Now Streaming: New Albums from Japandroids, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Kelly Hogan, & More

The new albums from Japandroids and Neil Young and Crazy Horse are two of the biggest attractions in this week's crop of albums streaming online, but there are some other much-anticipated releases as well. But first, a bit about the Neil Young album.

Japandroids at Maxwell's in Hoboken in late 2010.

Aptly called "Americana," it's Young's take on classical folk and traditional tunes such as "Oh! Susanna," "Gallows Pole," "Wayfarin' Stranger," and "This Land Is Your Land." And the album ends with a rousing version of "God Save the Queen" (the one that has the same melody as "My Country 'Tis of Thee," not the Sex Pistols' tune). This is the first album Young has put out with his old pals Crazy Horse in nine years, and all of his fans will want to check it out.

The wonderfully noisy Canadian duo Japandroids are back with "Celebration Rock," and they've got a lot to celebrate. They've gained a lot of buzz over the last year or so, and their New York shows next month sold out quickly. Which makes me all the more glad that I got to see them about a year and a half ago at the intimate room at Maxwell's.

I loved last year's self-titled album by Marissa Nadler, and will be looking forward to hearing her new release, "The Sister," which is available for preview over at Spinner. Another female singer I'm eager to listen to is Kelly Hogan, the longtime backup singer for Neko Case. Having always liked her voice, I've been interested to see what songs she would choose to tackle. On "I Like To Keep Myself In Pain," she sings songs written for her by some of her well-known collaborators besides case: such as Stephin Merritt, John Wesley Harding, M. Ward, and Vic Chestnutt. There's also one tune that Hogan wrote.

There's a lot more good stuff for preview this week, including the new releases by Liars, Gemma Ray, Julia Stone (without her brother Angus), and more. [Update, May 30: Rolling Stone has added the new album by Crocodiles; see link below.]

And you'll get a second chance at listening to new albums by artists including Sigur Rós, Regina Spektor, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

It's a jam-packed week of album previews; dig in and enjoy.

Rolling Stone:
"Americana" by Neil Young and Crazy Horse
"Endless Flowers" by Crocodiles (if that link doesn't work, try here)

NPR First Listen:
"Celebration Rock" by Japandroids
"I Like To Keep Myself In Pain" by Kelly Hogan
"Valtari" by Sigur Rós
"WIXIW" by Liars

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Heaven" by The Walkmen

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"The Sister" by Marissa Nadler
"By the Horns" by Julia Stone
"Here" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
"What We Saw From The Cheap Seats" by Regina Spektor
"Internal Logic" by Grass Widow
"Anxiety" by Ladyhawke
"Island Fire" by Gemma Ray
"Oh Michael, Look What You've Done: Friends Play Michael Chapman" by various artists (featuring Thurston Moore, Meg Bairds, Maddy Prior, and Lucinda Williams)
(and many more albums at Spinner's website)