Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The best new albums out April 25

Erin Bagatta
Samia, who visited us for a Studio Milwaukee Session in 2023, returns with new album "Bloodless."

It's Friday, which means if you forgot to pre-order a Nintendo Switch 2 yesterday, you're going to need to console yourself. Luckily, we've got plenty of new music available immediately that will cost you far less than $450.

NPR Music's Stephen Thompson welcomed Ayana Contreras of Denver public radio stations KUVO Jazz and The Drop to our New Music Friday podcast to discuss the latest from rising R&B star Coco Jones, revered saxophonist David Murray and much more.
New Music Friday is a feature of NPR's All Songs Considered podcast! Hear the discussion on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.


The Starting 5

  • Coco Jones, Why Not More (RIYL: Victoria Monét, Ashanti; Stream)
  • Samia, Bloodless (RIYL: boygenius, Japanese Breakfast; Stream)
  • Emma-Jean Thackray, Weirdo (RIYL: Meshell Ndegeocello, Parliament-Funkadelic; Stream)
  • David Murray Quartet, Birdly Serenade (RIYL: Eric Dolphy, Ben Webster; Stream)
  • Fly Anakin, (The) Forever Dream (RIYL: OutKast, Goodie Mob; Stream)

The Lightning Round

  • Self Esteem, A Complicated Woman
  • Ledisi, The Crown
  • Beach Bunny, Tunnel Vision
  • Silas Short, LUSHLAND
  • BRONCHO, Natural Pleasure

The Long List

Rock/Alt/Indie

  • Jensen McRae, I Don't Know How But They Found Me!
  • Bells Larsen, Blurring Time
  • Ida, Will You Find Me (25th Anniversary Edition)
  • Deerhoof, Noble and Godlike in Ruin
  • Goose, Everything Must Go
  • Maria Somerville, Luster
  • Mobley, We Do Not Fear Ruins
  • The Moonlandingz, No Rocket Required
  • Uwade, Florilegium
  • Viagra Boys, viagr aboys
  • Wishy, Planet Popstar EP
  • Cloth, Pink Silence
  • Jo Schornikow, Quiet Excerpts EP
  • The Golden Dregs, Godspeed
  • Fib, Heavy Lifting
  • Rialto, Neon & Ghost Signs
  • Stereophonics, Make 'em Laugh, Make 'em Cry, Make 'em Wait
  • Sunflower Bean, Mortal Primetime
  • Tennis, Face Down In The Garden
  • Maria Usbeck, Naturaleza

Pop

  • LU KALA, No Tears on this Ride
  • d4vd, WITHERED
  • Litany, Sadgirl
  • Sting, Sting 3.0 Live
  • Gigi Perez, At the Beach, In Every Life
  • WesGhost, Am I Dreaming?

Country/Folk/Americana

  • Willie Nelson, Oh What A Beautiful World
  • Southern Avenue, Family
  • Randy Savvy, Rank Hours EP
  • Tucker Wetmore, What Not To
  • Joan Osborne, Dylanology
  • Mairi Morrison & Alasdair Roberts, Remembered in Exile: Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia
  • Samantha Fish, Paper Doll
  • Olive Klug, Lost Dog

Rap/Hip-Hop

  • Niontay, Fada<3of$
  • Kai Ca$h, CASH RULES
  • MoneySign Suede, Mi Familia Por Vida

R&B/Soul

  • Roy Woods, Dark Nights

Global

  • Vendredi sur Mer, Malabar Princess
  • Cazzu, Latinaje
  • -M-, Fatoumata Diawara, Toumani & Balla Diabaté, Lamomali Totem
  • Femi Kuti, Journey Through life
  • Satomimagae, Taba
  • DJ Dadaman & Moscow Dollar, Kagaza
  • Natalia Lafourcade, Cancionera
  • I-Octane, God & I

Electronic/Out There

  • William Tyler, Time Indefinite
  • Salami Rose Joe Louis, Lorings
  • JakoJako, Tết 41
  • Nazar, Demilitarize
  • BIG WETT, RISK IT
  • Eliana Glass, E
  • Gloorp, Gloorp 'Em Up
  • Light-Space Modulator, The Rising Wave
  • Lila Tirando a Violeta, Dream Of Snakes
  • Natural Information Society & Bitchin' Bajas, Totality
  • Stimming, Friedrich
  • Rebekka Karijord, The Bell Tower
  • Somne, New Energy
  • Amanda Mur, Neu Om

Classical

  • Thomas Newman, Of Mice and Men: Music from the Original Ballet
  • Yo-Yo Ma, Shostakovich: The Cello Concertos
  • Eugene Ormandy, The RCA Victor Recordings 1935-42

Jazz

  • Jeff Goldblum, Still Blooming
  • Luke Stewart, Silt Remembrance Ensemble The Order
  • Cyrus Chestnut, Rhythm, Melody and Harmony

Credits

  • Host: Stephen Thompson
  • Guest: Ayana Contreras, KUVO Jazz & The Drop
  • Producer: Simon Rentner
  • Editor: Otis Hart
  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
  • Vice President, Music and Visuals: Keith Jenkins

Copyright 2025 NPR

Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist and guest host on All Songs Considered. Thompson also co-hosts the daily NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created with NPR's Linda Holmes in 2010. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
Ayana Contreras
Ayana Contreras is a cultural historian, memory worker, radio DJ and archivist. An avid collector with over 8000 vintage vinyl records, she hosts the Reclaimed Soul program on WBEZ and at Vocalo Radio in Chicago (where she also serves as Director of Content). She is a columnist for DownBeat magazine, and her writings have been published in Chicago Review, Oxford American, Bandcamp Daily and Lit Hub among other publications. Ayana was a 2014/15 University of Chicago Arts + Public Life Artist-In-Residence. In 2017, she received the Clementine Skinner Award by the Vivian Harsh Society, and was chosen as an Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) New Voices Scholar in 2015.