Every month on Station Breaks, NPR Music member stations handpick a diverse list of new songs by not-so-big bands. In this edition, check out bold new music from violin-wielding singer-songwriter Sudan Archives, harmony-rich sister act Lily & Madeleine and warm, autumnal folk group Hawthorn. Songs from this month will be available to stream on the NPR Slingshot Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page.
The Dead South, "Black Lung"
"Black Lung" opens with an acoustic riff that conjures "Up On The Roof," only to explode into ragged and righteous Canadian bluegrass. —Jessie Scott, WMOT, Nashville, Tennessee
Fruition, "Wild As The Night"
The cascade of harmonies in "Wild As the Night" feels like a 21st-century soft-rock treasure. —Adam Harris, Mountain Stage, Charleston, West Virginia
Hawthorn, "Appalachia"
Hawthorn spreads warmth with "Appalachia," a song that digs into its folk roots while also reminding us that tradition is about tending to the flame, not the ashes. —Stacy Buchanan, WGBH, Boston, Massachusetts
Likoe Mizik, "Iko Kreyòl"
A new take on a New Orleans classic, "Iko Kreyòl" brings the best of Haiti and New Orleans together for a bumpin' jam featuring Win and Regine of Arcade Fire, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the 79ers Gang. Party ready. —Bruce Warren, WXPN, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lily & Madeleine, "Supernatural Sadness"
Sisters Lily & Madeleine have what some call "blood harmony" — goosebump-inducing vocals made naturally by kinship. It's emphasized here in this minimal performance. —Troy Schulze, Houston Public Media, Houston, Texas
Lulu Fall, "Between Two Worlds"
With "Between Two Worlds," Lulu Fall offers a cathartic anthem that speaks to life in America as the daughter of Senegalese and Cameroonian parents. —J. Michael Harrison, WRTI, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mormor, "Won't Let You"
This song sounds like the feeling of getting swept off your feet. It's intimate and bursting with feeling. — Justin Barney, Radio Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Rachael & Vilray, "Alone At Last"
She can sing anything; he can play anything. It's a steady side job for the Lake Street Dive singer: Tin Pan Alley meets the Lower East Side in a smoky bar, in songs with a twist of humor. —Rita Houston, WFUV, New York, New York
SAULT, "Feel So Good"
Funky drums and bass lay the groundwork for this hypnotic earworm from the prolific-yet-mysterious U.K. trio. —Brian Burns, WUNC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Sudan Archives, "Confessions"
Brittney Parks, better known as Sudan Archives, is a self-taught violin virtuoso whose far-reaching compositions are infused with Afro-futurist sensibilities, defying genre while challenging preconceived notions of classical instruments. If FKA twigs and Francis Bebey made an album together, it might sound like Athena, Parks' debut full-length. —Aaron Byrd, KCRW, Los Angeles, California
TeddyTheLegacy, "Red Lights"
Placing candid lyricism atop production that melds trap and R&B, this versatile Austin rapper doesn't tap the brakes on the final track from his recent Posterchild LP. —Jack Anderson, KUTX, Austin, Texas
Stream this month's Station Breaks picks on NPR Slingshot's Spotify.
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