All Songs Considered | The best releases out on Aug. 18

After beating out Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and others for the 2022 album of the year Grammy — and after stepping down as the bandleader for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Jon Batiste is back with a new album this week called World Music Radio. As the name suggests, it’s a sprawling exploration of what global music can sound like, guided by the fictional DJ, Billy Bob Bo Bob. We kick off this week’s show with a listen and talk about the ways Batiste finds his center through deep grooves and a powerful sense of community.

We’ve also got an epic, often euphoric and deeply conceptual album from Hozier, a breathless convergence of disco and punk in the work of Genesis Owusu, Rhiannon Giddens‘ feel-good You’re The One, a jazz debut from Cautious Clay and more. NPR Music’s Ann Powers joins Atlanta-based culture critic Gavin Godfrey, writer and critic LaTesha Harris and host Robin Hilton as they share their picks for the best albums out on Aug. 18.

Featured Albums:

1. Jon Batiste — World Music Radio
   Featured Songs: “BOOM FOR REAL,” “Hello, Billy Bob,” “Be Who You Are (feat. JID, NewJeans & Camilo),” “Uneasy (feat. Lil Wayne)”
2. Hozier — Unreal Unearth
   Featured Songs: “Anything But,” “De Selby (Part 1),” “Eat Your Young,” “Butchered Tongue,” “Who We Are”
3. Genesis Owusu — Struggler
   Featured Songs: “Leaving The Light,” “Stay Blessed,” “Freak Boy,” “That’s Life (A Swamp)”
4. Rhiannon Giddens — You’re the One
   Featured Songs: “Way Over Yonder,” “You Louisiana Man,” “If You Don’t Know How Sweet It Is”
5. Cautious Clay — KARPEH
   Featured Songs: “Fishtown,” “102 Years Of Comedy (Intro),” “Karpehs Don’t Flinch”

Lightning Round:

• DeYarmond Edison — Epoch
• Quavo — Rocket Power
• Reneé Rapp — Snow Angel
• Talking Heads — Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition)

Other notable releases for Aug. 18:

• Birdy — Portraits
• Bobby Rush — All My Love For You
• Fiddlehead — Death is Nothing To Us
• Grace Potter — Mother Road
• Margaret Glaspy — Echo The Diamond
• Mick Jenkins — The Patience
• Panda Bear, Sonic Boom & Adrian Sherwood — Reset In Dub
• Russ — SANTIAGO
• Shamir — Homo Anxietatem
• Tash Sultana — Sugar EP.
• Teddy Thompson — My Love of Country

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