NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out May 8

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

MUNA. Stephen Sanchez. Lykke Li. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson chats with Celia Gregory from WNXP in Nashville about their favorite albums out Friday, May 8. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer personal picks in our lightning round. The Starting 5(00:00) MUNA, 'Dancing On The Wall'(08:17) Aldous Harding, 'Train on the Island'(16:00) Deb Never, 'Arcade'(22:15) Lykke Li, 'The Afterparty'(28:12) Stephen Sanchez, 'LOVE, LOVE, LOVE'(34:46) The Lightning Round- Ashley McBryde, 'Wild'- Broken Social Scene, 'Remember The Humans'- Ray Bull, 'Please Stop Laughing'- Anastasia Kristensen, 'Bestiarium Sombre'- Amy Grant, 'The Me That Remains'Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.org.Credits:Host: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Celia Gregory, WNXPAudio Producer: Noah CaldwellDigital Producer: Dora LeviteEditors: Otis Hart, Elle MannionExecutive Producer: Suraya MohamedSpecial thanks to Robin Hilton, Ann Powers and Lars GotrichSee 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 Celia Gregory from WNXP in Nashville. Welcome back to the show, Celia. Thank you, Stephen. So good to be with you virtually, as that's the only option we have currently. Well, if we're not in person now, that means that you and I were probably not together for the Met Gala either. No, unfortunately, we missed it this year. I think my invitation was lost in the mail, but I had an outfit ready and everything, you know? What was your outfit? What would you wear to the Met Gala? I'm just rocking, as per the ridicule of my office, I'm just rocking like millennial wear until it comes back around, right? Like, I'm not throwing away skinny jeans. I have these Adidas, and I think that it'll be really future forward, you know, one of these days. Yeah, I'm sort of one of those, like, I wore clean pants for this. And I know there are people, you know, every time the Mac Gala rolls around, people jump in and are sort of like, this is stupid when all these terrible things are going on in the world. And I say, without stupid things, what even are we? We need them right now.

We need them like lifeblood. So let's have this. Can we see pretty people wearing pretty outfits just for, you know, a day? Exactly. Well, you know what is not dumb and what is actually awesome is new albums? Always, weekly. We're so blessed. We are so blessed, especially because we're kicking off with really one of my favorite bands in the world for the last bunch of years.

Muna has a new record. It's called Dancing on. the wall. So, Moena, for those who are unfamiliar is an absolutely fantastic kind of dance pop group, put out a couple of great records in the late teens, kind of got dropped from their label, signed to Phoebe Bridgers's saddest factory label. a few years later, and then have just been on an all-killer, no-filler tear ever since. Their self-titled record from 2022 was my favorite album of that year. This honestly is going to be in the running for me this year. And, you know, we heard a little bit of the title track dancing on the wall,

and to me it's just an instant classic. It's so hokey. It's so insistent. The second you hit play, it's stuck in your head. And I cannot imagine a record more impeccably timed than this one. Like, it's been four years. We're hungry for new moon and music. It's getting warmer outside.

We're heading into summer. We're heading into Pride Month. And then you just get this album of wall-to-wall bangers. And I'm so excited that it's here. I share your excitement. I could not wait to talk about this one. I'm so glad we're leading off with it. And speaking of leading off and going into summer, it starts with it gets so hot.

And I was like, what a great introduction to the rest of the record, the content. It's like a really spacey sort of electro beginning and then come the big beats and the drops. And you're like, we're so back. You're like, moon is so back. I've missed you. Also, like all the feelings around this, it's not just bubble gum pop music to escape to. It's so, we'll talk more about like, they go a little dark and, like, aggressive, and I love that. But on So What, they had me in the palm of their hands because it's about, like, parissocial

relationships and, like, you have this lowercase love surrounding you when you're an artist, or in this case, a group that's grown. But she's lost the devotion of, like, a special one, right? And so the So What, if you don't love me, it feels both rhetorical and, like, an attempt for her to self-soothe. Because she does care that that one has gotten out of it. It's just like, it breaks my heart, but it's also such a banger. There's so much to kind of unpack in those words, right? Because there's something kind of self-deprecating about being like so many people love me, but you don't.

