NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out March 21

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

Japanese Breakfast. My Morning Jacket. Greentea Peng. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson welcomes Izzi Bavis from Baltimore public radio station WTMD to run through their favorite albums out today.Featured albums:• Japanese Breakfast, 'For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)' (Stream)• Greentea Peng, 'TELL DEM IT'S SUNNY' (Stream)• Tamino, 'Every Dawn's a Mountain' (Stream)• My Morning Jacket, 'is' (Stream)• YHWH Nailgun, '45 Pounds' (Stream)Read our long list of albums out March 21 and stream our New Music Friday playlist at npr.org/music.Credits:• Host: Stephen Thompson• Guest: Izzi Bavis, WTMD• Producer: Simon Rentner• Editor: Otis Hart• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed• Vice 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. Hi, Izzy. Hi. It is such a pleasure to have you here. We've got a ton of great records we're going to talk about this week, including new albums from My Morning Jacket, Yaway Nailgun, Tamino, and more. Izzy, I don't want to bury the lead. You went to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and so did I. Yes, yes. Thank you so much for starting the college radio station that I, like, fell in love with and fell in love with radio, which is why I'm here at WTMD now. Getting to talk to you, a radio professional who got her start at WSUM. That just, that thrills me to my core. First up, we've got a new record by Japanese Breakfast. Japanese Breakfast has a new album called For Melancholy Brunettes and Sad Women. Michelle Zonner, who's the lead singer of Japanese Breakfast, is just such a polymath.

You know, she's not only the singer and songwriter in this band, she wrote a best-selling memoir called Crying in H-Mart. You know, she had this huge commercial breakthrough as a musician with 2021's Jubilee, and now she's coming back with a record that's much more quiet. She sort of describes it as like a concept album about the perils of desire. You know, about getting what you've always wanted only to feel undone by it. And as the title of the record suggests, again, it's called For Melancholy Brunettes and Sad Women, this is a moodyer, sparrer, darker, sadder record.

She's definitely diving into her sadder side here. And, like, really touching on emotions, she kind of brushed over, I feel like, she's very good at creating these very poppy and fun and, like, light-hearted songs that maybe have deeper meanings if you listen to the lyrics. But this is an album where she's pairing the music and the instrumental side of it with the lyrics and really taking you into the depths of what she's feeling. And, you know, as we were talking about, she's had so much success lately. She lived in South Korea for a year and she's come back. She was supposed to start working on her the movie for Crying in H-Mart. And there's so many things that are happening right now for her

that weren't happening before. And I feel like this is also an opportunity that she's reflecting on that success and being pushed into being more of a, you know, well-known celebrity. In some ways, it's just like a very assured singer-songwriter record. You know, many of these songs are really stripped down to pretty core basic elements.

I mean, it closes with a song called Magic Mountain, which has this acoustic arrangement with cellos kind of sweeping through it, and it kind of closes the record on this, strummy note and that feels really far from like breakthrough Japanese breakfast songs like Be Sweet. On Magic Mountain, I feel like it's an opportunity for her to pivot in a way that we didn't see in her earlier releases.

There's a buildup in a lot of the songs. There's this buildup to this moment, this emotion, which on her earlier records were full of that. And I think that's what she's diving into with these sadder, more darker themes. A song in particular that I really gravitated to was this conversation on Little Girl, where I felt like it's obviously, maybe not so obvious, talking to her younger self,

but at times I was wondering, is she also talking to maybe her future daughter or putting herself in that more maternal, like, position? And I really felt that weight of that song. Yeah, Little Girl is a really good example of the kind of inward, facing nature of this record. It's not that she's making these songs without any commercial ambition. It's not untethered from commercial success at the same time. There's a track on this

record called Winter in L.A. And first of all, I love the boldness of putting essentially a holiday song on an album that comes out on March 21st. You know, but like it is a holiday song complete with sleigh bells. And I think that's kind of her nod in a way in a very like funny way of Like, I know what I'm doing here. It is definitely a nod to what she can do and what she will continue to do as an artist and wanting to be on the main stage. That's for melancholy brunettes and sad women, the new album from Japanese Breakfast. Next up, we're going to take it in a decidedly different direction. The artist Green Tea Peng has a new album called Tell Them It's Sunny.

