The new album featuring the first recordings of Steve Reich's Double Sextet and 2x5 is due out on Nonesuch in just under three weeks. "Beautifully poised throughout," says the BBC, "Double Sextet stands as arguably one of Reich’s finest works." Sequenza 21 calls the album "an intergenerational summit—minimalist elder statesman meets post-minimal/totalist ace performers—that, in terms of importance, is more or less the Downtown version of Duke Ellington and John Coltrane."

The Ben Folds "Lonely Interview" series of live online video interviews continues this week, following last week's chat with Bob Saget. Up today are Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer at 6 PM ET and Michelle Branch at 7 PM ET; on Thursday, Ben talks to fans Corey Young (6:30 PM) and Nina Jankowicz (7 PM); and Friday at 4 PM, it's UK video blogger Charlie McDonnell. Tune in at benfolds.com/chat.

The Black Keys are set to open for the Kings of Leon for three weeks in September. SPIN caught up with the band at an earlier gig with the Kings, in London's Hyde Park, for a feature profile examining the Keys' career, "as their music has expanded from raw-boned basement blues-rock into spookier, swampier, sexier territory." The Keys are also featured in Relix, which takes a look at the making of "the best record of their career, Brothers."

Natalie Merchant has contributed a moving and personal interview to the new BBC World Service series Striking a Chord, in which musicians talk about  songs they have written that “struck a chord with a nation, or a generation." Merchant discusses her song "Wonder" and the impact it has had, as well as the unique power of music. "It's hard to unite people in one feeling and one frame of mind," she says. "I feel like music is a way to do that. It's one of the only ways."

Chris Thile performs solo at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on Saturday, not far from where Punch Brothers worked out the songs on their album Antifogmatic. Acoustic Guitar magazine calls the album "their Sgt. Pepper’s ... Draped in densely woven musical and thematic tapestries, this richly detailed album is filled with quirky, engaging, compelling, and dazzling music that will keep listeners coming back time after time to see what they hear next."

Björk has co-written a new song with Icelandic poet Sjón for the animated Finnish film Moomins and the Comet Chase, based on the Scandinavian children's book series and TV show. The track, titled "The Comet Song," is coming soon to the iTunes US store, with proceeds from track sales going to support UNICEF's efforts to aid children in Pakistan. You can watch the video for the song now.


    

Philip Selway's debut solo album, Familial, can now be heard streaming in its entirety, featured as NPR's First Listen, at npr.org. "As a member of one of the most accomplished rock bands in the world, the bar is set pretty high," says NPR's Robin Hilton. "But when you listen to the beautifully produced pieces Selway came up with on Familial, it's easy to see him not as a percussionist, but as a genuine singer-songwriter." Hilton continues: "Selway can sing, and he's got a wonderfully nuanced voice ... And the songs Selway wrote sound heartfelt and inspired."

Happy Birthday to Brad Mehldau, who turns 40 years old. Mehldau celebrated a few hours early when he joined John Mayer on stage at the Hollywood Bowl last night. Mehldau's next performs with his Trio at the Chicago Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend, the last Trio date before the November premiere of Highway Rider with Joshua Redman, Matt Chamblerain, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Natalie Merchant's US tour brought her to Texas for three shows, including Thursday night in Dallas. The Dallas Morning News says Merchant's voice "sounds as pure and powerful now as it did 20 years ago" and calls the show "one of the year's most assured performances. Natalie Merchant proved to be nothing less than pure poetry in motion." In Florida, where the tour heads next, the Sun Sentinel says her "voice is simply timeless."

Kronos Quartet plays the Edinburgh International Festival ... Shawn Colvin plays Denver Botanic Gardens with Loudon Wainwright ... Richard Goode performs a BBC Prom ...  The Low Anthem tours Europe's festivals ... Natalie Merchant does Texas two-stop ... Jeff Tweedy headlines Philadelphia Folk Fest ... Dawn Upshaw joins BSO at Tanglewood ... Sara Watkins continues Summer Love tour with A Prairie Home Companion ... and more ...

Familial, Philip Selway's debut solo album, is due out in just over a week, on August 31. You can now listen to four tracks off the album here. Selway is the subject of a feature profile in the Irish Independent, which calls Familial "a gentle, comforting, whisper-in-the-ear sort of album with pleasing echoes of Nick Drake." The BBC says the album is "full of sweet sentiment and honest meditations."

Natalie Merchant's performance at the Cambridge Folk Festival earlier this month will be featured on the UK's Sky Arts TV Saturday night, which also includes interviews with Natalie and with Carolina Chocolate Drops, plus performances from the Drops and Rokia Traoré. Merchant's US tour stops in Texas this weekend. The Arizona Republic says: "Her ambitious touring and recording project shows an artist who continues to evolve and push herself."