All Songs Considered

Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Stephen Thompson and Katie Presley gather at the end of day four at the SXSW Music Festival to talk about mosh pit adventures and music discoveries.

Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, and Stephen Thompson gather at the end of day three at the SXSW Music Festival to talk about bands they've seen in Austin.  They also reflect on Wednesday's tragic accident.

Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton and Ann Powers gather at the end of day two at the SXSW Music Festival to talk about the Stubbs showcase.

Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Stephen Thompson and Katie Presley gather at the end of day one at the SXSW Music Festival to share their discoveries, adventures and old favorites. 

As excited as we are about NPR Music's 2014 SXSW showcase with Damon Albarn, St. Vincent, Kelis and others (which you can stream live on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. Central), those artists represent a fraction of the massive party happening in Austin, Texas this week.   To prepare for this week's show, All Songs hosts Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton and NPR Music's Stephen Thompson listened to 1,540 songs by other musicians playing at the festival. Each narrowed that enormous list down to just a few songs by previously unknown bands that they're now planning to check out in Austin. NPR Music's Frannie Kelley and Ann Powers also stop by to offer a couple of suggestions, along with Katie Presley, music writer for Bitch Media and NPR Music.   Discovery is the name of the game for many at SXSW, and this show is all about up-and-coming talent. Whether it's the upbeat, celebratory feel of Louisiana's Royal Teeth or the ghostly experimental electronic music of Alligator Indian, this edition of All Songs Considered is bursting with passion and unique voices. Hopefully we'll uncover a lot more of that feeling this week in Austin.

On this week's All Songs Considered: A premiere from Beach House, the first-ever solo project from Damon Albarn, and a brand new song from singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. It's the snow-day edition of our show. With the District buried under a late-season blanket of ice and frigid air, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton were stuck at their respective apartments, left to record the show in their home studios. But Bob warms things up at the top of the program with "Gouge," a breezy sounding cut from the appropriately named duo Eternal Summers. Robin follows with Slow Club, a group from Sheffield, England that makes equally warm, joyful sounds on a brand new cut called "Tears Of Joy." Also on the show: Sharon Van Etten's latest album, Are We There? isn't out until the end of May, but we've got an early glimpse of it with the song "Taking Chances"; And after years of playing in Blur, Gorillaz, The Good The Band And The Queen (and many other projects), Damon Albarn returns with his first-ever solo record, called Everyday Robots. Plus, the disarmingly sweet sounds of Death Vessel; and Beach House take strange recordings made in space and turn them into music for a compilation called Space Project.     Gouge Artist: Eternal Summers Album: The Drop Beneath   Tears Of Joy Artist: Slow Club Album: Tears Of Joy (Single)     Ejecta Artist: Death Vessel Album: Island Intervals     Everyday Robots Artist: Damon Albarn Album: Everyday Robots playlist     Saturn Song (Beach House) Artist: Various Artists Album: Space Project     Taking Chances Artist: Sharon Van Etten Album: Are We There  

On this week's All Songs Considered, we've got two premieres: A beauty called "Alexandra" by The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser, and a shred-fest called "Interference Fits" by raucous Syracuse punk band Perfect Pussy. But host Bob Boilen kicks off the mix with the Omaha-based rock group The Faint. "Help in the Head," from Doom Abuse, the band's first new album in six years, is a heart-pounding thrill ride. Co-host Robin Hilton calms things down with the deep, transfixing ambient sounds of Christina Vantzou. The singer, illustrator and filmmaker recorded her latest album, No. 2, with money she saved from teaching mathematics.   Later on the show, we're joined by NPR Music editor, Jacob Ganz, who shares his song of the week: Hundred Waters' "Down From the Rafters." We also hear from Recommended Dose's Otis Hart, who shares a bass-heavy dance track by Tuscan artist Clap! Clap!   Plus, we hear about Bob's latest obsession: Goats standing on things, as featured in his weekly recommendations column "Bob's Rainbows."   'Help In The Head ' Artist: The Faint Album: Doom Abuse The bold, static-laced opening track sets the stage for a great comeback album. Doom Abuse will be released April 8.   'Interference Fits' Artist: Perfect Pussy Album: Say Yes To Love Perfect Pussy is a dynamic, gritty rock group from Syracuse, N.Y. The band's upcoming album, Say Yes To Love, will be released March 18.   'Down From the Rafters' Artist: Hundred Waters Album: Down From the Rafters The avant-folk band released this song on SoundCloud on Feb. 18, without any mention of an upcoming EP or album. Check out the lovely single, filled with airy vocals, longing violin and unusual percussion.   'Brain Fog' Artist: Christina Vantzou Album: No. 2 playlist purchase Christina Vantzou makes beautiful, minimalist post-classical music. Her second full length album is called simply No. 2.   'Elon Mentana' Artist: Clap! Clap! Album: Tambacounda EP Clap! Clap!, a.k.a. Cristiano Cristi, is a Tuscan musician who got his start playing jazz saxophone. These days he makes intricate electronic music with super-heavy bass. "Elon Mentana" is from his Tambacounda EP (out March 3).   ‘Alexandra' Artist: Hamilton Leithauser Album: Black Hours An upbeat, crooning track from The Walkmen's former vocalist, Hamilton Leithauser. His debut solo album, Black Hours, will be released May 6.  

The Beatles may be an odd place to begin a Cate Le Bon conversation, but I remember being struck by the way four guys from Liverpool could sing without their English accents. That's true of most pop singers, whose words often come out sounding more American than anything else. But that's not true with Cate Le Bon. Her phrasing is completely tied to her Welsh dialect — in fact, her first record was in Welsh. I find that that draws me into her songs: The enunciation is completely tied to the loneliness and the questioning. One song she sings at the Tiny Desk, from her brilliant album Mug Museum, is called "Are You With Me Now?" There is a feeling I love Buried in my brow I have no reason to run I see no reason Are you with me now? Listen to the inflection in the line 'Buried in my brow,' and then when she poses the question; it's so intimate, such a whisper, so inviting. I'm also a fan of her clean, sharp guitar playing and the way she weaves it together with her partner H. Hawkline. If you're a fan of Tom Verlaine and Television, you'll find yourself loving this lyrical guitar duo. It works so well stripped-down, though there wasn't much excess in the original versions to begin with. These are songs of essence, clarity and drive, executed so simply here. 

Hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton open this week's show by reminiscing about a recent Son Lux and San Fermin show that delivered epic sounds with bold, cinematic rock. Bob and Robin's shared love for walls of noise leads them directly to the orchestral opening track on this week's program, "Beneath The Brine" by The Family Crest. Also on the show: A peek at the debut full-length album from Sisyphus, a genre-bending group featuring Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux and Chicago hip-hop artist Serengeti; Animal Collective's Avey Tare returns with a new bizarro project called Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks; plus one-of-a-kind folk singer Diane Cluck, the sludgy noise rock group Nothing and the post-punk and new wave group Eagulls.   Songs Featured On This Episode   Beneath the Brine Artist: The Family Crest Album: Beneath The Brine "Beneath The Brine" is a massive-sounding, super-orchestrated track by the San Francisco-based band The Family Crest. The group's Kickstarter-funded album comes out Feb. 25.   Lion's Share Artist: Sisyphus Album: Sisyphus Sisyphus is comprised of Son Lux, Sufjan Stevens and Chicago-based hip-hop artist Serengeti. "Lion's Share" is a tongue-in-cheek, story-centered song where each member shines. The trio's self-titled album is out Mar. 18.   Sara Artist: Diane Cluck Album: Boneset The guitarist and pianist Diane Cluck makes heartfelt, intimate folk music. Her upcoming album,Boneset, will be released on March 4.   Get Well Artist: Nothing Album: Guilty of Everything The loud, gritty quartet Nothing, out of Philadelphia, have a new album, Guilty of Everything, out March 4.   Little Fang Artist: Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks Album: Enter The Slasher House Animal Collective's Avey Tare has a new solo project called "Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks." Enter The Slasher House, the group's upcoming album, is out March 4 and includes this poppy, psychedelic track, "Little Fang."   Possessed Artist: Eagulls Album: Eagulls Eagulls, a bold and brash band from Leeds, will release its self-titled album March 11.      

This week on a very special edition of All Songs Considered ... guitarist, actor, writer (and former Monitor Mix blogger) Carrie Brownstein returns. She joins us, along with NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, to do something we don't normally do: Talk about the songs we really, really don't like. Our mission at All Songs is to bring you our favorite musical discoveries of the week. But after Stephen wrote his Good Listener column examining Starship's widely reviled hit single "We Built This City," we watched the comments pour in like an out-of-control fire hose, and got to talking about all the songs that drive us bonkers. It was so much fun we decided to continue the discussion here, with a look at some of the contenders for worst songs of all time, and why they stick in our craw. These are the relentless earworms — the songs you can't escape once they're in your head — or the annoying novelty songs. "Candyman," anyone? We also look at songs that take themselves too seriously, songs we used to love until they were ruined by a bad personal experience and more.

