NPR Music - The Contenders, Vol. 18: Disiniblud, Anamanaguchi, more

Episode Date: August 26, 2025

We update our running list of the year’s best songs with a bunch of glitched-out ear candy, raging rock, and tracks that seek real, human connections in an increasingly artificial landscape.Featured artists and songs:1. Disiniblud: “Give-upping (feat. Julianna Barwick),” from ‘Disniblud’2. ear: “Fetish” (single)3. Emily Yacina: “Talk Me Down,” from ‘Veilfall’4. Anamanaguchi: “Rage (Kitchen Sink),” from ‘Anyway’5. james K: “Play,” from ‘Friend’Weekly reset: A day at the county fairEnjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [e-mail] 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

It's All Songs Considered. I'm Robin Hilton. NPR Music's Hazel Sills here. Hazel, welcome. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be on the show for the very first time. I've never been on the show ever. It's been a minute.

Can't wait to see what it's about? Yeah. Yeah. It has been a while since you've been on. I don't remember last time you were on. I feel like I've just been booked and busy. It's been a busy summer. Yeah.

But yeah, now I'm back. Well, this is a contenders episode. The NPR Music Team, We keep a running list of the year's best songs. We add to it every other week or so. With the latest tracks we love so much, they're in the running for a spot on our final best of the year lists when we get to that point. So what's going on with your picks this week, Kaisal? I'm hearing a lot of ear candy, a lot of dreamy, glitchy stuff to kind of get lost in, a lot about letting go, some self-reflection.

What else? Yeah, I definitely think it's music to get lost into. And definitely some artists who are playing with ideas of fantasy and kind of like childlike wonder. Should I just go into the first song? Yeah, what do you want to do? Okay. I want to play this band that I really love, new group this year called Disney Blood. I want to play their song titled Give Upping.

And it's from their self-titled debut album. Immediately took me away. I mean, that just yanked me out of the world that I'm right now and put me right in the middle of its world. Yeah, I think that's a good way of putting it. I mean, this song, and this is the opening track from this album, this Disney Blood self-titled album that came out a few months ago. It is just insanely beautiful to me. It's like, it's not, you know, obviously you want music to transport you, right? But this is music that, and I think purposefully so, is like not grounded in reality at all.

And Disney Blood is made up of two experimental musicians who I really admire, Nina Keith and Rachika Nayar. And for this project, they were really kind of inspired by this idea of, like, reconnecting with their almost like inner children, like their childlike selves, and kind of reaching back into time and accessing a version of themselves who could just kind of like experiment and like play around in the studio. And I think they're making music with the innocence and playfulness and fantasy of being a child, almost. And I think that's really beautiful.

And I don't know. I don't know what you were like as a child. Were you also fantasizing about like opening wardrobes and entering Narnia or like conjuring up? Were you like thinking about, you know, going into different universes? I mean, a little bit. I think I was maybe moving around in the space. that I think this song also inhabits, which is the darker side of your childhood fantasies. And by darker, I just mean, terrifying.

I mean, it's sort of in the name Disney Blood, which is, we were talking before the show about this and how, like, are there any movies that are more horrifying, really, than a lot of the Disney ones? They're full, I mean, they're very bloody and full of death and loss and grief. And, you know, even when they're made for kids. And I think as much as they're trying to be in touch with their childhood fantasies, I do feel like there's a real dark undercurrent to all of this. Yeah, it's like it's not this sort of like, oh, I'm just going to go back in time to this rosier, totally innocent time of being a child where I had no fears and no problems. Right. There's something very, even for its darkness, there's something kind of like comforting or like warm to the music. that they're making. It's like they are imagining this new world in their music. This album

has really stuck with me and this song is in particular, like, as just being one of the most gorgeous pieces of music I've heard this year. Definitely a contender for me as well. Disney Blood, by the way, is spelled D-I-N-I-B-L-U-D. Avoiding any lawsuits there. I imagine. Disney Blood. Yeah, they clearly have a thing for fairy tales. Have you seen the promo photo where I'm pretty sure they're standing with that creature from the never-ending story? Yes, I don't think it's exactly the dragon falcour. I think it's like it, I think, I'm pretty sure that's his name.

