Our Favorite Songs And Albums From April

Plus, an interview with Vampire Weekend and artists you should know from Austin.

Courtesy of the artists T. S. Eliot once called April “the cruellest month” and, well, we made it through — and it was in no small part due to all the great music we heard. April gave us a genre-smashing single from Lil Nas X (with the horses in the back), a feminist tearjerker from Little Big Town and a string-sweetened ballad from poetic songwriter Aldous Harding. Our favorite albums this month are tied together by a spirit of evolution and vulnerability, from the blossoming string quartet sounds of composer Caroline Shaw to Weyes Blood's sweeping '70s pop to Kevin Abstract’s coming-of-age story. You can read more and stream the songs and albums in our monthly music reports. It’s gonna be May, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna New Music The National’s best singles are elevated by specificity. Take “Hairpin Turns,” the latest preview of the band’s forthcoming album, I Am Easy to Find, out May 17. One of the three gorgeous voices at the heart of Mountain Man, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig has announced a solo record. Our colleague Stephen Thompson says the first single “goes down like a cup of hot cocoa laced with CBD oil.” Featuring A lot has happened since Vampire Weekend’s last album: Between member departures and side projects, some voices in the music industry have started floating the idea that guitar rock might be moving towards irrelevance. To mark the release of Father of the Bride, lead singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig joined NPR's Audie Cornish to talk about how age, experience and time away have changed his approach to songwriting. Austin is one of the most exciting U.S. cities for music fans. From outlaw country and electric blues to heavy metal and R&B, here are nine artists you should know from the Texas capital, selected by Member station KUTX. May 3 would have been Pete Seeger's 100th birthday. To mark the centennial, Smithsonian Folkways released a six-CD collection that spotlights Seeger's pacifist methods, environmental activism and inquisitive songwriting style. Tiny Desk Claire Harbage/NPR We were given two possible scenarios for Toro y Moi’s performance at the Tiny Desk: an electronics-heavy recreation of his latest record, Outer Peace, or a stripped-down set. Chaz Bear made a game-time decision to forgo the voice processing and synths and delivered an impressively subdued set. One More Thing The real star of this week’s New Music Friday comes courtesy of your favorite morning news program. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify! You received this message because you're subscribed to our NPR Music emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002