NPR Music - New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 3

Episode Date: October 3, 2025

dodie. Molly Nilsson. Leon Vynehall. We welcome Skylar Rochelle of 90.9 The Bridge in Kansas City to the show to recommend five albums not made by Taylor Swift.The Starting 5:• dodie, 'Not For Lack Of Trying'• Blue Lake, 'The Animal'• Snõõper, 'Worldwide'• Molly Nilsson, 'Amateur'• Leon Vynehall, 'In Daytona Yellow'The Lightning Round:• S. Carey, 'Watercress' (EP)• Ledisi, 'For Dinah' (A Tribute to Dinah Washington)• Alfa Mist, 'Roulette'• Prewn, 'System'• Upchuck, 'I'm Nice Now'View our long list of new albums out on Oct. 3 and sample more than 50 of them via our New Music Friday playlists on npr.org.CreditsHost: Stephen ThompsonGuest: Skylar Rochelle, 90.9 The BridgeAudio Producer: Noah CaldwellDigital Producer: Elle MannionEditor: Otis HartProduction Assistant: Dora LeviteExecutive 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. I had a bad habit. Nothing lovers past. Happy Friday, everyone from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I am your host, Stephen Thompson. I'm here with Skylar Rochelle from 90.9, The Bridge in Kansas City. Hey, Skyler.

Hi, Stephen. Thank you so much for having me. It is a pleasure to have you. I'm so glad you're here. So the elephant in the room this week is the new Taylor Swift album, The Life of a Shoehl, showgirl, which we are not going to discuss in depth on this episode. Well, so obviously we are taping this earlier in the week, but I know that you got an extra special early listen to the record,

and I'm curious to hear what you think. Yeah, I got to hear it a bunch of times in the roughly 48 hours leading up to its release, and as you can imagine, NPR has lots of coverage rolling out in the next few days, so I will keep it brief. Basically, Taylor Swift has hinted that this was going to be kind of a back-to-bangers record. She produced it with Max Martin and Shelbach, who worked with her on her early pivots into pop music. And I think that comes through here. But the life of a showgirl still, I think, fits thematically with songs from her more, I kind of describe it as her more autumnal era with albums like folklore and Midnights and the Tortured Poets

Department. It's just more contained and compact, more brightly produced with more overt moments of joy. It's 12 songs in a little more than 40 minutes. Those 40 minutes are pretty big on drama and grandeur. It's definitely a record about falling in love with her fiancé, Travis Kelsey, but it's also bringing in notes of nostalgia, songs about fame, as well as a few simmering grievances. It is Taylor Swift. As the title kind of suggests, it's a record about the state of Taylor Swift, and if that

interests you, you've probably been listening to The Life of a Showgirl instead of listening to this show. Well, I can't wait to listen to it, especially considering that she's essentially an honorary Kansas City now. But yeah, I also hear that you're going to be giving even more of a take on a pop culture happy hour, which I also can't wait to hear. Yes, I'm talking to Ann Powers in depth on PCH this coming Monday. We've already recorded that discussion so I can tell you with complete confidence that it's a great conversation. I think it has something for casual fans and serious swifties alike. But for now, let's kick off our show. It turns out there are many non-Taylor Swift albums out today, October 3rd, starting with Doty.

Doty's new album is called Not for Lack of Trying. So, Doty is an English singer and songwriter. So Doty is an English singer and songwriter. and she is absolutely fantastic. She first gained recognition releasing original music and ukulele covers on YouTube. She's been doing that since 2007, so she's definitely been around. And this new record, not for lack of trying,

is a really beautiful companion to 2021's debut, built a problem. And it just sort of continues to draw on these themes of love, loss, and mental health and societal pressures, all the things that sort of come up with growing up in more of the digital age. Yeah, I mean, she is definitely somebody who has come of age on the internet and kind of makes music that speaks to that. You know, but she's also, you know, she's been at this long enough. She wrote this album as she was about to turn 30. And that helps kind of inform a lot

of these songs. I mean, one of my first kind of thoughts listening to this record is I think it shares some kind of basic DNA with the Icelandic singer Lave, a singer songwriter who, whose music is informed by jazz and folk music and show tunes, kind of a theater kid. To me, and I'm not here to, like, dump on Levei, but to me, it's like if Levei, if there was a little bit more looseness to it, if it was a little bit less bound to tradition, if it felt, it feels more personal to me.

Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree. This record does such a great job of carrying that sort of playful energy, but then also taking in that sort of emotional way that comes, you know, with coming of age. And the song, I feel bad for you, Dave, comes to mind. Yes. Yeah, it's got that really sort of, like, playful Basanova sort of style to it.

And it just does a really good job showcasing her knack for that sort of musical storytelling that she's so well known for. But then also taking, like, a harder look at, you know, critiquing people's social behavior. He writes what no one asked And feels a little better Feels a little better Dave is the kind of guy To lose a friend over a board game He doesn't get

Stops his toe Let's everyone know that he can do They appreciate how many different directions She's able to take sonically Over the course of this record There's a track called The List which is kind of channeling, you know, kind of esoteric, extremely inventive, dramatic singers like Kate Bush and Tori Amos, you know, with these gorgeous strings attached. And I appreciate as much as she kind of comes out of the, like, one performer with a ukulele world of YouTube performing.

But she also has a real knack for songs that have a certain amount of grandeur to them. Thomas calls me when it's still outside and my face looks tough. Following her, I only, I truly see him in her soft delight, still wonder if we might, but Christ, I cannot count on it. Following her debut, this record definitely seems like she's taking a little bit more of a cinematic approach. Like, for example, on her song, I'm Fine. There's this really beautiful sort of cinematic ebb and flow that sort of mirrors this internal struggle of saying, I'm fine, but then also internally, you know, going back and forth with sort of the underlying. feelings. Yeah, it understands that the phrase, I'm fine, is one of the most loaded two-word phrases

in the English language. So that is not for lack of trying. It's a new album by Doty. Next up, the artist Blue Lake has a new album. It's called The Animal. So Blue Lake is the musical project of Jason Dungan, who is currently based in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. The Animal is the fifth album from Blue Lake, and it traverses this really unique intersection of ambient and Americana spaces and also just has this really distinct Nordic aesthetic, which I find really compelling. We talked about Blue Lake on this show back in January when Jason Dungan put out this

gorgeous EP called Weft. And, you know, just those beautiful instrumentals that seem to be drawing not only from so many different sounds. You mentioned ambient and Americana. There's just folk and jazz and all these styles woven through these pieces. They're really gentle and graceful and beautiful, but there's also this expansive quality to them. You think about a song like Flowers for David, which is just this hypnotically beautiful song, you know, with the drones and guitars. It's really lush and rich,

and a word that we used when we were talking about Doty, and we may even use it again by the end of this episode, cinematic. I do think it's important to mention that this is his first record that's recorded with a full band in a studio. So I definitely think that contributes to that sort of fuller, more expansive sound. But also, it definitely still retains that intimacy that his previous work has had. I was trying to think about how to describe this record and the best way I can describe it is I feel like it's just really a

touch grass album. It's just like completely immersive and I don't know it's definitely something that I would want to turn on if I wanted to feel present or grounded or you know it just really sort of invites you to bask in that feeling. I like a touch grass album. I think that's a great way of putting it. I sometimes use the phrase like Sunday morning listening.

And I think in many ways Blue Lake makes Sunday morning music. It's kind of contemplative. It's music that really accompanies taking the opportunity to take a step back, maybe survey the natural world, for God's sake, you know, hurl your devices into the sea and just like to use kind of a cliche, be present. But I also appreciate the way that it's not just hanging in the best. background. You talked about the fact that he's working with a full band here, and I think he takes full advantage of that. In the song, Strand, it's got this atmospheric jangle, the strings are kind of

getting under your skin, and the song builds to kind of the closest that this record comes to a cacophony, you know, that you get a swell, you're getting a song that not only takes a journey, but reaches a destination, and I think that's really important. that exact sort of phrasing in terms of this song as well. It honestly sort of reminds me of like the sort of build of like cicadas at the peak of summer. You know, it sort of like starts out like this slow drone and then it sort of builds in this omnipresent feeling and sound. It's really, really gorgeous. That is Blue Lake. Blue Lake's new album is called The Animal. 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 Skyler Rochelle from 90.9 the bridge in Kansas City. Skyler, tell us about the work you're doing for the bridge. Yeah, so I'm currently living in Brooklyn, New York, but the show I host is back home in Kansas City. I hosted the Z show on Saturday nights from 8 to 10 p.m. And I've actually been doing it since my senior year of high school, which just feels absolutely wild. The show's pretty freeform. It's sort of like a college. radio vibe, but I try to dig into like newer and emerging artists. And then also the bridge has such a strong focus on supporting the local music scene in Kansas City because we really do have such a great one that I also try to make sure to bring that into my show as well. Yeah, I just feel

super lucky to be able to share music with folks every week. And if you're not in Kansas City, you can still catch it anytime on the bridge app or at bridge 909.org along with other specialty shows. love that you're able to kind of stay attached to your community through public radio, even as you're living in Brooklyn. It's like you're getting the best of both worlds. Yeah, it's true. It's been really wonderful. They've let me do it through college, high school. It feels like a really, I'm glad they've stuck with me. That is wonderful. All right, next up, we have got a new album by Snooper. Snooper's new album is called Worldwide. So Snooper is a punk band from Nashville. they're recording for Jack White's third man label. And Snooper, as you could probably tell from the

small excerpt we just played, is such a mix of intensity and fun. You know, Snoopers' live show is kind of carried out with enormous amounts of theatricality, including giant paper mache puppets. They've got this mascot that's a huge green bug. This isn't necessarily a super serious band, And I think that's part of the fun. It's kind of Gen Z dirtbag vibes all the way down, all just kind of brash, supercharged silliness in these songs that come out as kind of grinding frenetic blurts. They're very often in kind of the one to two minute range.

But there is a sense of playfulness to it that really allows it to hang together as more than just blurts of intensity. There's also kind of a sing-songy quality. There are gang vocals. There's big, fun, silly energy, and I think there's always space for that. Yeah, absolutely. And as a Gen Z member, I can definitely confirm.

I just find their music, like, in your face in a really fun way. Like, it's just got sort of that really, like, ball of energy sound. That's super refreshing and almost like a release at some time. You know, I had the pleasure of catching these guys live back at South by Southwest in March. their live set, like it's just sort of something that you need to see to believe. Like that is truly where the magic is. People just go absolutely nuts for these guys. Did they perform, I mean, South by Southwest, you're often just like running from gig to gig.

Did they trot out any puppetry or was it kind of stripped down? Oh yeah, they brought out the, what they call the Mosh Quito. That's their bug mascot? Yeah, yeah. They call it the Mosh Guido, which is pretty fun. The songs, I mean, there were a number for, for, for, a record that kind of blows by in less than half an hour, there are a bunch of really memorable songs and memorable hooks. There's a track called Star 69, which is just blistering in this

kind of cracked and distorted way, you know, the guitars are scraping and blasting, and it's all just this big, scrappy energy. And then the vocals from the singer Blair Trammell are coming in, and there's this sing-songy quality to them. And I think that juxtaposition is really, important. It's kind of like salt, fat, acid heat. You want a little bit of each. It definitely feels as though like the songwriting's also grown a bit more personal. Like, if you look at the song, POMPOM, which is just a super fun, high energy, lo-fi track with like these jagged guitars, like pounding drums and like, you know, sort of like chanty vocals, much like that resembled cheerleading. It sort of takes a little bit more of like

a serious approach and sort of like thematically. It's sort of about like wanting to be your own cheerleader and just like being a little bit more positive and like, but also like understanding that you don't need to take yourself that seriously, which I think is what this band is all about. Like they're here for a really good time. That is Snooper. Their new album is called Worldwide. Next up, a new album from Molly Nilsson. Molly Nilsson's new record is called Amateur. Molly Nielsen is a Swedish singer-songwriter and musician based in Berlin, and she's known for these really incredible minimalist arrangements that sort of is often categorized as this dark or retro-inspired synth pop that also has some 80s influences, if that makes sense. Oh, absolutely. She has this very formal, understated vocal delivery, but then is also very good at balancing that with pretty serious.

