Barrie: Saturated

From dream-pop outfit Barrie’s debut album Happy To Be Here (out early May on Winspear), the very sweet “Saturated” takes a fairly pared-back approach, but is, at times, incredibly rich. With a retro tinge, the song is about that overwhelming, all-encompassing feeling that can come along with a crush. Says lead singer and songwriter Barrie Lindsay, “It’s minimal and exposed, kind of vulnerable, but in …

Mdou Moctar: Tarhatazed

Mdou Moctar, a Tuareg guitarist raised in northern Niger, debuted his first studio band album, Ilana (The Creator) last week. From it comes “Tarhatazed,” a blazing, seven-minute-long track laden with Hendrix-rivaling solos—especially from the four-minute mark on. Moctar boasts an odd origin story: he was raised in a family that forbade music and built his first guitar out of spare wood and brake wires.

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Playful J-pop, a disco-driven track about anxiety and more new music this week

Spencer Tweedy: Everyday Apostle Three years after his debut EP, Chicago’s Spencer Tweedy has released Sleep Is My God. This new four-track EP segues from one pithy folk-rock track to another. It’s cohesive, artful and begins with “Everyday Apostle,” our pick from the release. There are traces of Elliott Smith here but altogether it’s refreshingly Tweedy. Cage the Elephant + Beck: Night Running Ahead of Beck …