New Music Friday: The best albums out Sept. 4

New Music Friday: The best albums out Sept. 4

From NPR Music by NPR

September 4, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

Stephen Thompson discusses the best albums released on September 4 with various DJs and NPR Music writers.

Rebecca Black. Paris Paloma. Button Masher. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Sept. 4 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Nastia Voynovskaya from KQED in San Francisco, Julie Bee from Marfa Public Radio in west Texas, and DeShun Nance from WJSU in Jackson, Miss. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (01:55) Album No. 1 - Rebecca Black, 'Age of the Exhibitionist' (08:26) Album No. 2 - Paris Paloma, 'The Fatal Flaw' (16:40) Album No. 3 - Sharp Pins, 'Mod Mayday 23' (23:06) Album No.4 - 1-800-Mikey, 'In Yun' (29:25) Album No. 5 - Button Masher, 'Super Button Masher' (36:20) The Lightning Round - Senri Oe, 'Homework' - Madi Diaz, 'Fatal Optimist UN-unplugged' - Medium Build, 'King of Having Fun' - Chat Pile, 'Who Loves The Sun' - Steven R. Smith, 'Half Light Unfolding' Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.org Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guests: Nastia Voynovskaya, Julie Bee, DeShun Nance Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Audio Engineer: Cena Loffredo Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Elle Mannion, Otis…

People in this episode

Host: Stephen Thompson

Guests: Nastia Voynovskaya, Julie Bee, DeShun Nance

Topics covered

  • new music
  • album reviews
  • music industry
  • DJs
  • NPR Music

Keywords

  • Rebecca Black
  • Paris Paloma
  • album reviews
  • NPR Music
  • new music Friday

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR Music, KQED, Marfa Public Radio, WJSU

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