I don't. I've never seen the movie, but I immediately recognize that creature. And I thought, that's that flying furry feathery animal from, I think, the never-ending story that they're standing with. Yes, totally. And it's just like in the back of a garage. somewhere in the suburbs. And that really captures the energy of the album. It's like we are going to unearth these memories or these vibes that you haven't thought

about in a while. And are being stored in some dusty garage somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. In the back of your brain. Yeah. So Disney Blood Give Upping is the song from the album Disney Blood. I want to play something that I actually thought you might pick this week because it's a band

and a song that I totally. learned about and heard from you, this is a duo that goes by the name, Ear. I have felt kind of insane telling people about this band. I feel like a Portlandia sketch where I'm like, I'm really into this band. I'm really into this band. They're called Ear. Yeah. You're like, you're messing with me. Yeah. Very, very difficult to find anything about them online in no small part because of the name. But, I mean, there just isn't much out there about them right now. They've only released a few songs. But you know, when you were telling everyone about You describe their music as having Postal Service and the Books energy.

And I could not hit play fast enough on their music. And like I said, they've only got a few singles. The one I want to play is called Fetish. I think the Postal Service and the Books, those are perfect touchstones for this, I think. Okay, I'm glad. Because when I said that, I was like, am I landing this right? I feel like, yeah, I mean, I feel like I really like music that sounds like it's being built and time in a way where it sounds like someone is kind of tinkering and cobbling it together.

Yeah. And this is, this song really scratches that, that itch for me. Oh, yeah. That is so well put. I mean, just all these little sounds flitting around. It does feel like it's kind of being, I don't know, hammered together in a little workshop or something like that. The electronics, the break beats, all the little weirdness. But also kind of hooky, you know, and super inviting, you know. It's like kind of synthetic but also there's a real warmth to it. I don't know. I've listened to it many times, and I've sat with the lyrics for a good bit.

I have no clue what this song is about. It's about not being able to park where there's a fire hydrant. I mean, that's the only thing I could kind of hold on to. It's like, yeah, she says that the end fire hydrant, can't park here. But, you know, that kind of sent me down this rabbit hole of thinking about when you're at a point in your life where nothing's working out. Like, is there anything more maddening than trying to find a parking space in the city? You know, it is the worst. And then you think, okay, I'll just park here.

And even though, you know, you're probably breaking 20 laws. And then you get a ticket that you can't afford to pay. I don't know. It feels like it kind of unfolds in this big anonymous city somewhere. And it just took me back to a time and a place that I'm not entirely sure I really wanted to go to. I mean, it made me think about how when I graduated. you're from college, they wouldn't give me my diploma until I paid all my back parking tickets. And it was several hundred dollars at that point that I built up in all my years in college.

No, no, no. There is this kind of like anxious energy to it. Yeah. It's like the thing that I love about this song is like, you're right. It does have this kind of like hooky aspect to it. But at a certain point, I have no idea where it's going. Like it doesn't follow a typical structure. Yeah.

So the best I can tell, it's a duo. Yal Avton and Jonah Paz. I think they go to Bard College or they went to Bard College. Not terribly online. They do have an Instagram account I've started to follow and I'm pretty sure they have an album

coming out on September 8th. They posted a very short note on the Instagram actually just before we came into the studio here and it says the most dear and the future September 8th. So I'm going to say that's an album. Cool.

Yeah, very much looking forward to it. All right, just a quick reminder. If you like the show, tell a friend about it. Leave us a review on Apple Music or Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also drop us an email. We love any kind of questions, comments, feedback of any kind. Our email address is all songs at npr.org. I want to play a song that I feel like has been really comforting me lately.

It is a song by the artist Emily Yassina. and it is called Talk Me Down. I think this song's really fascinating. There's so much going on in it. I'm really curious to hear what you think about it and what you have to say because, yeah, it's doing a lot of things. Yeah, you know, I said the song has been a comfort to me lately.

