Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, together as Silk Sonic. Their beginnings, An evening with Silk Sonic, at the top of our list of the best new albums of the week.

John Esparza / Silk Sonic

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John Esparza / Silk Sonic

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars, together as Silk Sonic. Their beginnings, An evening with Silk Sonic, at the top of our list of the best new albums of the week.

John Esparza / Silk Sonic

In 2017, Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars were on a joint tour of Europe when an impromptu late-night jam session convinced them they should make an album together. Now, four years later, this album, An evening with Silk Sonic, is finally here. We explore the deep soul and funk grooves of the record on this week’s show and explain why Silk Sonic could be the most exciting collaboration of the year.

We also have a calmer, more thoughtful album by Courtney Barnett, the frenetic fun of Japanese pop group Atarashii Gakko, deeply meditative music by Jon Hopkins and more. NPR Tiny Desk producer Bobby Carter joins NPR Music’s Hazel Cills, WXPN collaborator Christina Lee and John Morisson, and host Robin Hilton as they share their picks for Best New Albums on November 12 .

Featured Albums:

1. Sonic Silk – An evening with Silk Sonic
   Featured Songs: “Fly As Me” and “Blast Off”
2. Atarashii Gakko – Snack time!
   Featured Song: “Free Your Mind”
3. Jon Hopkins – Music for psychedelic therapy
   Featured Songs: “Love Flows over Us in Prismatic Waves” and “Sit Around the Fire”
4. Courtney Barnett – Things take time, take time
   Featured Song: “Becoming Green”
5. Aesop Rock & Blockhead – Garbology
   Featured Song: “The Sea”
6. Joëll Ortiz – Autograph
   Featured Songs: “Uncle Chris Car” and “OG”

Other notable releases for November 12: Bill Charlap – street of dreams; SLOW MOTION – Crawling; Nirvana – Nevermind (30th Anniversary Super Deluxe); Taylor Swift – Red (Taylor version); They could be giants – Delivered.