Music

 Fresh off her induction into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gretchen Peters is about to release her new album Blackbirds. Co-produced with Doug Lancio and Barry Walsh and recorded in Nashville, the album features a who’s who of modern American roots music: Jerry Douglas, Jason Isbell, Jimmy LaFave, Will Kimbrough, Kim Richey, Suzy Bogguss and more.

Alvvays hasn't been around forever, but its members channel a sound that's eternally appealing. The Toronto band's Chad VanGaalen-produced debut is a smart throwback to several generations and iterations of popular music: sun-drenched surf rock, woozy dream pop, jangly twee pop, and so on.

In the studio at KEXP, singer-songwriter Molly Rankin didn't exactly wear her heart on her sleeve, but she did display Morrissey on her chest. Her well-worn vintage T-shirt speaks volumes about witty, wistful songs like "Archie, Marry Me."

SET LIST

Reunion mythology is a powerful force in the music industry. It can artificially preserve overripe bands past their sell-by date, or rob stellar releases of thoughtful criticism in favor of tireless gossip. Former bandmates pursuing other projects have to shout louder than their own histories to be heard in a new context. The lionization and dramatization of reunions ignores the fundamental alchemy of all music-making, regardless of chronology: that artists find each other and choose each other, out of all the artists in the world, to create something new every time they interact.

Two miserable experiences hang heavily over the band Viet Cong. First came the acrimonious dissolution of Women, of which bassist Matt Flegel and drummer Michael Wallace were members. Not long after came the death of that band's guitarist, Chris Reimer. Both of Viet Cong's records — last year's Cassette EP and this self-titled full-length debut — labor to process grief and move forward from its grip. Cassette weaved its way through several carefully donned styles before letting the bottom drop out into dark, aggressive rock.

One of the greatest, biggest, most enjoyable brass bands has just made its best studio recording. Red Baraat is a beat- and brass-driven affair, with a double-headed Indian drum as its timekeeper and rhythm maker. Sunny Jain plays the dhol, and on Gaadi Of Truth he feeds those rhythms through processing pedals, expanding on the Indian traditions he experienced growing up in his Rochester, N.Y., home. This is the first record I can think of that applies a lot of effects to the sousaphone.

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Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

What makes a song a hit? Is it a catchy beat, an amazing voice? Let's use this song as an example.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SHAKE IT OFF")

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: