First Listen: Lori McKenna, 'The Bird & The Rifle'
Working with a band of unassumingly outstanding Nashville session players, McKenna finds a balance between literary subtlety and rock 'n' roll swagger.
Music
First Listen: Descendents, 'Hypercaffium Spazzinate'
Undimmed by the decades, singer Milo Aukerman and his band thrash, crash and blaze gloriously on the seventh album in their 39-year history together.
First Listen: Various Artists, 'Quiero Creedence'
A new compilation lets Latin Alternative artists (including Los Lobos, Ozomatli, Los Lonely Boys, La Marisoul, Juan Gabriel and more) transform and reimagine CCR's formidable catalog.
Robert Elllis On World Cafe
Ellis' new fourth album is a gorgeous, diverse collection of richly human roots-country music.
Viking's Choice: Mizmor, 'v. Bask In The Lingering'
Mizmor's looming, blackened doom metal is sublime and mesmerizing in this sermon about survival.
First Watch: Hannah Gill & The Hours, 'Austin'
Watch the 18-year-old belter sing "Austin" as a brass band follows her through the city's streets.
Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing
Hear music from Cass McCombs, Blood Orange, Dawg Yawp and more in July's playlist of public radio favorites.
Music Review: 'In My Room,' Jacob Collier
Tom Moon reviews the debut album from Jacob Collier, In My Room.
Watch Mandolin Orange Perform 'Cavalry' Live At Pickathon
The North Carolina duo performs a gorgeous folk-pop song on a wooded stage outside Portland, Ore.
Songs We Love: Miranda Lambert, 'Vice'
For listeners expecting an airing of dirty laundry, Lambert's new single might feel like a sophisticated sucker punch. Instead of bitterness, "Vice" tells a tale of heartache-fueled self-destruction.