New Music Friday: The best albums out Sept. 25
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What new albums does Stephen Thompson introduce at the start of New Music Friday?
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Happy Friday, everyone, from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. Each week, we talk about the best albums out that week with members of the NPR Music Network. For today, September 25th, we are talking about great new albums from Julia Jaclyn, Leon Bridges, Proto Martyr, and more. But first, I want to welcome Aaron Wolfe from Radio Milwaukee back to the show.
How does Blondshell’s album “Violins” blend grunge poetry with personal growth?
Hey, Aaron.
Hey, Stephen. Thanks for having me again.
Well, we try to have a Wisconsin-based host after every Green Bay Packers win. And thankfully, they came back and beat the Jets.
Hey, yeah, totally. Yeah, this is all about strategery here.
That's right. That's right. You know, I think it's because you were scheduled to be here that the Packers won their first meaningful game since December of 2025.
What themes and musical styles define Julia Jacklin’s “The Gem”?
Oh, undoubtedly, yeah.
Well, let's get into it and kick off this week's discussion round, where we talk about five of the best albums out this week, starting with Violins, the new album from
Blanchelle. I'm lucky, I got lucky. I feel beautiful and rested. My eternal sunny days are right, and I'm not gonna test it. I feel lucky, I got lucky.
New York-born, L.A.-based Sabrina Teitelbaum returns as Blonde Shell. And this is her third record, Violins. It was produced by L.A.-based engineer and producer Eve Rothman, who's worked with artists like Cherry Glazer, Earth Eater, FKA Twigs, and Kelsey Liu. And over the years, I feel like Blanchelle's really become known as a grunge poet of sorts.
Why is Joy Oladokun’s “Hope Is a Heavy Thing” considered a culmination of her folk‑pop journey?
There's like this intelligent mind behind her alternative singer-songwriter style. Like she's got this really amazing blend of words, voice, and chugging guitars.
So,
you know... Many fans, they will feel like an echo of their formative years whenever they hear her. And I feel like she speaks to both young and maybe the older millennials and Gen X alike.
Yeah, I think she speaks to a lot of people who are kind of on that Gen Z millennial cusp. You know, she got sober in her early 20s, you know, and her songs have kind of wrestled with, you know, dealing with sobriety, anxiety. seeking strength and community and happiness in kind of a toxic, violent world. And I think in that way, her songs feel very, very current and kind of wise beyond their years a little bit. And I really appreciate, you referenced the guitars as being chugging.
How does Leon Bridges capture timeless soul and joy on “Happiness Anytime”?
I think that the guitars here are really doing a lot of work, giving kind of force and shape to songs like the title track, which just leapt out of the speakers for me.
You know, there's a lot of awesome wordplay to violence, I think, is a play on violence, I want to say. Sure. She, like, really is exploring, like, themes of growth, pretty much. And as she says, like, her growth has been, like, watching paint dry.
But
there's really a deep growth that you can hear. It's just like baked into these songs. And yeah, there was equally like the striking video she issued. She's trying to save a ice sculpture from melting. And it really kind of emphasizes like that.
What makes Proto Martyr’s concept record “Hotel Usona” a gritty, experimental statement?
act of futility that so many things in life often are, but yet you just keep trying, right?
Absolutely. And you know, it's interesting when you look at Blanchelle's origins, you know, when Sabrina Teitelbaum was first kind of starting out, she was focused a little bit more on pop. She had this kind of pop project called Baum. And then, you know, kind of during the pandemic, found her true sound, found her true approach. And I feel like the pandemic still is informing a lot of her songs. You listen to the song Sea Legs, and, you know, it's kind of a softer, more of a ballad, but it still has intensity and an edge. And the lyrics include this line, "'A little money goes a long way when you don't leave the house.'" And to me, like that song spoke to me, first of all, as a growing up song, you know, a song about essentially not going out.
But also it felt informed by the pandemic and kind of that discovery.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What new albums does Stephen Thompson introduce at the start of New Music Friday?
0:00–0:40
2
How does Blondshell’s album “Violins” blend grunge poetry with personal growth?
0:40–1:03
3
What themes and musical styles define Julia Jacklin’s “The Gem”?
1:03–2:48
4
Why is Joy Oladokun’s “Hope Is a Heavy Thing” considered a culmination of her folk‑pop journey?
2:48–3:46
5
How does Leon Bridges capture timeless soul and joy on “Happiness Anytime”?
3:46–5:10
6
What makes Proto Martyr’s concept record “Hotel Usona” a gritty, experimental statement?
5:10–6:06
7
Which hidden gems do NPR staff highlight in the Lightning Round and why?
6:06–7:15
8
How does producer Noah Caldwell’s pick “Tell It to the Mountain” showcase minimalist electronic soundscapes?
7:15–43:57
Speakers
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