It does, to me, sound like a song about someone who wants to be comforted, and maybe that's why I find it comforting, you know. Emily Yassina is a singer-songwriter who I feel like I've kept tabs on for a minute now. She's worked a lot with Alex G. You've probably heard her sing on songs like Treehouse with him. And this song, it's very almost like simple in a way. But it kind of like there's something about the piano to it and just the way that she sings it. It just, it feels like it's

kind of carrying me with her. Like there's just this movement to it. And to your point about it being complicated, like there's so much imagery in the song. Like, you know, she's peeking over a ledge. and she wants someone to talk her down. And immediately I sort of read that as, you know, I need someone to be there for me and to help me through something. And what did you think about it? Well, I guess I think the thing that's really interesting about that is she's very clearly reaching out and saying, talk me down, right? But it's also very inward looking and I feel like she's simultaneously trying to find the solution within herself to whatever her problem. She keeps saying it's my problem, whatever it is.

You know, so it's very inward looking. I mean, I think you can have both things where you can take responsibility and look for a solution inside yourself, but at the same time, lean on the ones you love. And I feel like maybe that's kind of what she's doing here. No, I think you're right. I hear that kind of push and pull, you know, wanting to outstretch an arm and get some help. But then also wanting to feel self-resilient. I mean, there's that part in the song where she sings, you know, I wish I was more of a natural. Like, I want to open up.

Like, I get the sense in the song of wanting to bring other people into what you're going through and not necessarily just go through it alone. Yeah, I read that the whole album is about the fear of being vulnerable, which makes sense because, I mean, I don't think you can be afraid of something or be vulnerable without being acutely aware of what your problems are. I mean, you've got to be very self-aware to start off with. And yeah, great song. And lots of other ear candy in this one, too, even though it's doing a lot with very little. I mean, it's, like you said, it's very simple in a lot of ways, but so many little sounds and stuff to get lost in. So again, Emily Yassina, Y-A-C-I-N-A-Y-A-N-A-A-E-N-A-E-N-A-E-N-A-E-N-A-E-N-A-E-N-A-L-A-L-V-A-L-V-E-E-L-F-E-L-A-L-F-E-E-L-A-L-F-E-L-E-A-L-F-E-E-E-L-E-A-L-U-L-E-R-E-E-R-E-E-R-E-E-E-L-E-R-E-E-W-E-E-R-E-E-R-E-W-E-E-L-W-W-E-R-W-W-E-W-W-W- chip tune music, you know, very lo-fi electronics, almost like early video game sounds and

stuff, you know, very synth-heavy pop music, very glitchy. This new album that they've got, it's totally different. I mean, it still sounds like Onamana Guchi, I think, at its heart. It's pretty glitchy in parts, but really it's more of a full-on-rock album, very guitar-heavy, really rips in places. The album is called Anyway, and the song I want to play from it is called rage kitchen sink in parentheses rage kitchen sink yeah i could have picked any number of songs from this album so much of it really like i said just absolutely rips i wanted to play this song because the whole kitchen sink metaphor i think is really brilliant uh specifically in the context of rage so again it's the song is called rage kitchen sink i mean first off i think this song is about

how everyone is just so outraged right now by everything, just apoplectic, about everything and how everything is a trigger. We are living through the kitchen sink of rage. You know, we use the phrase kitchen sink as sort of a catch-all when we want to say everything is included, like everything and the kitchen sink. I mean, that's what's happening, I think, right now. Everything is setting everybody off. And what happens to us when we allow everything to set us off like that? What happens when you let the kitchen sink fill up. It overflows and it spills out everywhere. I think over time black mold starts to grow on everything.

