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The best new albums out Sept. 19

By Stephen Thompson
Published September 19, 2025 at 9:27 AM EDT
Alt-country band Wednesday's new crunchy, cathartic and beautifully mundane album, Bleeds, is out today.
Graham Tolbert
/
Dead Oceans
Alt-country band Wednesday's new crunchy, cathartic and beautifully mundane album, Bleeds, is out today.

Joan Shelley, Lola Young and the return of Sarah McLachlan. Kyle Meredith from WFPK in Louisville joins Stephen Thompson to chat about their favorite albums out Friday, Sept. 19.

The Starting 5:

- Joan Shelley, 'Real Warmth' (Stream)

- Lola Young, 'I'm Only F****** Myself' (Stream)

- Wednesday, 'Bleeds' (Stream)

- Sarah McLachlan, 'Better Broken' (Stream)

- Yasmine Hamdan, 'I remember I forget بنسى وبتذكر' (Stream)


The Lightning Round:

- Kieran Hebden & William Tyler, '41 Longfield Street Late '80s'

- Nine Inch Nails, 'Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'

- Lawrence Matthews, 'Between Mortal Reach & Posthumous Grip'

- Joy Crookes, 'Juniper'

- Joanne Robertson, 'Blurrr'


See the long list of albums out Sept. 12 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.


Credits

Host: Stephen Thompson

Guest: Kyle Meredith, WFPK

Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell

Digital Producer: Elle Mannion

Editor: Otis Hart

Production Assistant: Dora Levite

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

It's Friday, which unfortunately does not guarantee good tidings these days. Whether the unpredictability leaves you longing for a calm escape or craving a good scream into nothingness, today's new music has you covered.

If you're looking for the former, Stephen Thompson and Kyle Meredith from Louisville Public Media dive into Kentucky's own tranquil and familiar Joan Shelley and her soothing new album, Real Warmth. And if it's the latter you're after, they wax praise for alt-country band Wednesday and their crunchy, cathartic and beautifully mundane, Bleeds.

Hear our hosts crack open these two albums, as well as Sarah McLachlan's nostalgic return and a few more standouts wherever you get your podcasts, and make sure to scroll down for the complete list of today's best albums.

The Starting Five

Joan Shelley.
Nick Rasmussen / No Quarter
/
No Quarter
Joan Shelley.

Our hosts share the backstories and best songs from the following albums:

💿 Joan Shelley, Real Warmth (Stream)

  • Recommended If You Like: Hurray For The Riff Raff, Jess Williamson

💿 Lola Young, I'm Only F****** Myself (Stream)

  • RIYL: Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan

💿 Wednesday, Bleeds (Stream)

  • RIYL: The Drive-By Truckers, MJ Lenderman

💿 Sarah McLachlan, Better Broken (Stream)

  • RIYL: Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette

💿 Yasmine Hamdan, I remember I forget بنسى وبتذكر (Stream)

  • RIYL: Soapkills, Lucrecia Dalt

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 Lightning Round

Joy Crookes
Sony UK /
Joy Crookes

Five more albums we wish we had time to discuss on the podcast:

💿 Kieran Hebden & William Tyler, 41 Longfield Street Late '80s

💿 Nine Inch Nails, Tron: Ares (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

💿 Lawrence Matthews, Between Mortal Reach & Posthumous Grip

💿 Joy Crookes, Juniper

💿 Joanne Robertson, Blurrr

Listen to each album's best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.

The Long List

Castle Rat
King Volume Records /
Castle Rat

For those who want to dig even deeper, here are the week's new albums sorted by genre:

