NPR: All Songs Considered

Most cities tend to have a voice, but few quite as loud or fascinating as Seattle's. This is a city that gave us Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana and Pearl Jam but also the softer sounds of Fleet Foxes, The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie.I wondered just what's bubbling up in Seattle. So I went to NPR member station KEXP, a hugely important voice in the Seattle scene, now and in the past as KCMU. Kevin Cole is someone I trust implicitly. He's been at KEXP for 20 years and is the Chief Content Officer and the afternoon DJ. The musical landscape we explore on this episode of All Songs Considered is deeper than the guitar-based music we've come to know from Seattle. You'll hear everything from sonic laptop adventures in hip-hop to post-horncore. Yup, you read that right: menacing punk energy with brass. I love Seattle.

It's another packed release week; Lil Nas X's debut EP is finally here, along with a posthumous release from Prince, a solo album from producer Mark Ronson, the return of The Raconteurs and more. FEATURED ALBUMS: Black Pumas: Black Pumas; Bedouine: Bird Songs of a Killjoy; The Raconteurs: Help Us Stranger ; Prince: Originals; Hatchie: Keepsake; Mark Ronson: Late Night Feelings; Lil Nas X: 7. OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR JUNE 21: Blick Bassy: 1958; Cassius : Dreems ; Black Midi : Schlagenheim ; Buddy and Judy Miller : Breakdown on 20th Avenue South ; Fruit Bats : Gold Past Life; Gucci Mane : Delusions of Grandeur; Mannequin Pussy : Patience; Pell : Gravity ; Titus Andronicus : An Obelisk; Willie Nelson : Ride Me Back Home.

The first half of 2019 has given us a lot of emerging artists to celebrate, from Lil Nas X and his insanely catchy (and endlessly meme-able) "Old Town Road" remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, to the Irish punk group Fontaines D.C. On this episode of All Songs Considered we count down the top ten most-mentioned new artists as selected by listeners in our recent online poll.

Our list of the week's best new albums includes Bruce Springsteen's wistful ode to orchestral pop, the rock artistry of Baroness, DMV rapper Goldlink, the spoken-word artist Kate Tempest and more. FEATURED ALBUMS: 1. Baroness: Gold & Grey; 2. Bruce Springsteen: Western Stars; 3. Kate Tempest: The Books of Traps and Lessons; 4. Bill Callahan: Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest; 5. Calexico + Iron & Wine: Years to Burn; 6. House and Land: Across the Field; 7. John Luther Adams: Become Desert; 8. Goldlink: Disaspora. OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR JUNE 14: Another Sky: Life Was Coming in Through the Blinds; Bad Books: III; Cigarette: Light Blues; Dressy Bessy: Fast Faster Disaster; Julia Shapiro: Perfect Version; Kaleidoscope: After the Futures; Keb' Mo': Oklahoma; Luxury: Trophies; Madonna: Madame X.

Host Bob Boilen is joined by NPR Music's Lyndsey McKenna and Marissa Lorusso for an essential mix that includes the honey-sludge pop of Haybaby, cathartic rock from the Shreveport band Seratones, dancer-turned singer-songwriter Jordan Moser and more. PLAYLIST: 1. (Sandy) Alex G: "Gretel," 2. Haybaby: "Animosity," 3. Seratones: "Power," 4. Outer Spaces: "YMLGOML," 5. Jordan Moser: "The Devil," 6. Joan Shelley: "Coming Down For You."