Rhiannon Giddens's new album, there is no Other, recorded with the multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, is out next Friday, May 3, but you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full all week as an NPR First Listen at npr.org/firstlisten. The album is at once a condemnation of “othering” and a celebration of the spread of ideas, connectivity, and shared experience.

"Why do people need to be free? It's a facetious question, almost offensive, that can be answered in a million ways. Yet to ponder it is to touch down on the human side of political struggle. Consider one thing freedom makes possible, for example: intimacy," writes NPR Music's Ann Powers. "Rhiannon Giddens turns her exquisite voice and sensibility toward this psychic territory on there is no Other ..."

Powers goes on to say: "There is no Other continues its explorations of heartfelt exchange and private longing in ways similar to, yet distinct from, her other recent work. Since releasing her solo debut album Tomorrow Is My Turn in 2015, she's been building a new vision of the songlines connecting people and historical events, revisiting slave narratives and civil rights anthems and writing her own songs about what has been forgotten or ignored. .... [On the new album], Giddens brings her powerhouse voice and musical chops into closer quarters."

Read the complete review and listen to the album now at npr.org/firstlisten.

The album is available for pre-order now on iTunes and the Nonesuch Store, where the album track "I'm on My Way" may be downloaded immediately; a video for the song may be seen below. Nonesuch Store pre-orders also come with an exclusive, limited-edition autographed print. The album will also stream at Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital service providers. A deluxe vinyl edition will be released in the fall with details to come.