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New Music Friday: Our Top 6 Albums For April 26

SOAK's <em>Grim Town </em>is on our short list of the best new albums out on April 26.
Ellius Grace
/
Courtesy of the artist
SOAK's Grim Town is on our short list of the best new albums out on April 26.

Our shortlist of must-hear albums this week includes the incredible sonic adventures of Nick Murphy (formerly known as Chet Faker), acoustic, instrumental rock from Rodrigo y Gabriela, a byzantine concept album from The Mountain Goats and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Felix Contreras and Stephen Thompson as they run through their picks for the best new releases out on April 26.

Featured Albums:

  • Nick Murphy: Run Fast, Sleep Naked
    Featured Songs: "Sanity," "Sunlight," "Novocaine and Coca Cola"
  • Rodrigo y Gabriela: Mettavolution
    Featured Songs: "Terracentric" and "Echoes"
  • Jackie Mendoza: LuvHz
    Featured Song: "Puppet Angels"
  • Josh Ritter: Fever Breaks
    Featured Song: The Torch Committee"
  • The Mountain Goats: In League With Dragons
    Featured Songs: "Clemency for the Wizard King" and "Waylon Jennings Live!"
  • SOAK: Grim Town
    Featured Songs: "Maybe" and "All Aboard"
  • Other notable releases of April 26: Aldous Harding: Designer; Bailen: Thrilled to Be Here; Bear's Den: So That You Might Hear Me; The Cranberries: In the End; Craig Finn: I Need a New War; Kevin Morby: Oh My God; King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard: Fishing for Fishies; Local Natives: Violent Street; Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky: Droneflower; Otoboke Beaver: Itekoma Hits; Schoolboy Q: CrasH Talk; Sunn O))): Life Metal

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. 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.)
    Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
    Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.