One of 2023’s best rock records so far is a thrilling blend of shoegaze and country

Plus, Trina performs at the Tiny Desk and talks to ‘Louder Than A Riot’ [View this email online]( [NPR Music]( April 8, 2023 by [Marissa Lorusso]( --------------------------------------------------------------- This week, we’re sharing a review of the new album by Wednesday; plus, rap icon Trina stops by the Tiny Desk. [Wednesday]( Zachary Chick/Courtesy of the artist The very first time I heard the band Wednesday — during a taping of an episode of All Songs Considered a few years ago — it knocked me out. From the moment we cranked up the volume on “[Fate Is…]( that day in the studio, I was hooked. I was almost mad that I had never heard the band before, though it had a few releases under its belt; Wednesday’s enormous, fuzzed-out guitars and singer Karly Hartzman’s sweet, mournful voice lit something up in my brain. The Asheville, N.C., band has been gaining traction over the past few years and released a solid record in 2021, called Twin Plagues. But in the lead-up to its new album, the magnificent Rat Saw God, the band has rightly become one of the most exciting and talked-about groups in indie rock. The reference points abound; in Stereogum, writer Chris Deville [said the band]( sounds like “[Modest Mouse’s] Isaac Brock if he were chill or Katie Crutchfield if she were trashy”; in The Ringer, [Ian Cohen wrote]( that “anyone who has identified as an indie rock fan in the past 30 or so years will find something to love here.” On [New Music Friday]( from All Songs Considered, my colleague Lars Gotrich said the record is like “if ‘American Gothic’ was painted through the lens of Gummo.” But touchstones aside, I maybe prefer [the way my colleague Hazel Cills describes the album]( best of all: as “a beautifully bleak record that spins up country, shoegaze, suburban nightmares and youthful debauchery into a thrilling work of distorted Americana.” Hazel’s review digs into the expert way Wednesday blends its formative noisy and twangy influences, and how Hartzman’s lyrics capture the chaotic, claustrophobic, strip mall-ridden wasteland of her youth with insight and empathy. It’s a fittingly beautiful read on a thrilling album — a unique but inviting record and one of the year’s best rock releases so far. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- More to read, watch and hear - Last weekend, trailblazing composer and producer [Ryuichi Sakamoto]( died at age 71. One of the first musicians to incorporate electronic production into popular songcraft, the Japanese composer had an exceptionally wide-ranging career: He was by turns a synth-pop idol, the composer of both sweeping film scores and quiet, gentle sound environments, and a collaborator of such artists as David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Bernardo Bertolucci. - It was a big week on All Songs Considered for my pal (and NPR Music’s resident Viking) Lars Gotrich. On this week’s [New Mix episode]( Lars and Bob Boilen talked about Filipino punk, Ethiopian jazz, Malian psych-rock and more. Plus, Lars joined the [New Music Friday]( crew to talk about releases from Daniel Caesar, Yaeji, Brandee Younger and more great new albums out April 7. - This week, our friends at KUTX shared a video of Nigerian-born artist [Obongjayar performing live]( at this year’s SXSW festival. - Though the practice of sampling is foundational to hip-hop, it hasn’t always been part of the New York drill genre. But the Queens rapper Shawny Binladen has used sampling to reimagine and reinvigorate the sound of drill, opening up a new world of possibilities in the genre. For Shawny, “[sampling is a sacred act]( — the highest form of respect,” says writer Nora Lee. --------------------------------------------------------------- Louder Than A Riot This week, Louder Than A Riot talked to Miami hip-hop icon and trailblazing rapper Trina. The story starts one night in 1998, when rising Miami rapper Trick Daddy called Trina and asked her to lay down a verse on a song for his new album. The rest, they say, is history: Trina’s verse got her record deal on the spot, and her resulting rap career [led a generation of women toward being liberated on mic](. The Louder team talked to Trina about how her career flipped the script on dusty old stereotypes of Black women in rap; to Trick Daddy about how he feels to see her shining; and to rapper Latto about [carrying the torch]( that Trina set aflame 25 years ago. --------------------------------------------------------------- Tiny Desk [Trina performs a Tiny Desk concert]( NPR In addition to her in-depth interview with Louder Than A Riot, Trina also recently stopped by NPR headquarters to perform a [Tiny Desk concert](. At the Desk, she treated us to an epic set that features the best of her sprawling discography. Also this week: Drummer, singer and producer [Kassa Overall]( is no stranger to NPR. A couple years ago, he was a featured singer and percussionist on Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science’s Tiny Desk concert; plus, he wrote original music for the first season of Louder Than A Riot. He recently came back to NPR for a Tiny Desk concert of his own, featuring a virtuosic display of musicianship, lyricism and artistic innovation. --------------------------------------------------------------- One More Thing [Can ChatGPT write a good song]( NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Weekend Edition investigate. --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on [Spotify]( and [Apple Music]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [nprmusic@npr.org](mailto:nprmusic@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? 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