A couple of times a month, we like to check in on our running tally of our favorite new tracks — we call them "contenders" for our Best Songs of the Year list, which is published every December. NPR Music editor Sheldon Pearce and host Robin Hilton delivers the latest update, which includes the beguiling and deceptively seductive "Canopy" from Canadian R&B singer Charlotte Day Wilson, wry punk from the Brooklyn band Gustaf, Big Thief singer Adrianne Lenker's latest (and breathtaking) solo work, and more.
Featured artists and songs
- Gustaf: "Starting and Staring," from Package, Pt. 2
- Mustafa: "Imaan" (Single)
- Adrianne Lenker: "No Machine," from Bright Future
- Charlotte Day Wilson: "Canopy," from Cyan Blue
- Gary Clark Jr.: "Maktub," from JPEG RAW
- Nourished by Time: "Hell of a Ride," from Catching Chickens