. When you, how about you just keep going? When you think about that big 90s surge of all those classic amazing Brit pop bands, Blur, Oasis, Pulp, always felt like they were. we're kind of peering into that scene from the margins, in part because their music is odd.

Their music is eccentric. Singer Jarvis Cocker, you know, cuts this really unusual figure and is not necessarily just going for big pop hooks. His songs are about class, about sex, about longing, about life in England. And I really didn't know what to expect from the first pulp record in 24. years. This morning's crucifixion. It is wild that in my lifetime, this is the first pulp album that I'm seeing. Oh my God.

How old are you? I'm 24. Wow. So, I mean, for me listening to this album, I didn't have as much context. I didn't know what to expect. It was a little bit freaky. And definitely, I was laughing at parts because I was like, this is really funny but in a way that I'm like

why do I feel like I already know the words to the songs? I loved grown-ups was that classic kind of Brit pop feel. It was so catchy. It was something where I was like, oh yeah, like I'm going to be getting into this. It was the night they let me out of the home.

It was the night I caught the bus on my own and the city slither past the windows at the film that was just beginning. So excited. I read my stop was quarter to ten I was hopelessly lost. I read that Jarvis Cocker has this whole thing with growing up and aging made me like re-listen to that song because I was like, what is he really getting into? I drift in the night with the universe above us and I'll be the dad and you be the mom and we'll make out we know what it is that we've done but whatever it is I know that is. It's only just beginning.

Because, you know, so much time has passed, and they are growing up, and they're in a different place in their life than the last time they put out music. They're approaching making music differently, and I feel like when you do that, it could be so scary to be like, okay, let's, like, hit the studio. But this album was recorded in three weeks. And sometimes when you get these really epic gaps between records, like think about Chinese democracy by Guns and Roses,

it's a case where, like, they try. to make records, spent a gazillion dollars and years and years in the studio, and just couldn't get it quite right. This isn't like that. Jarvis Cocker's been active the whole time. You know, he's had his own band, Jarv Is. He's put out solo records. You know, he's 61 years old. He is still as clever as ever and still kind of looking at life from this kind of unusual perspective and writing songs accordingly. Another song on the album

That touches on what you're talking about Is Tina I spent a lot of time Trying to figure out who Tina was And then I read it was a fantasy girlfriend And I was like, that makes so much more sense This epic of Tina And this kind of like odd unrequited love

stalker situation A number of these songs incorporate this spoken word delivery, these almost conversational asides, where he really is like pulling you aside, leaning into your ear, telling you a story, but then the song that blooms around that conversation builds into something really grand,

this guy kind of looking back, still having all this vitality as a generational talent, but he's able to be more reflective and thoughtful. The very first track on this record is called, Spike Island, and it contains the line, I was born to perform. It's a call it. He's also just like thinking about his place in the world and his place in music in ways that I found profound at the same time that I was giggling. These songs are funny and they're supposed to be. Only hope is you succeed, you're my only hope is you succeed, you're my only hope.

And just like Spike Island towards the end of the record, you know, Him of the North takes you on this crazy sonic journey. And it just echoes that these Northern Lights will guide you home. And it kind of comes back to that very authentic feel that we get from Jarvis Cocker, like throughout this record. Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned Him of the North because it is a very tender song. And it is a reminder that these guys have been through a lot. One of the losses that Pulp has experienced is their longtime bassist, Steve Mackie, who joined the band in the late 80s, died in 2023. Pulp has gone been through many lineup changes,

members of the kind of the classic Pulp lineup, but also members of Jarvis is. It's kind of pulling together various threads from across Jarvis Cocker's career, but in a way that feels like Pulp instead of like a solo project. Despite some of the songs being a little bit crass, like it is a very wholesome album to put out. something after so many years and kind of coming from it from a place of want rather than like I need to put something out. Bandwith nothing to prove and yet here they are proving more.

That is more by the band Pulp. We've got a bunch more great records to talk about. First, we're going to take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Izzy Bavis from WTMD in Baltimore. Izzy, what's all going on at WTMD right now? Well, we just kicked off our first, first Thursday. which is a free concert series that we do by the Water.

It's the first Thursday of every month in the summer. And it's our 20th year putting on this festival. So the energy is really high. It's a long day for me, but it is very rewarding. That's a gorgeous, gorgeous area. Who's playing? Craig Finn, Brandy and the Alexanders, and local band Rex Pax. Well, I'm just up the street in D.C.