You know, that can make you really sick. I've put a lot of thought into this. No, it's just like something keeps getting added to the pile and added to the pile. And I don't know if I hear rage so much as I hear like weariness. Like there's this sense of like it sounds tired. I hear tiredness. Yeah. And then it really.

picks up. There's that moment where, you know, it's like, where are we going to go now? Yeah. And there's just even more to the laundry list of like problems. And I was really on board when the song kind of picks up in that way because I felt connected to that rage. And maybe I'm just too easily to record. I don't know. There's that line in the song where he sings, you know, Starbucks on your block, someone called the cops. And it's like, you don't really need to know. everything about what those two images, you know, evoke or the entire story behind them. But I feel where he's coming from. Yeah.

Well, I mean, rage is very exhausting. Yeah. And, you know, I think there's also a real undercurrent of fear and anxiety and paranoia, all wrapped up in all of those little, simple little images that you're talking about. This whole album is so good. I think one of my favorites of the year so far, multiple tracks that could end up on my best of the year list. Again, the album is called, Anyway, I'm not really sure what's the best way to say that.

Anyway, or anyway. Maybe that's the point there. It's like a Rochak Texas. It's like come as you are and figure it out on your own. Yeah. It says more about me than the album title or band. Yeah. And that song again was called Rage Kitchen Sink.

All right, we've got your weekly reset coming up. Be sure to listen for that at the end of the show. But Hazel, you've got one more that you want to play for us. Yeah, I do. It's funny to play the song after Rage Kitchen Sink, which is, you know, sort of has like a little video game sound, you know, being based in chip tune. Because I want to play a song that makes me feel like I'm in a video game.

But it's maybe not filled with rage filled with playfulness. It is a song called Play by a very cool kind of avant-pop artist named James Kay. Yeah, take me back to the video game idea that you had because when the song first starts, I definitely was feeling it, right? Like you're in this maybe like an early 90s video game and not like you're not going around shooting up stuff. It's more of those world exploring games, you know, like where you're discovering worlds and puzzle solving. But then, man, that guitar kicks in about halfway through.

and it totally changes. Yeah, totally. Yeah, I think when I think of a video game, like there's an element of like battle to this song, right? Like it's like, I don't totally know what the song is about, you know, but there is this like frenetic energy to this song. There's something kind of futuristic about it. I feel like I'm like trapped in a video game

where I'm like trapped in the technology or something. And, you know, this song is interesting because there's been so much music this year that feels like it could have been There's been so much music. Period. There's been a lot of music this year that sounds like it could have been released in the late 90s, like early 2000s.

Like I hear a little ray of light in this. I hear a little like sneaker pimps and like that kind of like breakbeat, you know, electronica and you know there's a music video for this song where it's like everyone in the video is using transparent CD players and like watching VHS tapes. So I feel like there's an element of like technological nostalgia at work in this song, like just the way that it sounds.

Well, that's interesting. I think that tracks a little bit with one of the things that it made me think about, which is the idea of nostalgia and romanticizing the past. Maybe when things were simpler, maybe when you were a kid and felt more connected to your world. I don't know. But it feels to me like this song is, and this is something I heard in a lot. lot of your picks that it's seeking some sort of real meaningful human connection in some way. This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately, and maybe that's why this popped into my head as I was listening to it.

But it just feels like this is something that is becoming more and more critical for us to stay connected, you know, like face-to-face in-person real-time with others. I don't know. Everything I read about AI and how people would rather date chatbots. and, you know, watch porn and navigate the complexities of actual human relationships. You know, it's just like, I don't know, it seems like all the things that make us living,

breathing human beings with real feelings are at risk if that's where people are headed. Absolutely. Yeah, I think people are very, I think a lot of artists are fatigued by how artificial everything can be, you know, for all the reasons that you just mentioned. And, yeah, I, I, I, feel like I hear more and more artists who are trying to kind of like tunnel through all of those

complications and like technological advances and like you say like find something real inhuman. So that song again from James Kay is called Play and it's from the album Friend. That's out September 5th, I believe, yeah? Yes, it is. All right. Well, that'll do it for this installment of the contenders. Hazel Sills, thanks as always, for hanging out and sharing some great tunes. Thank you for having me.

Okay, and here's your weekly reset. Be well, everyone. I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered.