Dawnbreaker, the debut album from Daughter of Swords, aka Mountain Man's Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, is out now on Nonesuch. Working with Sylvan Esso's Nick Sanborn, who co-produced the record with her, Sauser-Monnig shaped what began as quiet reflections into confident compositions, crackling with country swagger and a sparkling pop warmth, preemptive odes to the next phase of life. Guests include Mountain Man's Amelia Meath and Molly Sarlé, bandleader Phil Cook, and guitarist Ryan Gustafson.

Devendra Banhart's new album, Ma, is due September 13, 2019, on Nonesuch Records. With tender, autobiographical vignettes, Ma displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of his previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Banhart favors organic sounds to accompany his voice and guitar, the arrangements bolstered by strings, woodwinds, brass, and keyboards. The album was produced by his longtime musical compadre Noah Georgeson and includes a background vocal from Cate Le Bon and a duet with Banhart's mentor, muse, and dear friend Vashti Bunyan. Pre-order to download the track "Kantori Ongaku," a video for which can be seen here.

Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko)'s self-titled Nonesuch debut is due October 18, 2019, on Nonesuch Records. The follow up to her breakout debut, Infinite Worlds, it is an artistic leap for Tamko, who wrote and produced the entire album. Guitar-driven melodies are largely absent, replaced by hybridized analog and digital arrangements. Pre-order in the Nonesuch Store—on limited blue vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and cassette—to download the track "Flood" now and get an exclusive, limited-edition autographed print. Vagabon will tour this fall with headlining shows and a run with Angel Olsen.

In celebration of the recent release of William Brittelle's new album, Spiritual America, a walk-about concert and listening party will be held at Public Records in Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 25. The event, Forbidden Colors, is named for a piece on Spiritual America, an album on which Wye Oak, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and the Metropolis Ensemble perform an electro-acoustic song cycle by Brittelle. Selections from the album will be played on the sound system between live performances by various artists, as will pieces from Daniel Wohl's new album, État.

Composer-performer Daniel Wohl's album État is out now on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records. The album features electro-acoustic pieces written by Wohl, and includes guest performances by Poliça's Channy Leaneagh with co-production by Son Lux's Ryan Lott and mmph. État, recorded with members of yMusic and the Calder Quartet, explores new dimensions of production. It's "a potent dreamscape" from "a sorcerer of electroacoustic sonorities," says NPR, which named it one of the Top 6 Albums Out This Week.

Brad Mehldau's Nonesuch Records debut album, Live in Tokyo, first released on September 14, 2004, will make its vinyl debut fifteen years later, on September 13, 2019. The vinyl edition, made with Run Out Groove, comprises the original album's eight tracks plus seven tracks previously available only on the Japanese edition. This triple-LP set, pressed on 180-gram vinyl, is available to pre-order now. "Few pianists can match Brad Mehldau when it comes to cross-fertilizing jazz, classical, and rock," said JazzTimes. "The same applies for technique, taste and intellectual curiosity. All of those qualities are on display [here]."

Brad Mehldau's Finding Gabriel is out now. The album features performances by Mehldau on piano, synthesizers, percussion, Fender Rhodes, and vocals. Guests include Ambrose Akinmusire, Sara Caswell, Kurt Elling, Joel Frahm, Mark Guiliana, Gabriel Kahane, and Becca Stevens. "A soundtrack for our times," says the AP. "[T]he intricate arrangements of wordless vocals are fascinating, and among the singers is Mehldau, who happens to have a lovely voice. Fetching melodies abound ..." The Times of London gives five stars to the latest album from "the American jazz pianist, one of the best alive ... [T]he dominant mood is of a master musician having fun." To coincide with the album's release, Mehldau has shared a video for the track "The Prophet Is a Fool," which you can watch here.

Rhiannon Giddens's new album, there is no Other, made with multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi and produced by Joe Henry, is out now. "This is acoustic roots music at its most glorious," exclaims Uncut, "and Giddens is fast becoming the genre’s brightest star in the firmament." "Wonderful," the Guardian declares in its five-star review, naming it Folk Album of the Month. Giddens and Turrisi will tour with music from the album all year, including a newly announced European tour. A two-LP vinyl edition, with four additional tracks, will be released on September 13 and is available to pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store with an exclusive, limited-edition autographed print.

Composer William Brittelle's album Spiritual America is out now on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records. The album features acclaimed American rock duo Wye Oak, Grammy-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra Metropolis Ensemble, performing a genre-fluid electro-acoustic song cycle written by Brittelle, plus one piece composed by Wye Oak and re-imagined by Brittelle. To coincide with the album's release, Brittelle has released a new video for the title track, which you can watch here.

Daughter of Swords, a.k.a. Mountain Man's Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, releases her debut album, Dawnbreaker, on June 28, 2019, via Nonesuch Records (Bella Union in Europe). Co-produced with Sylvan Esso's Nick Sanborn, the album crackles with country swagger and a sparkling pop warmth. Pre-order in the Nonesuch Store to download the title track, a video for which can be seen here, and "Gem" now and get an exclusive, limited-edition print created and signed by Sauser-Monnig. NPR Music, which premiered the "Dawnbreaker" video, called the track "a soft swoon of a song that goes down like a cup of hot cocoa laced with CBD oil."

The Black Keys' ninth studio album, "Let's Rock," will be released June 28, 2019, via Easy Eye Sound / Nonesuch Records. The long-awaited album, the band's first in five years, is a return to the straightforward rock of the singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney's early days as a band. "When we're together we are The Black Keys, that's where that real magic is," says Auerbach, "and always has been since we were sixteen." "The record is like an homage to electric guitar," says Carney. "We took a simple approach and trimmed all the fat like we used to." The second song from the record, "Eagle Birds," debuts today; it follows the previously released single "Lo/Hi." The Black Keys' North American tour begins September 23.

Rhiannon Giddens's new album, there is no Other, recorded with the multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, out next Friday, May 3, is streaming in full till then as an NPR First Listen. NPR's Ann Powers says: "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."