First Listen

First Listen: Richard Thompson, 'Electric'

1.30.13 at 12:45am by Stephen Thompson

The title of Thompson's 21st solo album promises a change of pace while doubling as a mission statement. And, sure enough, the record finds the great guitarist, singer and songwriter plugging in and indulging his rock 'n' roll side, complete with occasional solos that qualify as workouts.

First Listen: Laura Marling, 'Once I Was An Eagle'

5.20.13 at 1:10pm by Stephen Thompson

Marling's songs dig well beyond the everyday, with each sung in a wise, dusky, brooding voice that always seems in control of its surroundings. The U.K. folksinger's fourth album, Once I Was an Eagle, takes a remarkable journey over the course of 16 hypnotic, subtly inventive songs.

First Listen: Sean Nelson, 'Make Good Choices'

5.20.13 at 12:00am by Stephen Thompson

Eight years after his last album with Harvey Danger, Nelson returns with a wonderfully catchy and quotable solo record. True to virtually every piece of music the singer-songwriter has ever written, Make Good Choices is fueled by a cocktail of quotability and charm.

First Listen: Tricky, 'False Idols'

5.20.13 at 12:00am by Otis Hart

The producer's best album since the mid-'90s, False Idols is one of 2013's biggest surprises so far. His signature mix of menace and seduction still sounds contemporary after Tricky's more than 20 years in (and out of) the spotlight.

First Listen: Mount Kimbie, 'Cold Spring Fault Less Youth'

5.20.13 at 12:00am by Otis Hart

The British beat-makers shed their electronics in pursuit of a sound designed to translate live. For their second album, Mount Kimbie's Dominic Maker and Kai Campos even trot out languid vocal performances and a real live drum kit, while still sounding like themselves in the process.

First Listen: The Handsome Family, 'Wilderness'

5.13.13 at 12:15am by Stephen Thompson

The duo returns with a concept album about wildlife, with an emphasis on nature's capacity for destruction. Animals may burrow in and out of each of these songs, but they're merely helping humanity forge a pathway to madness.

First Listen: Piñata Protest, 'El Valiente'

5.13.13 at 12:15am by Felix Contreras

The band embraces the century-old traditions of Mexican music its members encountered while growing up in south Texas. But it also freshens classic sounds with an ear toward punk energy and reckless, intense power.

First Listen: G&D, 'The Lighthouse'

5.13.13 at 12:15am by Stephen Thompson

On The Lighthouse, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkins engineer an overstuffed, idea-packed collision of funk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, psychedelic space-rock, spoken-word poetry, protest music and more. Along the way, they examine innumerable intersections of love, politics, spirituality, healthy living, parenthood and world citizenship.

First Listen: Classixx, 'Hanging Gardens'

5.5.13 at 11:45pm by Otis Hart

All at once, Hanging Gardens feels vibrant and vintage, unmistakably young and inexplicably nostalgic. Classixx's Michael David and Tyler Blake may be known as DJs, but they're pop stars at heart, with melody reigning over rhythm and simple chord progressions carrying the day.

First Listen: Eluvium, 'Nightmare Ending'

5.5.13 at 11:45pm by Robin Hilton

Often amorphous and mostly instrumental, Matthew Cooper's songs suggest a sea of emotions: joy, sorrow, fear, love, awe. Nightmare Ending is a double album of hymns celebrating the majesty and wonder of life.