It kind of has this like, I actually have friends vibe to it where you're kind of making fun of the fact that you have to acknowledge that there are people in the world who like you. And to me, it's that perfect, bittersweet, Moena banger. Yeah, I could, like, talk for the entire hour on this song, but I just, I felt like this is evidence of, and we remember, Katie Gavin released a solo record since we've had a new Moona record. And so we know the depth of her songwriting as a lyricist, but then the power trio of it all, bringing the pop hooks around it, it's just, like, really undeniable. I want to point you to Girls' Girl, which.

which I listened to, I think, three times in a row, walking the dog, like, had to start it over. And it's, again, it's the lyrical depth and the club ready beats. It feels like it's just fully formed and that they, as a group, have grown in the appropriate, scalable ways to still be relevant as pop artists, but also just be so appreciated for the craft. Anyone who's seen Munah Live has heard kind of their between song banter and knows that they are very political. They have very, very big, strong opinions that hasn't always worked its way into the music, but it does hear. There's a track called Big Stick that is explicitly referencing starving children and apartheid and kind of international policy. And at the same time, it's still a big, sticky, catchy Moona song. But like, this is a band with a ton to say not only about relationships, not only

about queerness, not only about kind of the way, you know, we live as individuals in the world, but also about the bigger picture of global politics. That is Moona. Their new record is called Dancing on the Wall. Next up, we have a new album from Aldous Harding. It's called Train on the Island. Stephen, I love this artist again. All the blessings on May 8th this year. Train on the Island is this first release in several years from Aldous Harding.

She's a New Zealand-based artist, but she's done this fourth, this fruitful fourth record in collaboration with John Parrish in Wales. So it's like, if it ain't broke. You know, don't fix it. This is a collaboration that works. And it makes me wonder because of how comfortable and worn in this record feels, like instantly cozy, if that's not because of the familiarity they have together and also in the place that she's recorded. Yeah, I think worn in is a really good way to describe her voice. At times, she has this way of seeming almost kind of deadpan. But then at the same time, it's a very elastic instrument. There's kind of an eerie quality to it. She lets it. sore sometimes. She, you know, sometimes these arrangements are kind of lush and almost orchestral and sometimes they're extremely spare, a track like the title song train on the island. Her voice is kept kind of soft and it's set against kind of softly tapped snares and this like resonant piano. So there's, there's a sparness to it and there's air in it. But that

lets kind of bigger sounds bloom around her. Out of home Reflections Still my train I mean, I love a record that seems to be centered on a piano You know, and a lot of tracks are here But to your point, I mean, her voice,

she has such vocal range And it's also resonant. I mean, I was drawn in on sort of her deeper register on designer, you know, in 2019, those songs just incredible, but we know she can go high. And so that's what's so impressive to me.

It'd be impossible to talk about this record and not talk about the vocal range because the instrumentation is not over the top. I wanted to shout out the song Venus in the Zinia, which is a duet with the Welsh singer H. Hawkline. And it's a duet with H. Hawkline, and it's kind of somehow the most New Zealand-y song on this record, right? You got those jangly guitars that are kind of halfway between Velvet Underground and every Australian slash New Zealand band of the last 45 years. And it really feels, you get this kind of timeless effect and this song that feels more like a conversation than just these kind of interior musings.

That song is so sweet. And again, you know, the solitary voice really works for all dishearting. But as a duet, I love that. even the lyrics, thank you for sharing. I love what you're wearing. It's so plain spoken and you feel, like I said, immediately familiar with these voices in listening to it and listening close in.

I was thinking about worms, the song Worms. I wrote that it feels like it's sort of like a stony, like draped across something on an afternoon. You know, I could feel it. I could feel the warmth and I could feel that I ain't got nowhere to be of it all. And I love how unrushed this is as a whole work too. I flew down to the brewery All old dead on my waist

Please stop my teacher La professor I'm saving myself By eating rocks and plants I pray for the insult It's a record to get lost in And it's just lovely to revisit that voice I sometimes forget to miss that voice when it's not around.

Yeah, and I just learned, too, that her tour, she's playing some dates this year. This is her first headlining tour since 2023. Wow. So she's back not just on record, but on stages, and we're all so much better for it. Yeah, that's Aldous Harding. Her new album is called Train on the Island. We've got some more records that are out today, May 8th that we're going to get to. But first, let's take a quick break.

From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Celia Gregory of WNXP in Nashville. Celia, you are, of course, a big part of WNXP, but you're also a big part of the 26 Tiny Desk Contest. We are about to announce a winner. Unfortunately, we cannot break news on this particular podcast, but you know and I don't and I'm so mad. The gag order, they put a lot of trust in me.

