Updated March 24, 2025 at 11:47 AM ET
It's Monday, and the opening rounds of March Madness are in our rearview mirror — which means you finally have time to dig into that new Japanese Breakfast album everyone's talking about.
We began last week's New Music Friday episode with Michelle Zauner's highly anticipated return, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women). It's the indie rock star's first album since becoming a New York Times bestseller for her memoir, Crying in H Mart, so there was a lot to unpack. We brought in J-Brek superfan Izzi Bavis of Baltimore public radio station WTMD, where she DJs every weeknight from 7-10 ET.
Listen to the conversation below, and stream our recommended new albums.
The Starting 5
Stephen and Izzi give you the backstory and best songs on the following albums:
- Japanese Breakfast, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) (Stream)
- Greentea Peng, TELL DEM IT'S SUNNY (Stream)
- Tamino, Every Dawn's a Mountain (Stream)
- My Morning Jacket, is (Stream)
- YHWH Nailgun, 45 Pounds (Stream)
New Music Friday is a feature of NPR's All Songs Considered podcast! Hear the discussion on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Lighting Round
Five more albums we wish we had time to discuss on the podcast:
- Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith, Defiant Life
- NO ID & Saba, From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID
- Flying Lotus, ASH (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- More Eaze & claire rousay, no floor
- Phil Cook, Appalachia Borealis
Listen to each album's best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple.
The Long List
For those who want to dig even deeper, here are the week's new albums sorted by genre:
Rock/Alt/Indie
- Barry Hyde (of The Futureheads), Miners' Ballads
- Benefits, Constant Noise
- Brian D'Addario, Till the Morning
- Clikatat Ikatowi, The Trials and Tribulations Of... (Reissue)
- Cross Record, Crush Me
- Deacon Blue, The Great Western Road
- Dutch Interior, Moneyball
- Ed Kuepper & Jim White, After the Flood
- Eliza Niemi, Progress Bakery
- Floodlights, Underneath
- Greer, Big Smile
- Gustaffson, Black & White Movie
- Jaco Jaco, Gremlin
- Jeffrey Lewis, The EVEN MORE Freewheelin' Jeffrey Lewis
- Kinlaw, gut ccheck
- Lonnie Holley, Tonky
- Men I Trust, Equus Asinus
- Ora The Molecule, Dance Therapy
- Pictoria Vark, Nothing Sticks
- Swami John Reis, Time To Let You Down
- The Horrors, Night Life
- The Infinity Ring, Ataraxia
- The Taxpayers, Circle Breaker
- Weatherday, Hornet Disaster
- Welly, Big in the Suburbs
- Young Widows, Power Sucker
Classical
- Ashley Jackson, Take Me To The Water
- Macie Stewart, When the Distance is Blue
Country/Folk/Americana
- David Ramirez, All the Not So Gentle Reminders
- Jessica Simpson, Nashville Canyon EP
- John Splithoff, Far From Here
- Lola Kirke, Trailblazer
- Maddox Batson, First Dance
- Ryan Hurd, Midwest Rock & Roll
Electronic/Out There
- Amine Laje, Datsha
- Lucy Liyou, Every Video Without Your Face, Every Sound Without Your Name
- Gnod & White Hills, Drop Out III
- Graham Reynolds, Mountain
- Hiroshi Yoshimura, Flora (Reissue)
- Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Gift Songs
- Loradeniz, SUN SHONE
- nimino, Creek EP
- Sarah Davachi, Banshee / Basse Brevis EP
- Sopa Boba, That Moment
- V/A, Eli Roth's Red Light Disco Dancefloor: Seductions From Italian Sexploitation Cinema
Global
- LA NIÑA, FURÈSTA
- NMIXX, Fe3O4: Forward
- TRÍADA, De Versiones y Alma EP
- XIXA, XOLO
Jazz
- Artturi Rönkä, Lost Threads
- Timo Lassy Trio, Live In Helsinki
Pop
- Ben Swissa, HUSH EP
- Calum Bowie, Through the Window EP
- Ólafur Arnalds and Loreen, SAGES EP
- Selena Gomez & benny blanco, i said i love you first
- Tina Turner, Private Dancer (40th Anniversary Edition)
R&B/Soul
- Annie & The Caldwells, Can't Lose My Soul
- Bathe, Inside Voice(s)
Rap/Hip-Hop
- B.U.G Antman, Y'all Ugly EP
- Kevin Gates, I'm Him 2
- Goya Gumbani, Warlord of the Weejuns
- Mali, G-CODE
- PremRock, Did You Enjoy Your Time Here…?
- Previous Industries, Evergreen Plaza EP
Credits
- Host: Stephen Thompson
- Guest: Izzi Bavis, WTMD
- Producer: Simon Rentner
- Editor: Otis Hart
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Vice President, Music and Visuals: Keith Jenkins
Copyright 2025 NPR
