50 years later, Steely Dan's 'Pretzel Logic' still sounds fresh

By 1974, Steely Dan's two albums had helped established the band as a viable business proposition. With Pretzel Logic, they began a quest for studio perfectionism that would last for decades to come.

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3 exhilarating songs showcase music genres being explored in new ways

Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs' “Dare To Dream," Tommy Richman's "Million Dollar Baby" and Jeff and Steven McDonald's “Born Innocent" feature spontaneous sounds rooted in deep knowledge of the past.

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In Peso Pluma’s 'Éxodo,' he outgrows his regional Mexican roots

Éxodo, pushes his sound further.'/>

On his new album, Éxodo, regional Mexican hitmaker Peso Pluma gives listeners a sampler of his burgeoning potential as a multi-genre star.

(Image credit: Arenovski)

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For a rising class of rap cyborgs, there's mastery in the mumble

New albums by Don Toliver and LUCKI take opposite paths to the same calling, an understanding of rap as texture rather than text.

(Image credit: Jack Dalton)

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Kendrick Lamar takes the West Coast off standby

Lamar's blowout Juneteenth concert, held at the Forum in Los Angeles and live-streamed on Amazon Music, planted flags for the future of LA rap, while uniting in hate for a certain Toronto titan.

(Image credit: Timothy Norris/Getty Images for pgLang, Amazon)

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Gunna can't flaunt his way out of the YSL trial's shadow

The rapper slipped free from the legal mess that swallowed his label and his mentor Young Thug — but on his new album, he's still in the grip of an unending image crisis.

(Image credit: Frazer Harrison)

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‘It Was All a Dream’ shows the work of a nascent rap feminist

A new documentary by the hip-hop historian and critic dream hampton, culled from her own never-before-seen footage of rap's golden age, illustrates the hard labor for women who love the music.

(Image credit: Courtesy of the artist)

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Pedro the Lion's youthful nostalgia is quietly transformational

David Bazan's multi-part memoirs have blurred memories of his adolescence, but with the goal of being honest and accountable. NPR Music critic Ann Powers sees connections between Pedro the Lion's Santa Cruz and Jane Schoenbrun’s new film, I Saw the TV Glow.

(Image credit: Ryan Russell)

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As African pop crests again, women are leading the second wave

The Year I Turned 21, is a global-minded symphony of influences, and part of a recent wave of young women charting their own course for African pop.'/>

Released in a span of three months, the new albums by Ayra Starr, Tems and Tyla are not merely career-making for the artists, but ground-shifting for the pop music of the continent.

(Image credit: Mikey Oshai)

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Swamp Dogg's 'Blackgrass' is one of the best country albums of the year

Swamp Dogg, aka Jerry Williams Jr., began his career in the 1960s. Now 81, he demonstrates that, in his long career in R&B, soul and funk, country is another road he’s traveled.

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