I am the mouth of the South, and I have not told a single soul who we selected, because I've taken this so seriously, Stephen. It was truly the honor of my life because I get to filter so much great music for the radio here in Nashville. But we're talking about thousands of entries and getting to hear and see on display just this depth of talent all across our country. And all these artists unsigned, that's what blew my mind. I'm like, these people are ready for prime time. Like, we're going to be talking about these albums next year on New Music Friday. it feels like some of them so ready to go, it was hard to pick a single winner,

but I'm glad we got to highlight so many of them, you know, in the Top Shelf series, and I would just love to do it all. I hope I'm Grandfather Reda, and I love it so much. I have a feeling you'll be asked back. I mean, one thing that I love about the Tiny Desk contest, one is that we pick a single winner every year, but every year we discover way more than one artist, and very often artists who didn't win the contest

still wind up being brought through the Tiny Desk because the people who are sifting through all these entries will fall in love with multiple artists and feel a need to bring them in. And sometimes we'll be talking about some great discovery and we'll Google them and be like, oh, here's their tiny desk contest entry in 2021 when it got picked for top shelf or whatever. And so I love the fact that it's not just a matter of there can only be one winner. We find so much great stuff along the way and kind of build up this community around it along the way. Yeah, it's so legit, and I've followed a lot of the bands and artists I got to watch the videos that weren't finalists. I'm now following them on social media and hope to support them when they come to town. And that's what it's about.

It's so much bigger than the contest. It's about music discovery and also, yeah, elevation of artistry that deserves to be heard and seen by more eyes and more ears. Speaking of terrific music, let's talk about Deb Never. Deb Never's new album is called Arcade. For once in my life, I'm feeling something. So after that night, days get so long when she's not by my side. She's good at her, she's got it for this on a day. I'm pressing when it gets harder to sleep.

These 12. So Deb never grew up in Seattle and Spokane, and when she was a kid, she went to a South Korean middle school and didn't speak the language. And so she turned to music as a way to express herself. And as you can imagine from kind of that background, the vibe of her music is kind of bedroom pop, kind of in the spirit of artists like Clero. You know, this music that is very warm and interior. There's that word again. And eventually, you know, she relocated to L.A., put out kind of a string of EPs, has put out a bunch of music kind of on band camp and Spotify.

And now she's got her first official full-length record, and it's just gorgeous. It really is gorgeous, and yet it's, like, very hard to define, which, of course, is not our job to define what the sound is. We want to beck and folks to listen to the whole thing and see how much it really does vary from track to track. She has really tinkered over the years with these singles dropped to make this first debut record in full something quite surprising, right? Like the way she uses and layers different elements and different elements

and different instrumentation. I think it's quite interesting, Alyssa. Clearly, she's an innovative artist, and I almost can't believe it's her debut because I've been sort of following her for years. And as you said, you know, like I've used the phrase bedroom pop to describe this record, in part because it's pretty tricky to actually describe the sound. She moves through a lot of different phases on this record. There's a track called Another Life that I really love. It's this kind of slick, kind of chill-wavy, breezy, hopeful pop song that feels. It feels like it will really connect with people who've connected with artists. Like, as I mentioned, Claro.

I did notice if you care about sort of the rollout and anything these days to get attention, right? She released a whole video game. Like, created a video game and launched a video game to announce this record. And then she just hosted a game night this week in New York, sort of for the record launch. So clearly a creative in multiple ways. And I didn't want to be sidetracked by the video.

game of it all. I wanted to really listen. You know, what is she saying here with Arcade? Tracks like Blue is so dreamy. Oh, that's such a beautiful. I mean, we're dreamy in my notes. Yeah, I mean, it's, and it's of the utmost compliment. And she asks a lot of good questions, right? Are you out of your mind? That's how she starts the record. And so you're examining sort of her inner workings and her feelings. I don't think she's shying away from the deep feeling. But it is hard to pinpoint her, even by the finality of it. I'm just like, who is Deb never? I'm still asking, you know? You know, you were talking about her finding music as a means to, you know, go inward,

because she couldn't really socialize with her classmates. She said about this record, and I feel like that tension comes through, there's always so much going on, there are always people around me, I'm always surrounded, but I always felt this singularity and this isolation, and in my music is the only time I can express that. So, yeah, going inward, even though she's collaborating a lot on this record to make it what it is, sounds like she really had to tap into maybe not loneliness, but isolation, both chosen and not chosen, to come up with some of these songs. Yeah, and when you think about universal feelings that aren't always being examined and expressed, I think feeling alone in a crowd is a big part of being alive in

26 because there is this din around us all the time. No matter where we live, if you're online, you are kind of immersed in a lot of static and a lot of noise. And it can be hard to kind of locate yourself within that and find ways to step away from that. And I appreciate how she kind of talked about that thing of like, I have this support network. I have all these people around me. But then this record is what happens when you sit down away from that and craft something beautiful. Deb Never, her new album is called Arcade. Next up, Liki Lee. Liki Lee is back with an album called The After Party.

