NPR | By Bob Boilen, Hazel Cills, Marissa Lorusso / Published February 21, 2023 at 5:00 AM ET
NPR Music’s Marissa Lorusso and Hazel Cills join me to discuss six new songs, including the 7-minute epic from Lana Del Rey. The song “A&W” is a testament to how weird Lana’s songs have become. The Jack Antonoff production sounds like an off-the-cuff voice memo at its start and ends with an almost grade-school rap. Sidney Gish has a song that lyrically also feels quite spontaneous called “Filming School,” while Seán Barna imagines a love affair with actor Ben Whishaw for his first album for Kill Rock Stars. The song “Benjamin Whishaw Smiled” also reflects on Seán’s walk to work, which takes him to West 4th Street in New York City, a place where Bob Dylan lived and worked on his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, 60 years ago.
Caroline Rose has shifted their sound to darker and more dynamic territory, which you’ll hear in the song “The Doldrums.” The artist Avalon Emerson is known more for electronic and highly danceable sounds. Here, she’s joined by a collective called The Charm for the song “Sandrail Silhouette.” We end our show with beabadoobee‘s “Glue Song,” which she debuted at her Tiny Desk concert and described as a “cute little love song.”