I'm going to have to head out and catch one of those. All right, well, next up, we've got a new album by Little Sims, Little Sims' new album is called Lotus. So Little Sims, UK rapper, this is her sixth album follow-up to one from 2022 called No Thank You, as well as her 2021 breakthrough album, sometimes I might be introvert. That won the Mercury Music Prize. It has felt like she has been a rising star in hip-hop for like a decade. I think I saw her and was knocked out by her charisma, by her clever lyrics, thoughtfulness,

just a really intriguing and promising presence. And listening to this record, I feel like, oh, promise realized. This record manages to weave together hip-hop with kind of pragy, psychedelic rock, pop sounds. There are just guests woven in left and right, but incorporated in really smart ways. Michael Kiwanuka pops up, Moses Sumney. Samfa, Obanjahar, Yusuf Deyes. I mean, there's so many great people just deployed to perfection.

I really liked the aspect of resilience and the common conversation of like not being controlled by faith or bad influences, bad people or even the good stuff too. You know, just trying to find that middle ground and that growth aspect. You know, I was watching the chicken shop date episode with Amelia de Moldenberg. and it was just, like you were saying, Little Sims is such a humble and kind and authentic person. And Chicken Shop Date, I don't know if you've seen any of the episodes, but they're very odd. Amelia de Moldenberg takes someone, usually a musician or someone famous, out for chicken.

It's supposed to be kind of awkward. It's supposed to be a date. It is. And the one with Little Sims isn't. It's so sweet. She talks about her new album. She talks about how she used to teach street dance and how she was a dancer and all of these aspects that kind of create this full image of this person that creates this very intimate album. She's going through all these different moments on the way we be on when we decide being in your arms the freest I ever felt.

She's going through all these different moments on the record and only is one of those songs that says talking about this grand gesture of love. Every song just feels like just a funky kind of elastic jam. For every song that just sounds really cool, there's a song that will like stop you in your tracks and make you think about your family. What more can I say if she just wants to work what? Well you can't replace a son with money. Why are you even in the country? Of course I'm never in a country. There is a song on this record called Blood. It's got features from Wretch 32 and Cash. And it's essentially a conversation between family members. When you think about that Kendrick Lamar song

where they're just screaming at each other, this song is like exploring all these really complicated family dynamics, but doing it in a way that is so hooky, so catchy and thoughtful, where there's multiple sides to every story and the song makes a place for both of them. I just was blown away by that song. It's been burning bridges, finding women, hurting siblings left me tired of winning. Found some people, but they weren't, like.

What, even Jay? That's another day. I've been in the club where I drink the liquor working through the night, but I'm working with it. Something about our ends are missing, because the mountain top, it ain't so fulfilling. No, I hear you. And I've been worried about how you've been coping with it. There's one of you, but there's two of us, and I've been in need of my brother's love, but that life ain't sustainable, so don't lose yourself.

How's your health? I have my days where I drift away and see Granny's face, I want to trade places. Not really. If she heard that she'll turn in her grave. That woman loved you. No one above you. I know Keith felt you were the favorite. Rob.

That was my. That was crazy. That woman, you know. That rest of that song. And then right out of that song, it goes into this six and a half minutes title track, Lotus. And it's like this psychedelic jam. And it has Michael Kiwanuka and his gorgeous voice and Yusef Day. shows up and you know it's just this beautiful expansive song man she is in such complete

command here Lotus was definitely my favorite collaboration song you really are engaged and I really feel like it addresses all of the main themes that she's working through on this record of resilience of growth despite some setbacks and I really feel like it all comes together on that track Dropped out of collis still I made a fool of wire Bitting on myself to take me higher I'm the supplier A thousand mini deaths within

Or black a tire You brought out woman to a low I'm my amplifier It's more than ever than I know I'm what they desire Can't tell you what the future holds Or the day I'll retire They tell me symbious in your hands

There are several tracks on this record Hollow jumps to mind That is like Like fully orchestral She's clearly like kind of dipping her toe in those waters. Like, how big can I go? How much further can I expand the musicality of my sound? What instrumentation have I not played around with? And you just hear an artist who is unafraid of genre expansion. And I just think it works gloriously throughout this record.