serious, like, lyrical depth. Amateur is her 12th studio album and released on her own label, Dark Skies Association. And something important to note, I think, is that she sort of dubs it as, quote, a Jubilee for Losers. I love that phrase. Right? What so many of these albums are about this week is this idea of kind of you're just doing your best. Molly Nilsson called this album amateur, and one thing that she's kind of talked about in the run-up to this album is that the original meaning of the word amateur in Latin is more like devotee. It's not necessarily like somebody who doesn't know how to do something. And she views

being an amateur as like pursuing your joys and pursuing your joys without regard for quote-unquote excellence, pursuing passion projects. And I think that ties into a lot of the themes that we've talked about with the Doody record, even with the Snooper record, you know, embracing your mistakes, living your mess, living your truth. And Molly Nelson, I think, really gets to the core of that idea in these songs. Even as she's kind of burying her vocals under these big synths, you still get a sense of that energy and that approach. Yeah, 100%. I mean, if you look at the track, Valhalla, It really encapsulates all of those themes that we're talking about.

She has this really cool line alongside crashing drums. She says, it's going to get better now. You'll see going to be much better off without me. The drums also really help amplify that emotional weight of that delivery. And she does this really cool thing of sort of living in that happy, sad space. Truly one of the prevailing emotions of our non-hmm. Truly one of the prevailing emotions of our day. There is like a prevailing sound of this record, right?

You mentioned the 80s influences. We've talked about the big synth hooks that drive a lot of these songs. But within that, she's still reaching sonically. She's still expanding sonically. And you get several musical hairpin turns over the course of this record. The song Classified, which has this kind of liquid electropop feel. Her voice is really discered. distorted and distant as these synths are kind of noodling and booping around her like crazy.

And I appreciate that there are these shifts that take place over the course of the record that really kind of keep your mind from wandering. That is Amateur, the new album by Molly Nilsson. We've got one more album we're going to talk about in-depth as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, October 3rd. But first, let's take a quick break. From NPR Music, it's New Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Skyler Rochelle from 90.9 The Bridge in Kansas City. We've got one more album we want to talk about in depth as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today. Before we get to that lightning round, let's talk about Leon Vinehall.

Leon Vinehall's new album is called In Daytona Yellow. So Leon Vinehall is a British DJ and producer. He's been around for a few years. This is his third full-length album, and he's kind of taking more of a James Blakey, atmospheric electropop approach than he's ever really taken before. Leon Vinehall has always been an experimentalist, and he's always made music that is clearly part of a multidisciplinary approach.

His first album was accompanied by a novella and a bunch of short films. You know, this one, you know, he's exploring more vocal collaborations, more spoken word. And thematically, I cannot tell you, Skyler, how much this record fits in with the themes that these other records that we've been talking about have. Here's a quote from Leon Vinehall, quote, it's about the rejection of perfection and embracing vulnerability. I wanted to let go of that pressure to say goodbye to a former version of myself and move forward. This record is so of a piece with what we've been talking about with Doty and with Molly Nilsson, even traces of snooper when you can make out the words. This record was a really, really cool listen.

I sort of love that Vinehall is still using this very experimental framework, but then also incorporating more traditional songwriting and pop structures to it. Specifically, the song Romantica featuring Kenzie T-T-T-H, I feel like it's definitely more of sort of that like upbeat dance floor focus track. with that sort of straightforward pop song structure, which I think is super fun and a really good time. But then also, if you juxtapose it by looking at a jagged promise, which is super short, I think it only comes in at like a little over a minute.

It's just like this very more introspective and emotional track that features his very own vocals too, which I think is something that he wanted to incorporate more in this record. in terms of being more vulnerable. You say you want to die serious, or death comes cheap, or any expensive living is a sin, plunging your hands into the tail. You know, this record, on several occasions, he quotes Leonard Cohen. You know, he says, you know, there is a crack in everything.