On this new blind to see Yeah, I'm sorry, baby That I was just so all-consuming If it was a mint And I drenched your flame I know I'm the problem here If anyone's too blind Back their faith

On this new green tea-paying album I really saw the influences that she has, like she's very inspired by Lauren Hill and Erica Badu, and you can really like hear that on the record, but something that I think is different and that she makes it her own is having a hand in the production of this record. And specifically on songs like Nowhere Man that have this very familiar sound to it. We are the Nowhere Man from the Nowhere clan. We don't know where we're from, so we don't know where we're going.

Nowhere Man is a song that really Knower Man Eat our pool convention Why I push your objections, Yay, you don't get it, but how could you? When the lies reset Toadown. Nowhere Man is a song that really coheres

as just like a very catchy kind of psychedelic R&B song. She is so fluent in so many different genres, right? Like there's this dub vibe that percolates throughout this record. There's jazz excursions. She's worked with a lot of kind of arty R&B stars. She's worked with Nena Cherry.

She's worked with the streets. She's worked with Yusuf Dei. But Nowhere Man, when it popped up on this record, really established, like, this is also somebody with extremely strong pop chops. We are the nowhere man from the nowhere clan. We don't know where we're from, so we don't know where we're going. We don't have no plan car. We had to nowhere, man. It's a full conventions.

By a partial objections. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I kept coming back to Nowhere, man. I'll be honest. That is definitely a big standout for me. Another one that I felt like was a great conversation starter when it comes to the Green T-Pang album is one foot. It really begs this question that she asks over and over again, is it too late? And I feel like it oscillates between asking the question and then just stating it. And when you have a song like that that makes you think of like what is really going on here, keeps you coming back.

I'm one foot front and back again. Don't tell me you'll be like this until the end. I'm learning to serve my friend. These treacherous oceans, I'm fucking exhausted. She's a distorted. My shit ain't sorted. I pray to the Lord, yes. Is it too late for me?

Oh, is it too late for me? She put out a record in 2021 called Manmade that was kind of establishing who she is and kind of looking at the world as she sees it. And she really saw this record tell them it's sunny as a little bit more looking inward and kind of examining you know, her own life

and what it's like to be human and how she sees herself moving through the world. There are no insecure monsters. No successful half-hearted. We're willing to take on a task require light for the inevitable darkness. We move in silence, conjuring the gentle from the hardness.

No time for the heartless. We set in sights regardless. Small times, but our chest come big like tiders. We move not backwards, only forward. Because of the way that the songs flow, it sort of at times feels like a mantra. And so if we're thinking of this record as her looking in and really diving in to her inner self, that mantra aspect that she's bringing to each song makes a lot of sense. I just can't express enough how many different styles are kind of swirling together here.

And so that for me really made this record a grower. The first thing I did when I kind of got through it was like, okay, now I kind of have a a sense of where all she's coming from and just went back and started it over again. And then as you're kind of weaving through different styles and different sounds, you're really picking up on a more cohesive vision. Each listen, you learn something more about Green Tea Pang as a musician. And that is, you know, so you can listen to an album and you get a it immediately. But when you have an album that you learn something new every time and a different

song stands out, that's kind of the mark of a good job. That's Green Tea Peng. Her new album is called Tell Them It's Sunny. We've got some more great records out today, March 21st. 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. Izzy, I have lived in the Mid-Atlantic region for almost 20 years now. And WTMD has moved through a lot of different phases in that time. Tell me about what's going on with the station. We're in Baltimore City now and we're very committed to the local music scene, which is what I like to showcase on my show. It's really the local music scene that allows radio to thrive. And I think throughout the years, WTMD has been so committed to that mission,

partnering with local musicians, especially in our concert series, our summer concert series, first Thursdays, every show opens with a Baltimore band. And I know your show puts a lot of hardcore on the airwaves. I very much appreciate and love and value the hardcore scene here. I do not mosh anymore because I got punched one too many times. But that's the crux of what's going on in the city. Yeah, I remember taking a Doc Martin to the bridge of my nose during a mighty, mighty Boss Tones concert in like 1992.

