The genre commonly referred to as "Chicano soul" has that "you know it if you hear it" kind of sound. It's a bicultural interpretation of late 1950s and early '60s African American R&B ballads by Mexican American youth, influenced by the operatic style of Mexican rancheras. Broken hearts, unrequited love and loving the wrong person are often the main themes. Real talk: it's the smooth, bilingual vocals of Malo's 1972 hit "Suavecito" expressing the thrill of a new love that is still heard at lowrider car shows or the pleas of "You're Still A Young Man' by Tower of Power, to name a few exa ..read more

We update our running tally of the year's best songs with a return from Moses Sumney, 2022 Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador, Orville Peck's collaboration with Beck and more. Featured songs and artists: 1. Orville Peck and Beck: "Death Valley High," from Stampede 2. Nilüfer Yanya: "Call It Love," from My Method Actor 3. Alisa Amador: "Woke Up Today," from Multitudes 4. Moses Sumney: "Gold Coast," from Sophcore 5. Neil Young and Crazy Horse: "Helpless," from Early Daze 6. Rema: "YAYO," from HEIS Like the show? Tell a friend and leave us a review in Apple podcasts or wherever you listen ..read more

This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered, NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Stephen Thompson listen to a grab bag of new releases out on July 19, including what's being called the last Childish Gambino album ever, returns by public radio faves Los Campesinos and Dr. Dog and a vibe-heavy follow-up made by the creators of one of the longest-running Billboard singles of all time, just in time to greet the the heat waves of summer 2024 (sorry). Then, one of the week's biggest albums sends Daoud and Stephen down a rabbit hole in which they attempt to figure out what happened to the ..read more

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Ameen present the noteworthy albums out July 12, including new releases by Nashville iconoclast Sturgill Simpson, poignant lyricist Cassandra Jenkins, pop rebel Remi Wolf and more. Visit npr.org for the long list of albums out July 12 and playlists of their top songs. Read Ann Powers' review of Zach Bryan's The Great American Bar Scene here. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy ..read more

Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre round up their favorite new tracks, including heartbroken music from Omar Apollo, a mix of jazz and Afro-Puerto Rican sounds from Papo Vazquez and a controversial new merengue electrónico track from Karol G. Songs featured in this episode: •Omar Apollo, "Empty" •Los Cenzontles, "Different Drum" •Mabe Fratti, "Oidos" and "Intento fallido" •Karol G, "Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido" •Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Hamilton de Holanda, "Mandalagh" •Papo Vazquez and Mighty Pirates Troubadours, "Plena Pa'Los Apache" Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed ..read more

The latest update to our running list of the year's best songs includes new ones from Wilco and Omar Apollo, an ode to friendship from Charli XCX and Lorde and more. Featured songs and artists: 1. Wilco: "Hot Sun," from 'Hot Sun Cool Shroud' 2. Charli XCX and Lorde: "The girl, so confusing version with lorde" (single) 3. Sondre Lerche: "You Are Impossible," from 'Two Way Monologue (20th Anniversary Edition)' 4. Omar Apollo: "Plane Trees" (feat. Mustafa), from 'God Said No' 5. Remy Bond: "Summer Song" (feat. Air) (single) 6. Cassandra Jenkins: "Petco," from 'My Light, My Destroyer' Like the ..read more

With the Fourth of July week here, we look at an album all about the messy, complicated and wonderful culture of America: Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., which recently turned 40 years old. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy ..read more

NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Anamaria Sayre give you the lowdown on Omar Apollo's new LP, Lil Yachty's collaboration with James Blake, and the fourth album by Hiatus Kaiyote. Featured albums: - Omar Apollo, 'God Said No' - Lil Yachty & James Blake, 'Bad Cameo' - Hiatus Kaiyote, 'Love Heart Cheat Code' Visit npr.org/music to see the entire list of albums out June 28 and stream our New Music Friday playlist. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy ..read more

Alt.Latino's Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras visit the Miami studio of the Latin pop super-producer. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy ..read more

Our updated list of the year's best songs includes a sweet reflection from beabadoobee, Nathy Peluso's wildly infectious "Aprender A Amar," the mind-blowing virtuosity of pianist Yuja Wang and more. Featured songs and artists: 1. Nathy Peluso: "APRENDER A AMAR," from 'GRASA' 2. Jakob Lindberg: "Musette" and "Tombeau" from 'Robert de Visée: Theorbo Solos' 3. Brijean: "Workin' On It," from 'Macro' 4. Yuja Wang: "Danzón No. 2 (Marquez)," from 'The Vienna Recital' 5. beabadoobee: "Coming Home," from 'This Is How Tomorrow Moves' 6. Grupo Frontera & NICKI NICOLE: "DESQUITE," from JUGANDO A QUE ..read more