That is how the light gets in. That's a famous Leonard Cohen quote. And that kind of serves as a little bit of a mission statement on this record that I think works really, really effectively. But at the same time, you know, he's also still, you know, he is a house music producer. And several of these songs just work as pieces of electronic music. There's a track called WIPP featuring Jesse,

you know, which has this kind of low, I would say, like, tricky-ish rumble, warped and foreboding sample about our concept of the self. It's very heady music. It still works as dance music. It still works as electro pop music, but there's a searching quality to it that I think really serves him well. Mirr's Edge featuring Poison Anna. It's got this very sort of hypnotic, ghosty almost quality to it that sort of explore this tension between

self-love and ego, essentially, I think. But it's got like this really cool central sort of four-note synth loop that contributes to like this sort of anxiety that I think comes through in a really interesting way. That is Leon Vinehall. Leon Vinehall's new album is called In Daytona. Yellow. Now, Skyler, even in a week when Taylor Swift's new album is blocking out the sun, there are still tons of great new albums worth hearing this week. So many, in fact, that we

couldn't possibly get to them all. So we're going to do a quick lightning round with some of our favorites. I'm going to kick us off. Sean Carey is probably best known for his work playing drums in Boni Verre, but he's been releasing his own gorgeous music under the name S. Carey since 2010. His new solo project is a lush and beautiful four-song EP. If you feel nostalgic for Bunny Buryver's debut album, the strumming in the song Watercress is bound to trigger memories of songs like stacks. The whole thing is just gorgeous. That is Sean Carey slash S. Carey and his new EP, it's called Watercress. So Grammy-winning

So Grammy-winning vocalist Lettucey pays tribute to her lifelong hero on Ford Dinah, which is a stunning homage to the legendary Queen of the Blues Dinah Washington. The album blends Washington's timeless charisma and attitude with Lettucey's personal neo-soul-tinged jazz touch. The album really just re-imagines and breathes new life into her classics as well as those deeper cuts.

And that is Lettucey, and her new album is for Dina. Alpha MIST is a genre obliterating producer, rapper, piano player, songwriter, and labelhead from London. His music straddles hip-hop, dance music, and improvisational jazz. And as that description suggests, it's extremely unpredictable from song to song. even from moment to moment. Alpha Mists' new album is called Rulet. Los Angeles musician Izzy Hagerup, who records as Prune, is back with system,

an album that feels raw, intimate, and emotionally charged. It shifts from these quietly haunting moments to these really big explosive bursts of energy and really digs into these themes of dissociation, fear, and everything that sort of follows those emotions. Izzy approaches talking about her mental health with this kind of unfiltered honesty and pairs her really striking voice with these creative arrangements that really hits you right at the core. And the whole thing really just comes across as brave and deeply human. And it sort of reminds me of something that you're like, you're overhearing something almost too personal to share,

but it's sort of like impossible to look away from. And that is Prune's new album system. Finally, if you dug snooper and want some punk that is even more aggressive, even more in your face with a dose of righteous fury, allow me to call your attention to a band from Atlanta called Upchuk. Upchuk is led by an 11. electrifying singer named K.T. Thompson, who once went viral for getting hit in the head with a shopping cart during a show. A photo of her screaming into a microphone with blood on her face

actually adorns the cover of Upchuk's first album. The new one sounds like the work of a band whose music would spawn the type of mosh pits that get shopping carts thrown into them. Upchuk's new album is called I'm Nice Now. And that is our show for this week. Thank you, Skylar. Rochelle for taking time out of your week at 90.9 The Bridge. Thank you so much, Stephen. I really appreciate it. 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 edited by Otis Hart.

The executive producer of NPR music is Soraya Mohamed. We'll be back next week to discuss new music with Celia Gregory from WNXP in Nashville. Until then, take a moment to be well. be patient with friends who only want to talk about Taylor Swift, and treat yourself to lots of great music.