NPR Music New Music Friday: The best albums out Feb. 13
12 snips
Feb 13, 2026 Nastia Voynovskaya, arts and culture reporter at KQED, brings sharp music criticism and local arts perspective. They dive into new albums from Jill Scott’s long-awaited return to Brent Faiyaz’s lush vulnerability. Conversations also cover indie-folk introspection, K-pop brightness, literate punk-inflected storytelling, and a fast lightning round of eclectic new releases.
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Charli XCX's Major Creative Pivot
- Charli XCX is pivoting from club-pop to cinematic soundtrack work for Weathering Heights.
- Stephen Thompson and Nastia Voynovskaya highlight this as a major creative shift rather than a direct pop follow-up.
Queer Southern Stories In Indie-Folk
- August Ponthier's Everywhere Isn't Texas blends autobiographical queer coming-of-age with indie-folk.
- The album balances specific gender-transition details with broadly relatable songs about leaving home.
Personal Transition Fuels The Record
- Nastia recounts August Ponthier debuting a new name and they/them pronouns while writing this album.
- She says that self-assurance from that journey fuels the record's poignant songwriting.