New Music Friday: The best releases out on July 7

Electro-pop singer Aluna Francis first made her name as one-half of the hit-making duo Aluna George. Now, her second album as just Aluna, MYCELiUM, finds her working with the worldwide artistic community she’s built in the last few years. With an emphasis on queer and/or Black artists from many different countries, she’s built a powerful statement about claiming your power while still leaving space for others.

We’ve also got new albums from Dominic Fike, who fuses hip-hop with sun-baked ’90s-style dirtbag pop; ANOHNI and the Johnsons, whose new album was inspired by both Marvin Gaye and Marsha P. Johnson; Little Dragon, whose mix of soul, electro-pop, funk and R&B has made it a favorite for two decades; and PJ Harvey, whose first album in seven years marks another innovative and surprising chapter in a brilliant career.

On this week’s New Music Friday, NPR Music’s Ann Powers and NPR Music contributors Gavin Godfrey and Cyrena Touros join guest host Stephen Thompson.

Featured Albums:

1. Aluna — MYCELiUM
   Featured Songs: “The Way I’m Wired,” “Kiss It Better”
2. Dominic Fike — Sunburn
   Featured Songs: “Sick,” “How Much Is Weed,” “Ant Pile”
3. ANOHNI and the Johnsons — My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross
   Featured Songs: “Rest,” “It Must Change,” “Sliver Of Ice”
4. Little Dragon — Slugs of Love
   Featured Songs: “Slugs of Love,” “Kenneth,” “Tumbling Dice”
5. PJ Harvey — I Inside the Old Year Dying
   Featured Songs: “Lwonesome Tonight,” “Seem an I,” “A Child’s Question, August”

Lightning Round:

• Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band — Kings Highway
• The Japanese House — In The End It Always Does
• Julie Byrne — The Greater Wings
• Sampha — “Spirit 2.0” (Single)

Other notable releases for July 7:

• AJ Suede — Ark Flashington
• Alayna — Self Portrait Of A Woman Unraveling
• Alice Phoebe Lou — Shelter
• Jim O’Rourke — Hands That Bind (OST)
• Local Natives — Time Will Wait For No One
• The Pink Spiders — Freakazoid
• Taylor Swift — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
• Various — The Endless Coloured Ways: The Songs Of Nick Drake

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