WILLOW's first single, "Whip My Hair," came out just shy of the singer's 10th birthday. Now 21, she's returned with her fifth full-length album, titled . The record has big arena-rock vibes to go with its spiky pop-punk songcraft, and it effectively captures WILLOW's gift for conveying deeply felt emotions and the thrum of anxiety. We've also got new albums from genre-smashing singer, rapper and multi-instrumentalist NNAMDÏ, arty rapper Open Mike Eagle, dance-music producer TSHA and the venerated space-jazz ensemble Sun Ra Arkestra. Featured Albums: 1. WILLOW — Featured Songs: "WHY?," "ur a " 2. NNAMDÏ — Please Have a Seat Featured Songs: "Armoire," "ANXIOUS EATER," "Careful" 3. Open Mike Eagle — Component System With the Auto Reverse Featured Songs: "79th and Stony Island," "I Retired Then I Changed My Mind," "Peak Lockdown Raps" 4. TSHA — Capricorn Sun Featured Songs: "OnlyL (feat. Nimmo)," "Giving Up (feat. Mafro)," "Running," "Sister," "Anxious Mind (feat. Clementine Douglas)" 5. Sun Ra Arkestra — Living Sky Featured Songs: "Somebody Else's Idea," "Marshall's Groove," "Night of the Living Sky," "Firefly" Lightning Round: Quavo & Takeoff — Only Built for Infinity Links Fatnice — Vanglorious Say She She — Prism Collapsing Stars — Chapter
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include pop-punk star Willow, genre-smashing multi-instrumentalist NNAMDÏ, arty rapper Open Mike Eagle and more.
WILLOW's first single, "Whip My Hair," came out just shy of the singer's 10th birthday. Now 21, she's returned with her fifth full-length album, titled . The record has big arena-rock vibes to go with its spiky pop-punk songcraft, and it effectively captures WILLOW's gift for conveying deeply felt emotions and the thrum of anxiety. We've also got new albums from genre-smashing singer, rapper and multi-instrumentalist NNAMDÏ, arty rapper Open Mike Eagle, dance-music producer TSHA and the venerated space-jazz ensemble Sun Ra Arkestra. Featured Albums: 1. WILLOW — Featured Songs: "WHY?," "ur a " 2. NNAMDÏ — Please Have a Seat Featured Songs: "Armoire," "ANXIOUS EATER," "Careful" 3. Open Mike Eagle — Component System With the Auto Reverse Featured Songs: "79th and Stony Island," "I Retired Then I Changed My Mind," "Peak Lockdown Raps" 4. TSHA — Capricorn Sun Featured Songs: "OnlyL (feat. Nimmo)," "Giving Up (feat. Mafro)," "Running," "Sister," "Anxious Mind (feat. Clementine Douglas)" 5. Sun Ra Arkestra — Living Sky Featured Songs: "Somebody Else's Idea," "Marshall's Groove," "Night of the Living Sky," "Firefly" Lightning Round: Quavo & Takeoff — Only Built for Infinity Links Fatnice — Vanglorious Say She She — Prism Collapsing Stars — Chapter