New Music Friday: The best albums out July 17

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 17

July 17, 2026 · 42 min

About this episode

Host Stephen Thompson discusses the best albums released on July 17 with guest Tshego Letsoalo and NPR Music writers.

Gracie Abrams. Nia Archives. Steve Lacy. On a release day full of catchy earworms, host Stephen Thompson chats with Tshego Letsoalo of KALW in San Francisco about their favorite albums out Friday, July 17. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:58) Album No. 1 - Gracie Abrams, 'Daughter from Hell' (08:13) Album No. 2 - Steve Lacy, 'Oh Yeah?' (16:38) Album No. 3 - Nia Archives, 'Emotional Junglist' (22:27) Album No. 4 - Lido Pimienta, 'Caribenya' (28:04) Album No. 5 - Swapmeet, 'Mount Zero' (33:13) The Lightning Round - Catherine Moan, 'CM Ultra' - Helado Tropical, 'Helado Tropical' - Orquesta Akokán, 'América!' - Nao Yoshioka, 'Self' - Quicksand, 'Bring On The Psychics' Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.org Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guest: Tshego Letsoalo, KALW Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Elle Mannion, Otis Hart Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Special thanks to Felix Contreras, Lars Gotrich and Ann Powers See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data…

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Host: Stephen Thompson

Guest: Tshego Letsoalo

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Organizations: KALW, NPR Music

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