Rock/Alt/Indie

  • Castle Rat, The Bestiary
  • Pavement, Hecklers Choice
  • ALA.NI, Sunshine Music
  • Golden Apples, Shooting Star
  • Maura Weaver, Strange Devotion
  • Total Wife, Come Back Down
  • Bad Cop Bad Cop, Lighten Up
  • Biffy Clyro, Futique
  • Black Heart Procession, Hearts & Tanks EP
  • Black Lips, Season Of The Peach
  • Boo Boos, Young Love
  • Charlie Pittman, okay.again? EP
  • Cuddle Magic, Underwater
  • Deaf Club, We Demand A Permanent State Of Happiness
  • Eades, Final Sirens Call
  • Hayden, Elk-Lake Serenade (20th Anniversary)
  • Jack Schneider, Streets Of September
  • Kadhja Bonet, Battlewear EP
  • Kamelo, Eternity (30th Anniversary Edition) [2025 Remaster]
  • KennyHoopla, conditions of an orphan// EP
  • Lawn, God Made The Highway
  • Los Straitjackets, Somos Los Straitjackets
  • Milo Korbenski, Sex Angel
  • MIRADOR, MIRADOR
  • Motion City Soundtrack, The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World
  • Mud Slick, Keep Crawlin In The Mud
  • Múm, History of Silence
  • Nation of Language, Dance Called Memory
  • Native Sun, Concrete Language
  • NewDad, Altar
  • Novembers Doom, Major Arcana
  • Ocean Alley, Love Balloon
  • Orua & Reverse Death, Reflectors Vol. 1
  • Paradise Lost, Ascension
  • Photo Ops, Opening Up To Strangers
  • Pompey, I'm Scared
  • pôt-pot, Warsaw 480km
  • R-Zac and MC Scallywag, F*** the F****** F****** EP
  • Reverse Yr Curse, Where are we going and when will we be there
  • Ripe, Play the Game
  • Scarlet Rae, No Heavy Goodbyes
  • Secret World, Tomorrow Is A Mystery To Me EP
  • Soulkeeper, Join Us In Creating Excellence EP
  • Species, Changelings
  • Summerbruise, Infinity Guise
  • The Divine Comedy, Rainy Sunday Afternoon
  • The Favors, The Dream
  • The Happy Fit, Lovesick
  • The Oxys, Casting Pearls Before Swine
  • The Prize, In the Red
  • The Sirens Of Titan, Lost Kingdom
  • The Third Mind, Right Now!
  • Toro y Moi, Unerthed: Hole Erth Unplugged
  • Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, Mossy Oak Shadow
  • Wilder Maker, The Streets Like Beds Still Warm
  • bloom effect, oscilón EP
  • Jordan Patterson, The Hermit
  • Tune-Yards, Tell the Future With Your Body EP
  • Max Winter, Mourning Routine
  • Evan Honer, Everything I Wanted
  • The Paradox, NSFW
  • Frazey Ford, Indian Ocean (Reissue)
  • maxine funke, Timeless Town

Classical

  • Christopher Stark, Fire Ecologies

Country/Folk/Americana

  • Bones Owens, Best Western
  • Briscoe, Heat of July
  • Cole Chaney, In The Shadow of the Mountain
  • Jackson Scribner, Depression Kids
  • John Calvin Abney, Transparent Towns
  • Jon Nolan, Slow Cooker
  • Josh Ross, Later Tonight
  • Mappe Of, Afterglades
  • Mike Miz, Sometimes by Surprise
  • Peter Stampfel, Song Shards
  • The Pink Stones, Thank The Lord, It's the Pink Stones
  • Vincent Lima, To Love A Thing That Fades

Electronic/Out There

  • Muskila, JAH NAM
  • JASS, Eager Buyer
  • Ben Bondy, XO Salt Llif3
  • Elninodiablo, The Dawny Groove
  • Hideki Umezawa & Giuseppe Cordaro, Terrarum Murmur
  • Microcorps, Clear Vortex Chamber
  • Pegg, Presque Tout: Variations no. 435-514 "Baseball Season," Pegg & Van Dyke Parks
  • Sammy Virji, Same Day Cleaning
  • Semtek, Four More Dubs
  • Shapednoise, Absurd Matter 2
  • Weathertunes, Umami EP
  • johnny sais quoi, Love On Ice
  • Byron Yeates, Pansy Beat

Global

  • TEKE::TEKE, Hagata Delux
Cécile McLorin Salvant.
Ebru Yildiz / Nonesuch
/
Nonesuch
Cécile McLorin Salvant.

Jazz

  • Cécile McLorin Salvant, Oh Snap
  • James Danderfer, If Not Now
  • John Taylor, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron, Tramonto
  • Patrick Shiroishi, Forgetting Is Violent
  • Rabbath Electric Orchestra, Amall

Pop

  • BAKAR, BEASTIE
  • Benjamin Elgar, Make It Through The Night
  • Kitba, Hold the Edges
  • Leith Ross, I Can See The Future
  • The BossHoss, Back to the Boots
  • Venice Qin, MOONLANDING
  • djank , POOSHKA
  • Martox, Caracol: Vueltas y Vueltas
  • Labrinth, Prelude

R&B/Soul

  • cktrl, spirit
  • Halima, Sweet Tooth
  • JÁNA , Orbit
  • Kendra Morris, Next
  • Brent Faiyaz, ICON

Rap/Hip-Hop

  • Cardi B, AM I THE DRAMA?
  • Atmosphere, Slug & Ant, Jestures
  • Kojey Radical, Don't Look Down
  • praise, LOST EP
  • V/A, HIM (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Milo J, La Vida Era Mas Corta
  • clipping., Dead Channel Sky Plus

Credits

  • Host: Stephen Thompson
  • Guest: Kyle Meredith, WFPK
  • Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
  • Digital Producer: Elle Mannion
  • Editor: Otis Hart
  • Production Assistant: Dora Levite
  • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

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.)