Today on the New Music Experience we turn up the guitars. While we normally pull in as many different kinds of sounds from as many different parts of the musical world as we can, it just so happens that this week was a really good one for the six string.  

There’s experimental indie pop from Super Furry Animals’ leader Gruff Rhys new album, pastoral acoustic meditations from Shannon Lay’s new single on Sub Pop and unpredictable riffing from rising African guitar hero Mdou Moctar‘s highly acclaimed new record.  

We also have words on music from WNXP Editorial Director and NPR Music contributor Jewly Hight and her hilarious personal connection to a new song from Lucy Dacus. Stephen Trageser, Music Editor of the Nashville Scene, joins us to talk about some calendar picks from the new issue, his cautious optimism about the return of live music and some technological insight on the new album from Nashville indie legends lambchop.  

We also have the indie all-star collaboration between Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten and the WNXP debut of a famously unreleased record dedicated to the loss of a very special pony.   

As usual we begin the show with a band you might not know. Enola Gay comes out of the vibrant post-punk scene in the UK – IDLES, Fontaines DC, Shame, Dry Cleaning. Enola Gay’s debut was delayed by the pandemic but they finally released their first song “Sofa Surfing” and which fuses speaker spiking guitars with dark visions told through witty lyricism (“This Oh familiar slope becomes a character trope”).

Set List  

1. Enola Gay: “Sofa Surfing”  
2. Mdou Moctar: “Tala Tannam”   
3. Lucy Dacus: “VBS” 
4. Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen: “Like I Used To”  
5. Gruff Rhys: “Loan Your Loneliness”  
6. Robert Finley: “Make Me Feel Alright”  
7. Sam Evian: “Easy to Love”  
8. Maple Glider: “As Tradition”  
9. Shannon Lay: “Rare To Wake”  
10. Mouse Rat: “5,000 Candles In The Wind”