The best new albums out Aug. 1

It’s Friday, but for some of you, pop-punk princess Hayley Williams gave her loyal hair salon customers access to her most recent album earlier this week, fulfilling your desire for new music. (Don’t worry, the rest of you can watch it on streaming platforms today.)

This week, we listen to the latest album from Detroit’s enigmatic, noisy, existential band, The Armed: THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED. We also get to know Emily Hines’s gentle and nomadic New Days and re-acquaint ourselves with Mal Devisa and her four-disc Palimpsesa.

Liz Warner from NPR member station WDET joins Stephen Thompson on the show to talk about these albums and two more this week’s top picks. Wherever you get your podcasts, you can start listening to the show at 3 a.m. ET.

The Starting Five

The best songs and backstories from the following albums are shared by our hosts:

These Days by Emily Hines (Stream)

• Recommended If You Like: Big Thief, Laura Marling

Palimpsesa (Stream), Mal Devisa

• RIYL: Noname, billy woods

The future is here, the Armed, and everything must be destroyed (Stream).

• RIYL: Turnstile, Refused

Gilmore Caimin, BlackGate (Stream)

• RIYL: Rachel’s, caroline

Volume 1 of Susumu Yokota’s Skintone Edition (box set)

• RIYL: Brian Eno, Aphex Twin

NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast features a segment called New Music Friday. Listen to the conversation on the NPR App, Apple, Spotify, or any other podcast app.

The Lightning Round

We wish we had more time to talk about these five albums on the podcast:

Ain’t Done With The Blues, Buddy Guy

Mic City Sons, Heatmiser (30th Anniversary Remaster)

Najera Ren, Painted Life

The Sound of Something Ending, Hieroglyphic Being

Spafford Campbell, scheduled for tomorrow

Check out our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify, Apple, or any other music streaming service to hear the greatest tracks from each album.

The Long List

Here are this week’s new CDs, arranged by genre, for those who like to delve even further:

Electronic/Out There

• Peterparker69,
  
  yo,
  
• Burial,
  
  Comafields / Imaginary Festival
  
  EP
• Sofia Kourtesis,
  
  Volver
  
  EP
• Mansur Brown,
  
  Rihla
  
• Memotone,
  
  smallest things
  
• Brad Rose,
  
  A Live We Once Lived
  
• Davd Boulter,
  
  Whitby
  
• Lauren Maria,
  
  You’re Beautiful
  
• Ma Sha,
  
  Hydrofall EP
  

Rock/Alt/Indie

• Bailterspace,
  
  Fused
  
• Debby Friday,
  
  The Starrr Of The Queen of Life
  
• The New Eves,
  
  The New Eve Is Rising
  
• Nadeem Din-Gabisi,
  
  OFFSHORE
  
• Rosali,
  
  Slow Pain: Live and Solo from Drop of Sun
  
• Anthony Family,
  
  Live From An Ordinary Place
  
• Everything Else,
  
  Another One Making Clouds
  
• Ex Agent,
  
  New Assumptions EP
  
• Flowers For The Dead,
  
  First Place EP
  
• Fortitude Valley,
  
  Part Of The Problem, Baby
  
• Freezing Cold,
  
  Treasure Pool
  
• Kalie Shorr,
  
  My Type
  
  EP
• Kayo Dot,
  
  Every Rock, Every Half-Truth Under Reason
  
• Kyle Hollingsworth,
  
  All We Are
  
• Laura Groves,
  
  Yes EP
  
• OK Cool,
  
  Chit Chat
  
• QWAM,
  
  girls aren’t afraid of blood
  
• Return to Dust,
  
  Speak Like the Dead EP
  
• Sex Week,
  
  Upper Mezzanine EP
  
• V/A,
  
  Maybe I’m Dreaming
  
• Wisp,
  
  If Not Winter
  

Classical

• Maya Beiser,
  
  Salt
  

Country/Folk/Americana

• Sunny Sweeney,
  
  Rhinestone Requiem
  
• Josh Halper,
  
  Schlemiel
  
• Morgan Wade,
  
  The Party Is Over (recovered)
  
• The Wood Brothers,
  
  Puff of Smoke
  
• Travis Roberts,
  
  Rebel Rose
  
• Ethan Regan,
  
  honey honey honey EP
  

Global

• Danny Ocean,
  
  Babylon Club
  
• Ali Sethi,
  
  Love Language
  
• Julian Kytasty,
  
  Songs of Truth: Music and Song from the Kobzar Tradition of Ukraine
  

Jazz

• Greg Foat,
  
  Opening Time
  
• Rachael & Vilray,
  
  West of Broadway
  

Rap/Hip-Hop

• araabMuzik,
  
  Electronic Dream 2
  
• Metro Boomin,
  
  A Futuristic Summa
  
• Saweetie,
  
  Hella Pressure
  
  EP
• Xaviersobased,
  
  Once More
  
  EP
• $UICIDEBOY$,
  
  Thy Kingdom Come
  
• Babytron,
  
  Luka Troncic 2
  
• Lil Poppa,
  
  Almost Normal Again
  
• Montana 700,
  
  The Greatest of All Traps
  

Pop

• Between Friends,
  
  WOW!
  
• Rene Rapp,
  
  Bite Me
  

R&B/Soul

• Pink Butter,
  
  Can We Go Back
  

Give credit to

• Host: Stephen Thompson
• Guest:

  Liz Warner, WDET

• Audio producer: Noah Caldwell
• Show producers: Otis Hart and Elle Mannion
• Production assistant: Dora Levite
• Executive producer: Suraya Mohamed

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