The best new albums out Feb. 13

Welcome to New Music Friday, NPR Music's podcast dedicated to sharing the best albums out each week. We listen to dozens of new releases in advance, identify the ones we think you need to hear, and highlight our favorite five in a brisk mix of clips, context and commentary.

The podcast is hosted by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, and each episode features a member of the NPR Music Network of public radio stations. This week, our guest is Nastia Voynovskaya from KQED in San Francisco.

Scroll down to see which albums we discussed this week and links to our New Music Friday playlists, where you can hear singles from each album. Then scroll down to see the long list and Dora's Corner, where NPR Music production assistant Dora Levite shares her favorite albums that didn't make the podcast.

The Starting 5

🎵 August Ponthier, Everywhere Isn't Texas (Nowhereland Sounds)

• Recommended If You Like: Chappell Roan, Orville Peck
• Read NPR Music's review of the album

🎵 Brent Faiyaz, Icon (ISO Supremacy)

• RIYL: Bryson Tiller, Miguel

🎵 Jill Scott, To Whom This May Concern (Human Re Sources)

• RIYL: The Roots, Erykah Badu

🎵 STAYC, Stay Alive (High Up/Kakao)

• RIYL: NewJeans, YENA

🎵 The Paranoid Style, Known Associates (Bar/None)

• RIYL: Destroyer, The Mendoza Line

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 Lightning Round

Five more albums we wish we could have discussed on the podcast:

⚡ The Olympians, In Search of a Revival (Daptone)

⚡ Hemlocke Springs, the apple tree under the sea (AWAL)

⚡ Neba Solo & Benego Diakité, A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking (The Complete Sessions) (Etoile Audio/Nonesuch)

⚡ Aaron Shaw, And So It Is (Leaving Records)

⚡ Ásgeir, Julia (One Little Independent)

Listen to each album's best songs on our New Music Friday playlists on Spotify and Apple, or wherever you stream music.

Dora's Corner

Dora Levite is New Music Friday's production assistant, an occasional All Songs Considered guest, and 17 years old according to her Spotify wrapped. Below are her picks for the best albums not featured on the show.

💿 Placid Angels, Canada (Oathcreations)

💿 Remember Sports, The Refrigerator (Get Better)

💿 Momoko Gill, Momoko (Strut)

The Long List

For those who want to dig even deeper, here are the week's new albums sorted by genre:

Country/Folk/Americana

• Boy Golden, Best of Our Possible Lives (Six Shooter Records)
• Caroline Jones, Good Omen (Big Machine)
• Clay Street Unit, Sin & Squalor (Monument Records/Sony)
• Eric Church, Evangeline vs. The Machine: Comes Alive (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (UMG)
• Stephen McCarthy, The Sky Chiefs (Chimney Bird Records)
• The Lone Bellow, What a Time to Be Alive (Burly Bellow)
• The Skychiefs, The Skychiefs (Under the Radar)
• Theo Lawrence & Melissa Carper, HAVIN' A TALK (Bee & El / Warner)
• Tyler Halverson, In Defense of Drinking (CMDSHFT)

Electronic/Out There

• Galcher Lustwerk, Vestibule EP (Stratasonic)
• Rufige Kru, Metal Giants EP (London)
• Anish Kumar, AK Cuts: Vol. 2 (Ninja Tune)
• Colin Self, respite ∞ levity for the nameless ghost in crisis (expanded) (RVNG Intl.)
• Colin Stetson, Greg Fox & Trevor Dunn, Nethering (Envision)
• DJ Tennis, fabric presents (Fabric)
• Felsmann + Tiley, Protomensch (Embassy One)
• femtanyl, MAN BITES DOG (entitii)
• Just Lil, distant shade EP (Boxset)
• KMRU, Kin (Editions Mego)
• Mastery X Houndstooth, Quantum Sound Houndstooth (Houndstooth)
• Quiet Husband, Lands (N3Wlow)

Global

• Sun-El Musician, Under the Sun (DIY)
• Yoshiko Sai, Mikkou (black)

Jazz

• Melissa Aldana, Filin (Blue Note)
• Myra Melford, the mundane uncanny (Infrequent Seams)
• Tomeka Reid, dance! skip! hop! (Out of Your Head)
• Colin Stetson, Greg Fox & Trevor Dunn, Nethering (Envision & Invada Records)

Pop

• Danny L Harle, Cerulean (XL)
• Sarah Kinsley, Fleeting EP (Verve Forecast/Fontana)
• Feng, WEEKEND ROCKSTAR (Regularisperfect)
• heartcoregirl, Lullabies EP (Hallwood)

R&B/Soul

• Tiana Major9, November Scorpio (Empire)

Rap/Hip-Hop

• Ms Banks, SOUTH LDN LOVER GIRL (Believe)
• A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Before Artistry EP (300)

Rock/Alt/Indie

• Converge, Love is Not Enough (Epitaph)
• Earth Tongue, Dungeon Vision (In The Red)
• Angel Du$t, Cold 2 The Touch (Run for Cover)
• Bat for Lashes, Fur and Gold (20th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue) (BMG)
• Cardinals, Masquerade (So Young)
• Chet Faker, A Love for Strangers (BMG)
• congratulations, Join Hands (Bella Union)
• Elsas, APORIAMOR EP (Lapsus)
• Erik Huey, Fort Defiance (Appalachian A.F.)
• Gogol Bordello, We Mean It, Man! (DIY)
• Good Sleepy, CONSTANT HUMMING (DIY)
• Howling Bells, Strange Life (Nude Records)
• Jeremy Ivey, Its Shape Will Reveal Itself (Soggy Anvil)
• Kaki King, Infinite Ache (G2 Records)
• Katzin, Buckaroo (Mexican Summer)
• Last Dinosaurs, WELLNXSS (Nettwerk)
• Luke Temple, Hungry Animal (Western Vinyl)
• Mariachi El Bronx, Mariachi El Bronx (IV) (ATO)
• NoMeansNo, Sex Mad (Alternative Tentacles)
• Organ Tapes, 一包烟 (OST)
• Powerplant, Bridge of Sacrifice (Arcane Dynamics)
• Story of the Year, A.R.S.O.N. (Sharptone)
• The Nude Party, Look Who's Back (self-released)
• Velocity Girl, ¡Simpatico! (Remastered and Expanded) (Sub Pop)
• WORM, Necropalace (Century Media)
• XBYRDX, Anthems for the End Times (DIY)
• Yellow Days, Rock And A Hard Place (Independent Co.)

_{Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson • Guest: Nastia Voynovskaya, KQED • Audio: Noah Caldwell • Producer: Elle Mannion • Production Assistant: Dora Levite • Editor: Otis Hart • Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed • Executive Director: Sonali Mehta}