Now Streaming: New CDs from Alberta Cross, Lawrence Arabia, & More

It's slim pickings in the album-streaming department this week, with fewer titles than usual on offer. But there are still some interesting releases out there. One example: the three-disc set "Out Of Many: 50 Years Of Reggae Music" (streaming on NPR Music), is a compilation that commemorates the half-century since Jamaica gained its independence with one hit song from each year, beginning in 1962.

The collection is from VP Records and features only artists who recorded for that label (so you'll find names such as Yellowman and Shabba Ranks, but not Bob Marley), but that may make it interesting for exposing listeners to figures who aren't the most famous ones in the genre.


Video for "The Processional" by Woodpecker!

Also streaming on NPR is a new album by a band called TheNewNo2 (pronounced "the new number two"). That name may be as unfamiliar to you as it was to me, but you'll recognize one of its members: Dhani Harrison, the son of late Beatle George Harrison. Note: don't expect music that's a chip off the old block; from what I've heard of thenewno2, it sounds nothing like the Beatles or any of the elder Harrison's solo work.

On the Americana/folkie end of the spectrum, there are new albums by Alberta Cross (which, despite its name, is not Canadian), The Illegitimate Sons, and Woodpecker!, which I first heard on NPR Music but whose album is streaming on Spinner.

You'll also a second chance to hear the new Passion Pit album, "Gossamer," which is streaming over at Spinner this week.

Maybe with fewer albums streaming this week, I'll actually be able to listen to all the ones I want to hear.

NPR First Listen:
"Out Of Many: 50 Years Of Reggae Music" by various artists
"Thefearofmissingout" by TheNewNo2

Spinner.com's Listening Party:
"Gossamer" by Passion Pit
"Songs of Patience" by Alberta Cross
"The Sparrow" by Lawrence Arabia
"Unearth" by Grasscut
"Drunk Is the New Sober / Stupid Is the New Dumb" by Dots Will Echo
"Union" by Saint Saviour
"Art of Losses" by The Blakes
"Thanks Anyway" by Woodpecker!

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"I Am a Moth" by Ryan Darton
"American Music" by The Illegitimate Sons
"Cardiology" by Sara Jackson-Holman

KCRW Album Preview: 
"Voyeur" by Saint Motel

Now Streaming: New CDs from Gaslight Anthem, Matisyahu, Passion Pit, Purity Ring, & More

New releases by returning favorites and hot new artists take center stage among the albums streaming online this week. New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem return with "Handwritten," the follow-up to 2010's "American Slang." NPR Music's Stephen Thompson says of the band, "You may have heard every ingredient before, but in this particular concoction, they all sound amazing." He adds that, "If there were a psychotropic drug that made users feel like James Dean, "Handwritten" would render it redundant.



Video for "Fineshrine" by Purity Ring.

What else is streaming this week? Former Stereolab singer and guitarist Laetitia Sadier is back with a new collection, her first in two years. There's also the much-anticipated debut album by Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring, who've garnered a lot of buzz based on the few singles they've released.

And a lot of people are looking forward to the latest album by another electronically oriented band, Passion Pit, which made a big splash back in 2008 with its catchy tune "Sleepyhead." (Passion Pit's synthesizer player, Ayad Al Adhamy, played at 4 Knots Saturday with his side project Team Spirit, in which he sings and plays guitar. His name isn't mentioned on the Passion Pit website for the new album, "Gossamer," so I'm not sure if he's left the band or just taking a hiatus to focus on Team Spirit).

Also streaming this week: new albums by singer-songwriter Citizen Cope, punk/electronica band Shout Out Out Out Out, '80s alt-rockers Soul Asylum, and many more. See the websites below for the  complete lineup of albums they're streaming this week.

NPR First Listen:
"Handwritten" by The Gaslight Anthem
"Gossamer" by Passion Pit
"Shrines" by Purity Ring
"Silencio" by Laetitia Sadier

Spinner.com's Listening Party:

"Spark Seeker" by Matisyahu

"One Lovely Day" by Citizen Cope
"Spanish Moss & Total Loss" by Shout Out Out Out Out
"Broken Brights" by Angus Stone
"Go Outside" by Hot Panda
"All of the Unknown" by The Drowning Men
"Milo Greene" by Milo Greene
"19 - Songs for and Inspired By Valencia: Chapter 19" by Jen Schande
"Collective Guilt" by Zebra Tracks
"Fight! Fight! Fight!" by The History of Panic
"Limblifter" by Limblifter

AOL Music Listening Party: 
"Delayed Reaction" by Soul Asylum
"Intrinsic" by The Contortionist
"Trouble With Machines" by District 97
"Proper Cowboy" by Diego's Umbrella