A lot has happened since Beck released his last full-length studio album. He suffered (and has since recovered from) a back injury that made it difficult to even hold a guitar. He recorded a new album, shelved the whole thing, and launched several other projects online, including an art gallery, mixtapes of his favorite songs, and "Record Club," a series of cover albums performed by Beck and his friends. There was also 2012's Song Reader, an album's worth of new songs released as sheet music for others to perform and record. Beck's last studio release, 2008's Modern Guilt, was a sometimes driving, sometimes trippy rock record, with droning slow-burners and psychedelic guitar anthems. His new album, Morning Phase (out Feb. 25), occupies a different sonic space, one more closely aligned with 2002's Sea Change. That record was among the most distinctive in Beck's catalog: A downtempo, introspective and personal journey. While Morning Phase isn't a direct sequel to Sea Change, it shares many of the same themes and sounds: less space-funk and more lush ballads, with soaring orchestral parts. It was also recorded by the same group of musicians, including drummer Joey Waronker (Atoms For Peace, R.E.M.), guitarist Jason Falkner and keyboardist Robert Joseph Manning, Jr. Beck's father, composer David Richard Campbell, is back as well, providing string arrangements — which you can hear some of in the song "Waking Light," premiered here.

On this week's show, host Bob Boilen has new magical powers. He's not sure what's behind these new powers, but it has something to do with a Romanian brass band and Tuvan throat singing. Regardless, Bob uses these new powers to introduce a brand new sound from the rock duo Wye Oak. The band, featuring Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, has built its reputation on massive walls of guitar noise. But on Wye Oak's new record, Shriek, the band trades its guitars in for synths. The album isn't out until April, but you can hear this new direction on a song we're premiering from the record called "The Tower." Wye Oak Album: Shriek Song: The Tower Cheatahs Album: Cheatahs Song: Kenworth Holly Herndon Album: Chorus Song: Chorus Moodymann Album: ABCD: The Album Song: Sunday Hotel Ratking Album: So It Goes Song: Canal John Lurie National Orchestra Album: The Invention of Animals Song: Men With Sticks

On any given day, All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen bombards co-host Robin Hilton with a running list of new ideas for the show. Most of them never see the light of day. But on this week's program Bob explains his latest idea, one that everyone will want to see happen. It's called "The Sole Of A Band" and involves matching photos of the shoes worn by bands with their music. You can hear more about how it works at the top of this week's edition of All Songs Considered. As if that weren't enough, we've also got a great new mix of discoveries for you, including the euphoric Columbus, Ohio band Saintseneca; the joyful, yet otherworldly music of Thumpers; the unforgettable voice of Israeli singer-songwriter Asaf Avidan, and the mesmerizing sounds of producer and electronic musician Darren Cunningham, otherwise known as Actress. Plus sunny new pop from Real Estate, and the epic, conceptual rock of Wax Fang. Saintseneca Album: Dark Arc Song: Takmit Thumpers Album: Galore Song: Marvel Asaf Avidan Album: Different Pulses Song: Different Pulses Actress Album: Ghettoville Song: Rap Real Estate Album: Atlas Song: Talking Backwards Wax Fang Album: The Astronaut Song: The Astronaut Part 1

This past Sunday was a frenzied and unforgettable night in New York City: A dozen bands from as far away as Australia and the Congo (and as close as Mississippi), left it all on the stage for globalFEST, one of the most important world music events in North America, held each January at Webster Hall. The whole thing lasts just five hours, but it's spread over three stages, highlighting the incredible - and always surprising - range and reach of what world music is: Afro-Caribbean carnival music mingles with electronic dance; punk-pop collides beautifully with Ukrainian folk; the sounds of Bollywood, Congolese-Belgian hip-hop, psychedelic cumbia and more. It all comes together at globalFEST. For this week's edition of All Songs Considered, NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR contributor and Afropop.org senior editor Banning Eyre, and Rob Weisberg of WNYC (who also hosts WFMU's Transpacific Sound Paradise) join Bob Boilen to revisit some of the highlights and favorite discoveries from this year's globalFEST.

St. Vincent, out Feb. 25, 2014, is the fourth solo album by singer, songwriter and guitarist Annie Clark. Teased late last year in a series of cryptic status updates, the forthcoming self-titled album from St. Vincent is one of the most anticipated of 2014. In a conversation with All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton, singer and guitarist Annie Clark gets into the stories behind the new record, due out Feb. 25. Though her look on the cover suggests an evil overlord, Clark says but the songs on St. Vincent were born in vulnerable moments —a chemical-induced hallucination starring a dead civil rights activist, and a standoff with a snake in which she literally couldn't have been more exposed, just to name a few. Read an edited version below, or click the audio link to hear the full interview, including exclusive previews of brand-new music.