Milo Miles

The vivacious alt-rapper Lizzo mixes rap, gospel and neo-soul on her new album. Critic Milo Miles says Big Grrrl Small World will win listeners over with its energy and hooks.

The new album by the veteran musician and his band Ngoni Ba conveys the restless march of time and the transience of all human conditions. Milo Miles calls it "the most satisfying sort of catchy."

The mostly instrumental cuts draw on salsa, funk, soul and rock from vintage and new performers.

Can you re-invent lively pop from the distant past? Fresh Air music critic Milo Miles says the songwriting team Tennis does just that with their new third album, Ritual in Repeat.

In the early 1960s when soul star Sam Cooke had his own record label, SAR, he recorded songs by his younger brother, L.C. Cooke. Fifty years years, the complete set's finally issued.

The New York City band Golem describes its music as punk-klezmer. On Tanz, they mange to find new ways to balance urban irreverence with folk tradition.

In 1974, sound engineer Owsley Stanley crafted a superior live experience with an enormous conglomeration of amps and speakers called the Wall of Sound. Dave's Picks Volume 9 captures this era.

Penny Penny put down his broom and picked up a mic for his 1994 debut, now reissued.

Dave Van Ronk's autobiography inspired Joel and Ethan Coen's new movie about a '60s folksinger. Though he died in 2002, a new anthology ought to help give Van Ronk a long-needed boost.

What had been an infrequent novelty — mixing electronic and '30s beats with scat and big band-ish horn solos — has become more and more common among European dance musicians and producers. Critic Milo Miles looks at two compilations that highlight this European dance trend.