And I was like, yeah, I think I'm done with this. All right, well, we've got some more great records out today, March 21st. Let's kick off our next segment with Tomino. Tamino has a new album called Every Dawns a Mountain. So Tamino is a New York singer-songwriter. His full name is Tamino Amir Moharam Fulad. He's been around for. a little while. Ever since the first time I heard him, I immediately kind of slotted him in

to that radio head, Jeff Buckley, soaring, swooping, very dramatic. And that is definitely true of this record as well. But there's also a subtlety to his sound where he's not laying on the drama too thick. He's letting that gorgeous, sumptuous voice kind of unfurl slowly on songs that I honestly I found really captivating. I think his voice, the vocals can either be an instrument or just an accompaniment to what's being played. His voice is such a crucial role that really makes this album what it is. And one of the standout tracks for me was Raven. When the song starts, you think it's going to be one thing.

There's kind of this Krung-bin-esque jazz feel to the song. And then Tameo takes it over with his voice. When I was re-listening to it, you are being taken into his world in a very intimate and kind of guided way. Like he guides you through each song. And I found that a very beautiful listening experience. Yeah, Raven for me was kind of the most overtly radioheady song here. But that is a good thing. More artists should sound like radio head.

But there's also, you know, you alluded to Crumbin, And I think one thing that Tamino has in common with Krungben is they're very omnivorous about absorbing sounds from around the world. And, you know, Tamino is, among other things, a very gifted player of the Ood. And he wrote a lot of these songs on Ood, and those strings are kind of working their way through this record. And it really gives you a sense of an album with its feet on two different continents. He is such a my It's in my skin

My He is such a talented musician in the way that he constructs each song But I really want to come back to the fact that he's a poet Reminds me a lot of listening to Arlo Parks and seeing how she takes you through the song

I felt very similar in how he kind of guides you down this river of language Like comes in my There's a track on this record called Sanctuary, which is weaving together Tamino's gorgeous voice with the gorgeous voice of Mitzki. I love Mitzki and I love the collaboration on Tomeino's track Sanctuary. I feel like this, you know, as someone who wasn't as familiar with Tumino and who is way too familiar with Mitzky. And who has every Mitzky lyric etched on my very soul. Yes, yes. It was a great introduction into kind of his universe. This is really a beautiful record, and as much as it is a grower, it's also one that if you kind of are walking by as somebody is playing this record, it will grab you.

I listen to these records kind of over the course of the week, and my partner kind of walks in and out of the room over the course of any given day. I'd been listening to this record, and I kind of listened to it a couple times in a row, and she's like, wow, it is nothing but great music on this week's show. And I was like, oh, this has all Bentamino. I feel like, especially the way that the album is constructed, like top to bottom, it keeps you engaged. And I feel like as someone who has a terrible attention span, I need that. I need something to keep grabbing me.

And I got that on this album. It's called Every Dawn's A Mountain by the artist Tomino. Next up, a veteran superstar band back with their 10th album. My Morning Jacket has a new album called Is. I was hazy and the future scares you too, but I feel my heart is break. I was super surprised by this album. I'll be honest I don't know what I thought

going into it but after listening to every song I would play I'd be like whoa this is amazing whoa this is amazing out in the open for me was one of those songs that I was like I'm driving with the windows down

I'm the protagonist in the coming of age film that is figuring something out and for that to be like the jumping off off point, fantastic. It's so interesting. It's so interesting. It's so interesting.

You know, we have this conversation kind of behind the scenes at NPR Music all the time, especially like around year end season, when we're kind of assessing the year in music. And one thing that happens, because we're in the business of music discovery, we sometimes lose track of veteran artists. We lose track of bands that have been consistently good for years and years or even decades. And My Morning Jacket has been around since 1998. They put out their first album in 1999. Their big breakthrough album Z came out 20 years ago, and they're still making vital music.

