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New Mix: Billy Corgan, Mavis Staples And Jeff Tweedy, Wolf Alice, More

IMAGEClockwise from upper left: Wolf Alice, Jackie Shane, William Patrick Corgan, Loney Dear, Mavis Staples, Flikka
Courtesy of the artists
IMAGEClockwise from upper left: Wolf Alice, Jackie Shane, William Patrick Corgan, Loney Dear, Mavis Staples, Flikka

Billy Corgan, as frontman for The Smashing Pumpkins, made twisted, abrasive rock. But within that project he always had a soft side, expressed in quieter, acoustic songs sprinkled throughout the Pumpkins' catalog. Now the singer is back with a new solo album of beautiful ballads made entirely of piano, acoustic guitar and strings. He's calling it Ogilala and releasing it under the name William Patrick Corgan later this fall. We've got the first single from the album on this week's show, the gorgeously orchestrated "Aeronaut."

Also on the show: Veteran gospel and R&B singer Mavis Staples has a powerful new record she made with her longtime friend, collaborator and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, called If All I Was Was Black; the London-based band Wolf Alice has a synth-heavy pop song the group wrote for long, windows-down road trips; Jackie Shane, a '60s soul singer who largely disappeared more than 40 years ago, is back with a new collection of her classics; plus two Swedish artists, Loney Dear and Flikka. We last featured Loney Dear's richly layered pop music a decade ago on the show. He's now back with his first album in six years — Flikka is an entirely new, great unknown artist with an arresting voice.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.