You took me there, you took me there. Give me a taste in heaven's gay. You take her fingers in my head. Well, let's kick us off with the Likkiwiki. Give people a little sense if you're not familiar with Likki Lee. She's a Swedish kind of indie pop singer-songwriter. She's been around since her first album came. out in 2008. So she's been floating around for a while now. This is her sixth album, nine songs,

25 brisk, filler-free minutes full of introspection and like really catchy, bright, brisk, summery, soulful pop songs. Yes, all the things. Again, we're right on the cusp of summer. And so this felt kind of like the moon record to me, like right on time, spring to summer, emergence record. And she said, by the way, that this is maybe her final record. So it's like we appreciated all the more because we're like, no, don't like, don't leave us.

But it's really, no thanks. No thanks. Yeah. Do we have a vote? Can it not be? But she said this is not an exploration of one's best or higher self, but your lower self, your need for revenge, your shame, despair. I'm like, okay, let's go there.

But make it sparkly pop music. I love that. I love that balance. Yeah, I love upbeat music. secretly miserable. You? You? I mean, talk about, you know, I mean, it's that feeling of being alone in a crowd, right? Like, there's these boisterous arrangements around her, and she's kind of sitting at the

center of it doubting herself, right? Or, like, ruminating on shame and desire for revenge and kind of these darker sides of her personality, even as there's like a 17-piece orchestra kind of jamming out around her in full Technicolor. Yeah, I was going to say, less people hear, you know, a snippet on this show, and then they're like, well, I don't really love pop music, so I'm not going to go there. Please listen to this record, because not only is there, was it recorded with an orchestra. I mean, there's that first Lucky Again single.

I love, love, love, great radio song. And she samples Max Richter's Vivaldi reinvention. It's like high art, you know? Like, this is not vapid pop music sing along. It's lyrically and musically rich. and yet it's going to get you where you need to go if you're looking for the pop bangers. You have these kind of pop firecrackers

at the top of the record songs like Not Gonna Cry, which is just like big, bright, kind of boisterous song. But then as you kind of drift to the back half, and again, this is 25-minute record. So you have the back half, i.e. 12 minutes. Yes. You get this kind of dreamier, more overtly melancholy sound, and I think that is executed just beautifully in tracks like Euphoria, a kind of mistitled song that closes. I mean, it's dreamy, it's beautiful, but it has a more melancholy vibe to it.

Baby, I will take your sorrow on my shoulder. We can borrow euphoria. No, it won't last. Hallelujah. Peace we knew your. Euphoria. Do you know what I loved about euphoria as a closer? She's dancing all around, like you said,

self-empowerment, self-doubt, there's some anger on this, like, how could you, kind of thing. Euphoria is like this reframe of, I think she says, hallelujah, that euphoria is temporary. Like, we should be grateful that, like, the sad times, this two shall pass, intensely happy times don't last. Right. So maybe it's more special because it's so quick and potent and rare. And I was like, that's, I'm going to take that with me. I like that sort of closing statement and closing argument. Like, if it were forever, we would take it for granted.

Is that an Easter egg? She's like, no, really, I'm done with music. I hope you enjoyed this because it wasn't forever. But yeah, what a strong closer, even though it starts with the bigger pop tunes. Though it won't last, hallelujah, least we knew your euphoria. That's Licky Lee. Her new album is called The After Party. We got one more record we're going to talk about in depth,

as well as a lightning round of some of our. Other favorite records out today, May 8th, but first, let's take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Celia Gregory from WNXP in Nashville. Before we get to our lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, May 8th, we wanted to talk about one more album. It's by Stephen Sanchez, and it is called, See If You Can Sense a Theme Here, Love, Love, Love. Stephen, this other Stephen, Sanchez, is a California native.

now based in Nashville. So I feel this strong affinity. He was also our former Nashville artist of the month around the time of his debut record, Angel Face. So this is his highly anticipated sophomore release. As you said, it's love, love, love, all caps. And that is what is about. And it's this technicolor pop, quote unquote.