My favorite song was I Can Hear Your Love. I was blown away by that track. I have no idea why I think it was fun. I think it got me in a good mood. I think it made me want it to be warmer outside and to be like sitting on a beach somewhere listening to that song. But that song really had me buying into the whole record. They're making this music and then also they're doing something new.

On this record, it was the first record that Jim James didn't produce or co-produce. And I was really impressed by his ability to relinquish control. And I'm really happy that it went so well. You know, it was produced by Brendan O'Brien, and it really, like, took a pivot, but also, like, played homage to, like, where they came from and where they can go. And that's hard to do when you're on your 10th record to be like, I'm still going to make something new. Well, if you're going to relinquish control to another producer, make it Brendan O'Brien. You know, the guy has been making these huge rock records for decades now. He produced Pearl Jam's Verses.

He's worked with Rage Against the Machine and Matthew Sweet. and, you know, lots of, like, big, bright, glorious rock records. But I also think it's interesting when you look at the trajectory of this band's career. You know, leading up to their prior album, it was self-titled, it came out in 2021, Jim James talked about the fact that he wasn't sure about continuing my morning jacket, that he was starting to feel burned out. He was starting to feel like he was out of ideas a little bit. But then when you look at kind of him talking about the run-up to this record,

They recorded more than 100 demos. They were clearly creatively reinvigorated. And that happens sometimes. You get in a rut, a band that's been around for that long, that's kind of playing stadiums for as long as they've been around, to suddenly take a step back, reassess your creative process, figure out what has been working for you, what hasn't been working for you, you hear a band that sounds fully reinvigorated.

Remembering how it started, wishes and dreams became reality. My Morning Jacket, for 25 plus years, has been creating the sound of, Who Am I? You know, their songs just have this big, grand, searching quality. And it was so funny to kind of read him talking about, you know, what he was after in these songs and he talks about like searching for something greater than himself. And it's like, of course, it's my morning jacket. That's what my morning jacket does.

What's next in this life in the eye? The first single that came out, Time Waited. Such a different, very, like, grounded track in the album. A lot of the other songs are very playful. But then Time Waited, like, makes you sit down. Like, I remember when we started playing it on WTMD and I would just kind of zone out. for the entirety of the song, and I'd be like, whoa. That's IS, the new album from My Morning Jacket.

We've got one more record we want to talk about in depth, as well as a lightning round of some of the other records we couldn't get to that are coming out today, March 21st. First, we're going to take one more quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Izzy Bavis from WTMD in Baltimore. We're going to get to a lightning round of some of our other favorite records that are out today. But first, we wanted to talk about a record.

I think it's near and dear to Izzy's heart by the New York band, Yaway Nailgun. It's called 45 pounds. You know, this album, despite them being based in New York, it's a very Baltimore record. You listen to it, and you are at Holy for Holies. You are at like a small, like you're at auto bar in Baltimore, and you are amongst everyone, and you are, you're feeling this energy and your soul. seeing this performance that is more than just a band going up and playing a show, you're feeling the energy. And that's what this album is. This album is more than just, let's put something

out. It was like, let's make a statement. Other media outlets were describing them as freak rock. And I think it's really, yeah, freak rock is what I read. I think a more accurate interpretation is it's like noise kids meets animal collective that discovered a cowbell. It's coming into with I'm in your face and I'm not afraid to figure this out as I go On this album you wouldn't describe Like they're not singing They're not screaming

It's vocals, you know Their vocals are a key part to how each song is constructed And my favorite song was definitely tear pusher There's something so infectious About the beginning and kind of figuring out where this song is going to go, and I think that's what's so exciting about it. Well, you never hear where the song's going to go, but the songs are short. This album comes out in a blurt.

