New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 26

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David KA/Courtesy of the artist

David KA/Courtesy of the artist

Atlanta rapper J.I.D has enjoyed huge success, both as a member of the collective Spillage Village and as a solo artist on J. Cole’s Dreamville label. He’s even enjoyed an ubiquitous hit with “Enemy,” his collaboration with the band Imagine Dragons. But he still seems like a rising star — and his new album, The Forever Story, still feels like an attempt to introduce him to an even-wider audience. That new LP kicks off this week’s discussion, as the panel enthuses over his thorny and evocative lyricism.

We’ve also got new albums from the sharp Australian singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly, decorated saxophonist and bandleader Miguel Zenón and wildly experimental electronic musician Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, as well as a new box set covering Blondie’s original 1974-82 run. On this week’s New Music Friday, Keanna Faircloth (host of the Artimacy podcast), contributor Christina Lee (co-host of the Bottom of the Map podcast) and NPR Music’s Hazel Cills join guest host Stephen Thompson.

Featured Albums:

1. J.I.D — The Forever Story
   Featured Songs: “Dance Now,” “Better Days,” “Raydar”
2. Stella Donnelly — Flood
   Featured Songs: “Lungs,” “Morning Silence,” “How Was Your Day?”
3. Miguel Zenón — Müsica De Las Americas
   Featured Songs: “Opresion Y Revolucion,” “Tainos Y Caribes”
4. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith — Let’s Turn It Into Sound
   Featured Songs: “Locate,” “Have You Felt Lately?”
5. Blondie — Against the Odds: 1974-1982
   Featured Songs: “Rapture” “The Tide Is High (Demo Version),” “Heart of Glass”

Lightning Round:

Meechy Darko — Gothic Luxury

• Carolyn Malachi — Counter Narratives EP
• Julia Jacklin — Pre Pleasure
• Regina Spektor — 11:11 + Papa’s Bootlegs
• Valerie June — Under Cover

Other notable releases for Aug. 26:

• blackbear — In Loving Memory
• Bret McKenzie — Songs Without Jokes
• Calypso Rose — Forever
• Chris Forsyth — Evolution Here We Come
• Diamanda Galás — Broken Gargoyles
• Embrace — How To Be a Person Like Other People
• Eyedress — Full Time Lover
• Ezra Furman — All of Us Flames
• Ingrid Andress — Good Person
• Marcus King — Young Blood
• Muse — Will of the People
• Pantha du Prince — Garden Gaia
• Pianos Become the Teeth — Drift
• Sélébéyone — Xaybu: The Unseen
• William Orbit — The Painter
• Yellowjackets — Parallel Motion