Will Hermes
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Ibibio Sound Machine is an Anglo-African band from London, and they've teamed up with Hot Chip to create the album Electricity. Together, they balance African funk with British electronica.
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British soul singer Sam Smith's debut LP, In The Lonely Hour, showcased his remarkable voice. It was one of the best-selling records of 2014, won four Grammys, and drew comparisons to Adele. His second collection is titled The Thrill Of It All. Music critic Will Hermes says each track on the record is elevated by Smith's voice into something magnificent, that feels vintage, and at the same time, brand new.
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Music critic Will Hermes has been won over by the remarkably beautiful, pure voice of Joan Shelley. He reviews her new album, Over and Even.
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With a name like Destroyer, you might expect a heavy metal band. Led by musician Dan Bejar, the band's latest album, Poison Season, has a lighter sound with interesting, uniquely delivered lyrics.
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Music critic Will Hermes says the new album, Platform, from electronic musician Holly Herndon invites deep listening.
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NPR music critic Will Hermes reviews an album that contains the best storytelling he's heard in a long time. It's the debut album from Courtney Barnett.
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Though she's been a popular singer since the '80s, Natalie Merchant has often worn the air of one who finds pop stardom distasteful. On her new self-titled LP, she dredges that tension to the fore.
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The 23-year-old country-rock singer's fine new album thrives on her iconoclastic vision. Along the way, the invokes the name and spirit of everyone from Steve Earle to French poet Paul Verlaine.
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On the 2010 album Scratch My Back, Gabriel covered songs by the musicians he loves. For the follow-up, he invited those artists — who include Arcade Fire, Randy Newman, David Byrne, Regina Spektor, Lou Reed, Bon Iver and more — to cover his own material.
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With a new record, the band Arcade Fire is trying to top their 2011 release, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year. Critic Will Hermes says that on Reflektor, they turn to dance music to try to reinvigorate their sound.