It is 10 songs in 21 minutes. It is clamorous and noisy and strange. But it's interesting that you referenced, you know, we've talked about hardcore. We've kind of alluded to like no wave music and noise music. But you also mentioned Animal Collective, which alludes to this ingredient of like dense polyrhythms. These songs are mathy and complicated at the same time as they are socking you in the face. And I love the fact that these album titles gave me these nine-inch nails flashbacks. You know, the first track on this record is called Penetrator. There's a song

called Animal Death Already Breathing. You know, Pain Fountain. These songs can feel immediate and direct, but as soon as you start to unpack them, you realize that they're also very, very complicated and sophisticated. If you're like operating under the assumption that this is adjacent to the hardcore scene, it makes a lot of sense. You know, with some Baltimore groups like Jive Bomb and Doubt, like the way that they construct a song and what goes in first and how percussion is such a vital through line.

Also, they're hilarious. They only follow one person on Instagram and it's Mike Tyson. They know exactly what they're doing. They are catering to, you know, people in Baltimore and Philly that just want to, like, run around and be silly. It's funny and dark and strange and very loud. As I was writing down favorite songs, you know, I was coming to these tracks like Castrato raw parentheses fullback. Also, iron feet. Listen to the drumming in the vocal patterns.

That's similar to hardcore today. You know, like, they are taking from different scenes. That's what I was getting at with the, that they're like noise kids and animal collective and hardcore. And that's what's so exciting about a band like Yahweh nail gun. I really want to see them live because I feel like, it, it oftentimes when you listen to a record like 45 pounds, it's one thing. But when you see them live, something clicks. You know, you get that missing puzzle piece. My hair is flying back in anticipation of the sheer blunt force volume that they would put out into the world.

That is 45 pounds. It is the new album by Yahweh Nailgun. We cannot possibly get to every great record that is out today, March 21st. So we wanted to do a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums. First up, I want to mention a jazz record worth getting lost in the pianist, Jay Eyre has a new record with the trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. Their new album is their first together since 2016. It's spare and contemplative, bluesy and conversational. There's deep emotion to it as well. It's called Defiant Life. Sabah and No ID finally released this project that they've been working on since 2022. It's called From the Private Collection of Sabah and No ID. And I grew up outside of Chicago,

so I've been listening to Saba forever, and this is like a reminder of where he came from. It's a big Chicago album. It's a lot of referencing his childhood and how he grew up and where he wants to be. And also, it is sort of a remembrance for his late uncle who originally started the project with him, and then No ID kind of took over the production side. And I think you'll find a lot of similar songs that remind you of when Saba was collaborating with Chance the Rapper and No Name. Stephen Ellison to try to dig deeper like it's in an interview. I guess I never took the proper time to introduce myself to the many fans and the

Kindred Souls that resonated with a kid who is. Stephen Ellison is an extremely versatile artist. He's a musician, a DJ, a producer, a rapper. He goes by the name Flying Lotus. And he's released a string of strange, awesome, far-flung records. He's also a movie director whose new science fiction horror thriller Ash is out today. Moore Ease and Claire Rousey collaborated on this new release titled No Floor. And it's released on Thrill Jockey, Chicago record label, shout out.

And it's not their first collaboration, which you can tell because they really play off each other in this like instrumental ambient release. When I was listening to it, I was like, it oscillates between like a Miyazaki score. and a video game. You would find it in both at different parts of the songs. And I love the ambient soundscape that the record takes you on and it really has you lost

in a different world. Finally, the artist Phil Cook has been a busy collaborator throughout his career. He's played in Megafon, DeArmond Edison, gangs, and many other bands. Definitely part of the Bonnevere cinematic universe. As a solo artist, he sometimes puts out albums

of instrumental piano compositions, and he's got a new one out today, March 21st. It's a nice one to put on as you're hopefully decompressing this weekend. It's produced by Bonne Verres Justin Vernon. It's called Appalachia Borealis. And that is our show for this week. Thank you, Izzy Bavis,

for taking time out of your week at WTMD to join us on Wisconsin. Yes, thank you so much. I had so much fun, and go badgers. 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 Simon Rentner 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. We'll be back next week to talk about new albums from Lucy Dacus. That's right, we are one week away from a new Lucy Dacus record, and many more with Alicia Sweeney of Colorado Public Radio Station Indy 102.3. Until then, take a moment to be well. soak up the springtime and treat yourself to lots of great music.