David Rawlings and Gillian Welch.

Alysse Gafkjen/Courtesy of the artist

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Alysse Gafkjen/Courtesy of the artist

David Rawlings and Gillian Welch.

Alysse Gafkjen/Courtesy of the artist

NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson and Sheldon Pearce are your guides to seven anticipated albums out Aug. 23. During the second half of the episode, the two dig into the mercurial nature of the album format in 2024.

Featured albums:

• Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet
• Lainey Wilson, Whirlwind
• Illuminati hotties, POWER
• Fontaines D.C., Romance
• Heems, Veena
• Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Woodland
• Magdalena Bay, Imaginal Disk