Technicolor is the word. That's the word. I have it all over my notes. It's what he was going for, and he delivered. This is another sort of undeniable artist, even if it's not your thing. You cannot deny this guy's skis.

and I think he's going to be riding high off this one as he was his debut. I think so too. I mean, this is big, bold, theatrical piano pop, but also kind of a throwback to classic 50s and 60s singers. So it's a very classic sound. It is in some ways one of the most wholesome albums that we'll probably talk about this year. At times, like this dude makes Alex Warren sound debauched.

But at the same time, he has such a gift for these big, grand anthemic songs. I mean, like we just heard, sweet love, which is kind of this soulful pop throwback, but also tracks like it might be love, you know, where you're just getting these kind of mile-wide bangers just in time for summer, which is such a theme of this episode. When I was younger, I didn't care for love at all, and all the world made me feel small, but then again, I was never taught. Just a doll on a silver screen But in my heart she's everything

I mean, it's so sweet And like that's just sweet throughout, wholesome, yes I mean he's got this balance of I mean such a strong vocalist, right? That is the thing. He's got this sort of falsetto soul meets big pop hooks almost like a la Harry Stiles Like I thought about that when I listened to this record

Like if it wasn't this rockabilly aesthetic that sort of propelled him initially What does it sound like? And I feel like it's like Harry's house almost I'm going to get some flack for this. But he's definitely inspired by artists that came decades before him, right? Decades and decades, so not even like classic rock,

but we're talking about like 50s, like Primo Town, sort of crooners and guys like that. But he really delivers it. And some of them are more rollicking, like you said, sweet love. Others, you know, maybe don't feel like they stick with me. They've not allowed to meat on the bones, but they're all undeniably sweet. And most of them, pretty, pretty sure.

short and sweet too, like under three minutes. It's like old school radio songs. Yeah. Yeah. And like there's such craftsmanship at its core. At times, is it crossing over into sounds that don't appeal as much to me? Absolutely. The title track on this record is kind of crossing over into slightly maroon five territory.

Ooh, baby, I Love You is just corny enough, like where it kind of crosses over into that, like, it's on that corny, charming line depending on my mood. But there are absolutely times when I want to just be pumped up by big, bright, inoffensive, but deeply charming music. Hi, hello, great big world, I've got something to say. Inoffensive is one we use a lot around WNXP parts because we're like, if you want an introduction to music that it might be a recommended if you like something else, like give a, give a, give a, wholesome spin to something like Stephen Sanchez. You know, I wrote down that already got me. It was sort of like a little sassy.

We're like, oh, look at you pushing back. Because we've mostly found this artist to be, you know, achingly earnest and singing about love. And like on that quadruple, I think, platinum, mega viral duet that he did until I found you. The streaming numbers on this fellow are enormous. But he's growing. We're hearing him grow up a little bit and yet not denying what he knows people want to hear from him. which are these sometimes syrupy sweet love songs. Yeah, and the guy's 23 years old.

I would say, get used to this guy, because this feels like the kind of music that is going to launch a 50, 60 year career. Like, this is music that feels very trend-resistant and very classic, very timeless. And to me, like, there's a lot to recommend it. Yeah. He said, like, if all I ever did in my life

was make people feel the way I felt, you know, being transformed and touched by music, then I feel I've been successful. That's why I do what I do. He's already mission-oriented as a singer and a songwriter. So if he's on his path to keep delivering these tasty little pop morsels, let's let them have it. We're going to eat. Well, and honestly, like, look, I've spent a lot of my life marinating in cynicism.

There is nothing wrong with sincerity. There is nothing wrong with sincere joy. You're here. And so I aspire to enjoy this record even more than I already did. Well said. That is Stephen Sanchez. His new record is called Love, Love, Love. Now, Celia, we could not possibly get, I say this every week.

We couldn't get to every great record out today. May 8th. There is just always a surplus. It never stops. But we wanted to do a lightning round of some of our other favorite records out today. I'm going to kick us off with Ashley McBride, who is just one of the first. the best and brightest minds in country music. She's got this diverse catalog of songs that'll make you weep and pump your fists sometimes at the same time. I truly believe, Celia, her song

One Night Standards from 2019, I'm going to say it right here. I think it's the best country song of the 21st century. I think she's incredible. She's just put out her fifth album. It's full of kind of rowdy country rock with an emphasis on the rock, as well as incisive ballads with a keen eye for detail. Ashley McBride's new record is called Wild. The cassette and out of raw, naked-taining alcohol, throwing dishes down the hall,

bad decisions, try to moan. All right, Celia, what do you got for us? Well, happy early birthday to me. Today, we have the broken social scene return. Remember the Humans is this new LP from this, you know, sometimes amorphous sprawling collective based in Toronto. And this album, I love because it varies the lead vocalists

and features just ever-expans of instrumentation. It's kind of moody in parts. It's a first full length in nine years. So I'm, this is my entry, if only for the comeback of it all, and I'm vibing with this six-minute track, which, you know, is pretty extended for indie rock. The Briefest Kiss is my recommended track as entry point. And they're going to soon embark on the All the Feelings Tour with fellow beloved Canadian groups metric and stars. So triple threat on that tour, go check it out. And listen in to the new broken social scene record. It's called Remember the Humans.

All right, let's bring in our colleague and pal and Nashvilleian and Powers. And what do you got for us? I'm excited about this week's lightning round because a band that I'm truly obsessed with is releasing its debut LP. It's Please Stop Laughing by Rabel. Rable is two guys, Tucker Elkins and Aaron Graham. Rable has always been a concept as much as a band, making these totally weird short-form videos and perfecting this off-kilter image of themselves as two kind of losers who are also pop geniuses.

Every song on Please Stop Laughing is just so deliciously strange. These songs are full of unreliable narrators, stories of drifters and broken dreams and drinking and family conflict, just messes. But everything is just beautiful, but that's just beautiful. And it's also kind of a joke or maybe a lie. This is music for the mirror world. This is where we live, you know. I love it. Let's bring in Robin Hilton.

Robin Hilton, what do you got for us? All right, Stephen. I'm going to go with Anastasia Christensen. She's an electronic producer and DJ from Denmark. And her new one is called Bestiarium Sombar. So the album title roughly means the book of grim beasts. And the songs are all named after animals. Like there's one called the Blackfooted ferret.

and sulfur Mustang. But, you know, it's not like these songs are full of nature sounds or anything really that even sounds like it came from the Earth. It's all very alien and pulsing. The polyrhythms and textures totally gets your head spinning in all kinds of different directions. But it's not overwhelming. Mostly, I think, because Anastasia Christensen just has a gift for creating a universe of sound

that never stops moving, it really comes. right at you, but it just still sounds so warm and inviting. Anastasia Christensen, the album Bestiarium Somer. Let's close it out with our dear pal and colleague, Lars Gotrich. Lars, what do you got for us? I have three queens in my life. Briya Carey, Linda Ronstadt, and Amy Grant. Amy Grant has been called the Queen of Christian Pop, and she is.

For decades, she's been both a pioneer and a per se. of faith-based music. But it's been over a decade since her last album of original material, and in that time, she's had open heart surgery and survived and recovered from a bike accident. The me that remains takes the long view of life,

but doesn't remain stuck in memory. Amy Grant wants us to consider what matters most while we are here on this earth, and what that means in word and indeed. It's a challenge, offered tenderly, and only the way that Amy can. And for this lifelong listener, it's her best album since House of Love.

That's the new album by Amy Grant, The Me That Remains. Life cut me wide open when my head hit the ground. It was on my time for dying. Guess my soul just stuck around. And out of this wreckage, I claim

the gifts and the healing. And let me So I think it's safe to say, Celia, you co-sign Lars Gotrich's Amy Grant love. Yeah, I shared within and if somebody wants to app me on Instagram, I might just share with you

my picture from my first backstage experience ever when I was 11 years old, had braces, and got to meet Amy Grant. I love that she's still making music. She's an amazing, upstanding Nashville citizen. I just can't say enough good things. So thanks for letting me add on my two cents to Lars.

What a great pick for this week. She is a source of good in the world. That is our show for this week. Thank you, Celia Gregory, for taking time out of your week at WNXP in Nashville. Thank you. It's always a pleasure to talk about new music with you, Stephen. Oh, likewise, always a joy. 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 Mohamed. We'll be back next week to discuss more new music with Joe Kendrick from WNCW in North Carolina. Until then, take a moment to be well. Don't forget to call your favorite moms and mom-like and mom-adjacent figures on Sunday and treat yourself to lots of great music.

days and years still finding my smile in the middle