Ann Powers

MJ Lenderman's fifth solo album, Manning Fireworks, finds inspiration in The Band and the Drive-By Truckers.

Can you remember the worst place where someone broke up with you? I think mine was my own San Francisco flat, during a New Year's Eve party I was

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NPR Music's Ann Powers and Hazel Cills are your guides to the best music out this Friday, Sept. 13, including the 10th studio album by Miranda Lambert. Postcards From Texas is a new chapter for the onetime Nashville Star contestant who has become one of that industry town's most reliable songwriters and stars — and also a return to her home state.There's more, including a album by Robyn Hitchcock made up mostly of covers of songs from 1967, a year he describes as "a portal between childhood and the adult world." Plus: three ambitious albums by indie faves stretching their sounds, and a consideration of the way the classic "outlaw" label applies to the careers of women who break the rules.Featured albums:• Miranda Lambert, Postcards from Texas• Nilüfer Yanya, My Method Actor• Foxing, Foxing• Robyn Hitchcock, 1967: Vacations in the Past• My Brightest Diamond, Fight the Real TerrorFor the complete list of albums out Sept. 13 and to stream our New Music Friday playlist, visit https://npr.org/music.

As NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Ann Powers discuss on this week's episode, there's a thread of loss running through some of the most notable, thrilling albums out on September 27. From the self-titled, posthumous album by the Scottish electronic producer SOPHIE to the harsh, alien sounds created by Alan Sparhawk on White Roses, My God, his first solo album following the death of his wife Mimi Parker, who was also his musical partner for decades in the great band Low, tributes to loved ones lost and voices from the beyond abound. Plus: The star-studded debut album from Toronto poet and songwriter Mustafa, an adventurous bluegrass album (emphasis on grass) by roots champ Billy Strings, reliably adventurous R&B from Bilal and another posthumous release, the final release from the beloved electronic act Broadcast.

NPR Music has just put out its first book: How Women Made Music . It collects more than 50 years of essays and interviews from the network, inspired by our series Turning The Tables.

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Sheldon Pearce are your guides to this week's most compelling new musical offerings. For October 18, their selections include an array of ambitious, melodic and emotional new albums spanning genres. Plus: celebrating the arrival of a new music website and considering what drives us to write and talk about music in the first place.Featured albums:• Joy Oladokun, 'Observations From a Crowded Room'• CKay, 'EMOTIONS'• Kelly Lee Owens, 'Dreamstate'• Porridge Radio, 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me'• Bon Iver, 'SABLE,'Check out our longer list of albums out Oct. 18 and stream our New Music Friday playlist at https://npr.org/music.

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Hazel Cills are your guides to the week's most compelling new releases.

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Ameen are your guides to the most compelling new releases of the week, including the first album in 16 years by The Cure and a surprise release by Tyler, the Creator.Featured albums:• The Cure, 'Songs of a Lost World'• Tyler, the Creator, 'Chromokopia'• Willie Nelson, 'Last Leaf on the Tree'• Haley Heynderickx, 'Seed of a Seed'Check out the longer list of albums out November 1 and stream our New Music Friday playlist at https://npr.org/music.

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Ameen are your guides to today's most compelling new releases, including a mixtape by rapper Ab-Soul and a celebration of Margo Guryan.