Imposter posing your life ain't candid. No song you make can repair the damage. Money, money, money, money, money, money through you with balance, law and order. Right up to the end, she's still packing this record. The album closes with a song called Blue, and Sampha shows up as a guest vocalist, kind of bringing that like James Blakean angelic quality to the track, and you're like 50 minutes into the album, and still getting new voices and new sounds

and just bringing in these notes of just gorgeousness and melancholy. There's a line that we took Carry on I found a way to be strong So how would you feel? What would you do if you thought the world was against you? You didn't talk to an angel

Told him you needed some guidance One of my big feelings listening to this record was just I hope this thing is huge Me too And I think closing on blue As the last song is this like Amazing Farewell And to the project, like to everything she worked through on the record,

I just like imagine someone on like a staircase waving goodbye, and this play is in the background. Who do you pee or side with? Who do you ride for? Who do you slide with? What is the same you racking up mileage for? Can you see past all my mind on the floors? Are you the type to abide the law? Are you the kind to be risking your life? What is the cause you would dying for?

That's Lotus, the new album from Little Sims. Yeah. Next up, McKinley Dixon has a, new album called Magic Alive! Bich stop tripping over the time of that wrist watch Ever since that night I feel alive to close calls I seen your dogs He heard them bark but they don't lost or they snar

Be weary at the boys that pride themselves on the fall I die a legend or nigger I simply won't die it all stupid Touching my face shit man I guess I survived Turn two my niggas and they yell it seems a curve and the fire My skin can make the living dead or dead come alive Might put an OG on his beat watch his career and revog Wow All right so McKinley Dixon

putting out this new album, Magic Alive, from Maryland, grew up in Annapolis, but spent a lot of time traveling to New York and lived in Richmond for a while and is now in Chicago. And this record, although, like, he's from all over, does sound like a Chicago album to me. And it's one of those moments when, like, maybe I'm just hoping for that. Because I grew up outside of Chicago, so I'm like, I'm always like, I'm like, oh, is this another Chicago project?

But what I really loved, he put out this record, beloved Paradise Jazz, and there's a song on that, Run, Run, Run. I make the devil mad dancing with you. All the angels looking jealous because the halo is hoops hovering over your shoulders. And he put out a different version for this record. And that just felt like it's this conversation between his past self and his present self and his future self. That was the standout track for me when I was listening to this record. The heart is heavy, but it's never held alone.

You keep it steady and you'll find your way home. A pointed finger and a kiss to my dome with a stare from the door that I turn you as to stone. The celebrate us when we step back on the street for the distance. We went, using up all our speech trying to yell out a spell to the heavens it'll reach. But for now we keep running if one day we'll be free. Keep it running. Oh my, if not mama's gun, pop you in the lip once you must decide they want to run. Flowers grew out of the plots limited by the runs.

But to join them or the furthest spots absent of sun. Concrete bare, bed, where. Ever we went, horizon gave reason to live, more time seeing and expect. Stained glass, we wore up under shows the future is seen. But the dying underneath the stars, a real game's dream. Thug love. In the summer us, the blocking bugs hug. Tidder than we get four Cadillac.

Let's start us like, huh? Find a way to live forever. Curse as loud as it comes. But if we find a way shit, a tale will become a blade. Sometimes you can tell where an artist is coming from by the guests that they book. We talked about that a little bit with Little Sims. His collaborators are just wall-to-wall kind of experimentalist indie hip-hop royalty, right? Quelle-Cris, Anjimil, Blue Shamir, Pink Sifu, this terrific rapper from Iowa called Teller Banks.

You have all these really interesting voices. And on this record that is kind of a concept album about magic, right? It's called Magic, Comma, Alive. But it's using magic as a lyrical trapdoor to kind of escape from trauma, to bring back friends you've lost, to kind of unmake mistakes you've made. Achilles Hill, chasing affinity to describe how sunshine feels under red moon, black son of one dance circles race him up. Magic itself is woven all through this record. And, you know, the title track, Magic Alive, like fully lives up to that title.

It's just this frenetic, wild, joyful ride. He's really unafraid to just, like, clutter his sound in the best way. There's a track featuring Teller Banks, and in the second half, it fully just, it explodes into just the wild world play, kind of this strange little horror interlude woven in. When I'm a lot of swing and it's fine with a When I was listening When I was listening to it I was like wow this is like really fun I'm having a really great time listening to it

And then you have these songs like sugar water that are very interesting to the ear, make you want to lean in. And then you have songs to hear the melody, he don't walk, he does, there's no dance on water, boy as the plot. And then you have songs like Listen Gentle, which you were talking about kind of him

working through things and healing past traumas. And this is a big opportunity on this song in particular where he's kind of having this conversation about magic with a child, where the child and like an adult figure talking about a magic trick. He said, baby, boy, just come in, never fear. Let me pull a quarter from behind your ear. If I show you how to do it and you get the magic right,

you can use these tricks to help your ass take flight. Wow, I guess I never knew how, but it really comes alive when you say it out aloud. Take these pennies from my thoughts, turn it to a hundredth hour, but I can't control the fire, everybody get down. I believe him as brilliant as I'm stupid. I'll show you a boy with twins who love shooting like he is stupid we shouldn't have. Running in the dark, I love the movement, but I came back home too late. This is all I've played and watched a movie.

A grown man in his former self-dantic kitchen when suited the other wondering when the former web-thous and now both sitting on the floor on his back grip it. Say sorry losing trickling I wasn't my decision. This record contains what I hope will be my new mantra for this summer. There's a track on this album called

We're Outside. Rejoice! And true to form, it is a killer summer jam. Add this song to your rotation anytime you are getting ready to go outside into the world. That's so funny that you say that because I wrote down in my notes, Song of the Summer. Like, I wrote that down and I was like, yeah, at least for me,

we'll be the song of the summer. That is McKinley-Nit-Royce, rejoice-re-jice. Please remember that it ain't what it seems. Stars and concrete used to map on my dreams. I could use less for me to do miraculous days when we... Outside, rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. That is McKinley-Dixon. His new album is called Magic Alive.

We've got one more record. going to talk about in depth. But first, let's take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Izzy Bavis from WTMD in Baltimore. Finally, we're going to talk about a band from Chicago called Lifeguard. Their new album is called Ripped and Tor. So Lifeguard puts out this debut album, Ripped and Tor. They put out other projects in the past, but this is definitely where they're saying, hey, we're here. They're from Chicago. They're from the city. And this album definitely has a feel. that it's not their first.

There are some songs on this record where I'm like, this sounds like it's the fifth album and the band has come back to the drawing table to figure out what else they can do. And to have that beat on the debut album is amazing because it's just like, where can they go now? How to Say to Tsar was one of those songs

that made me feel like, I can't believe this is their first album. When we talked about turnstile at the top of this show, we were kind of talking a little bit about turnstile as a gateway. One direction you could take from Turnstile is to Lifeguard, which is playing this kind of wiry, intense post-punk, but still with that like that kind of freewheeling anything goes vibe. And to me it felt like a good companion piece to the Turnstile record, even though it's definitely rar in its sound,

some songs are kind of just blurts and blasts. You know, there's a track called I Want to Break Out, which just feels like a complete song in 97 seconds, or just has these kind of jarring, jagging, And other songs, you know, feel more of a piece with kind of 90s rock. There's a song called Like You'll Lose, which has this clanging, churning quality. I appreciated this as a place to go once you have, like, worn out the turn style record. And I think what we're skirting around is that it's almost a noise album.

You know, it's produced by Randy Randall, who has these kind of influences of more noise punk. And you see that on the title track. of the record. When you're leaning in and you're accepting noise as a genre, it can really be a fun experience because you do get the more kind of 90s rock vibes on some of the tracks, but then you also get the

experimentation that not a lot of people are willing to go to. Yeah, where they're weaving in dub, they're weaving in pop, they're weaving in garage rock. What sometimes trips me up with post-punk, sometimes it's a lack of emotion, sometimes it's too

strict adherence to genre. And to me, this record does not have either of those problems. I really like the song, France. And the last time we chatted on this podcast, we were talking about Yawai Nailgun. And I was just, like, going on and on about how I feel like their live shows would be sick. And I feel the same way about Lifeguard. Like, I'm so hyped that they're coming to D.C. soon

because I just feel like they would be so good live just based on their album, which is rare. There are so many musicians that have really great records, and don't do the live thing or vice versa. But I feel like this is an opportunity with the kind of music that they're making to have a really fun live show. That is Lifeguard.

Their new album is called Ripped and Torn. Easy, as you can imagine, it was not easy. to fit every album we wanted to talk about into this show. So we wanted to do a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums. I'm going to kick us off. The Canadian Supergroup Broken Social Scene released the classic album You Forgot It in People back in 2002. And while the album is not celebrating any kind of round-numbered anniversary,

the 22 and a half year mark is as good a time as any for a really charming tribute album featuring a broad range of great artists, Mdu Moktar, Serpent with Feet, Miopholic, Toro I Moi Middle Kids, which is one of my favorite bands. Too many to name, really, but perhaps the best of them all, is a version of anthems for a 17-year-old girl by Maggie Rogers and Sylvan Esso. The album is called Anthems, A Celebration of Broken Social Scenes You Forgot It in People. I have Addison Ray's album, which is titled Addison, and I, you know, I saw the career of Addison Ray, bloom and blossom on TikTok, you know, in 2020, she became this huge

TikTok star doing dances. And in the past, I would say, like three years, she's been pivoting to being just a regular celebrity, which is just a pop star like everybody else. Just a pop star, working with Charlie X, CX, like, that's a dream. And she's living it. And she knows it. And you hear it on this record, especially with the song, Fame is a Gun, where it's this relationship between her internet stardom and how she's chasing and putting all of her ambition into music, but acknowledging that she couldn't get there without where she came from.

The English band Comet Gain has been putting out superior indie pop music for more than 30 years. They've racked up about a dozen records, countless singles and compilations amid the usual upheavals and lineup changes. The band's songs are smart and insuffer. decisive, timeless, and erudite. So once you're done, digging into the first pulp album in 24 years, I recommend heading here next.

Comic Gaines' new record is titled Letters to Ordinary Outsiders. Loaded Honey is the new brand. project from Jungle's Lydia Kiddo and Jay Lloyd. And if you are a fan of Jungle's song back on 74, then this is the album for you. I love this album because it feels so nostalgic. It feels like Sunday morning you're brewing coffee, the birds are chirping, maybe you go to the farmer's market, maybe you go to some body of water and hang out. That's what it's like listening to this record. So that's Loaded Honey's new album, Love Made Trees. Well, Izzy just mentioned, music for a Sunday morning. I am not here to tell you how to live your life, but I do have a piece

of music. You should play some bleary-eyed morning this weekend. The guitarist Hayden Pedigo has a gorgeous new album of instrumental music out today. He does such a gorgeous job crafting music that isn't just intricately finger-picked. It's also shimmery and atmospheric in really wonderful and enveloping ways. And Hayden Pedigo's new album has a perfectly bittersweet title. It's called I'll Be Waving as You Drive Away. Now, Izzy, we've listened to a lot of music in the run-up to this week's show. What was your favorite song that you listened to to prepare for this show?

I love the new song from Black Moth Super Rainbow's album, Soft New Magic Dream. It was their song, Unknown Potion. It's very ethereal, it's very ambient, and I love a Pittsburgh moment. It's just a good vibe. Put it on in the background, kind of just enjoy life, and that was my favorite song that I listened to in preparation. I love that whole turn-style record. I love revisiting Pulp after 24 years.

The song that I think is going to stick with me the longest is Blood by Little Sims. The way that song unfolds as a dance, duet and a conversation that is really tapping into family dynamics that you don't necessarily always hear explored in songwriting, I was truly fully captivated by it. And that's a song I'm going to come back to when we start putting together lists of the best music at the end of the year. I really don't know much about your lifestyle with what comes with it, but I know you.

So it's weird to feel like I can't phone you. I go to work and they play your songs. And my co-workers ain't got no clue that you're my family. And your sister, I'm proud to me. So when I hear you talking, when you're going. So that is our show. If you are listening to us on Spotify, leave a comment on the episode with the best song you heard this week.

Share your recommendations with listeners. We love to hear it. Thank you so much Izzy Bavis for taking time out of your week at WTF. in Baltimore. I'm so happy to be back. It was so much fun talking with you. It is always a pleasure to have a fellow University of Wisconsin slash WSUM alum here in the studio with me. If you enjoyed this week's show, we always appreciate a positive review on Apple or Spotify. This episode was produced by Simon Rettner and edited by Otis Hart. The executive producer of NPR Music is Soraya Mohamed, and her boss is Keith Jenkins, NPR's

vice president of music and visuals. be back next week to talk about new albums out June 13th with our old friend Nate Chenen of Philadelphia member station WRTI. Until then, take a moment to be well, get outside and rejoice, and treat yourself to lots of great music.