Will Hermes

Ibibio Sound Machine is an Anglo-African band from London, and they've teamed up with Hot Chip to create the album Electricity. Together, they balance African funk with British electronica.

Four female country stars — Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires and Natalie Hemby — are hitting the road as The Highwomen, a reinterpretation of the '80s supergroup The Highwaymen.

Sleater-Kinney's longtime drummer is leaving the band — but not before they release one last album together. It marks the end of an era for the indie rock power trio.

Neneh Cherry started her music a career in a punk rock band, then she started rapping. Her new album, Broken Politics is a philosophical meditation on staying strong in trying times.

British soul singer Sam Smith's debut LP, In The Lonely Hour, showcased his remarkable voice. It was one of the best-selling records of 2014, won four Grammys, and drew comparisons to Adele. His second collection is titled The Thrill Of It All. Music critic Will Hermes says each track on the record is elevated by Smith's voice into something magnificent, that feels vintage, and at the same time, brand new.

Music critic Will Hermes has been won over by the remarkably beautiful, pure voice of Joan Shelley. He reviews her new album, Over and Even.

NPR music critic Will Hermes reviews an album that contains the best storytelling he's heard in a long time. It's the debut album from Courtney Barnett.

On the 2010 album Scratch My Back, Gabriel covered songs by the musicians he loves. For the follow-up, he invited those artists — who include Arcade Fire, Randy Newman, David Byrne, Regina Spektor, Lou Reed, Bon Iver and more — to cover his own material.

With a new record, the band Arcade Fire is trying to top their 2011 release, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year. Critic Will Hermes says that on Reflektor, they turn to dance music to try to reinvigorate their sound.

Even the compilers of a new funk collection don't fully know who William Onyeabor is.