The Tennessee singer-songwriter feels a deep connection — if not responsibility — to the great musical traditions of Memphis. She describes this and more during her in-studio chat with The Current's Mac Wilson.

Holter has always had a flair for not only drama, but also the dramatic. On Loud City Song, she looks to the 1958 musical film Gigi for her third album in as many years. A collection of high-concept chamber-pop, it examines resonant themes like loneliness while retaining its mystery.

The arty L.A. noise-rock duo's fourth album seethes stubbornly when it could have far more easily opened up at full blast and stayed there. A compact but searching 30 minutes of music, An Object hammers and wanders while upsetting and upending expectations.

Barwick takes small vocal phrases and bits of instrumentation, samples them and loops them impeccably to create a sound that tentatively recalls the impossible lushness of Enya when it's not fanning out into sounds that can be experimental, spare, artful and alluring.

In the wake of his father's death, the prolific garage-rock revivalist returns with a heartfelt album. Titled Sleeper, it's deeper, darker and more emotional than anything the singer and guitarist has released so far.

On the new album Pushin' Against a Stone, the Tennessean surveys a spectrum of her home state's signature sounds. She tells NPR's Audie Cornish that she got over old anxieties about her singing voice by embracing it as a storytelling tool.

Over the span of 12 days in 1973, Elvis Presley returned to Memphis to record new songs at the height of his comeback. The output was spread over three albums, but it's been collected as 'Elvis at Stax,' a deluxe re-issue available this week. Tune in Sunday, August 11 at 8 a.m. as Bill DeVille hosts a one-hour documentary during the first hour of United States of Americana.

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Better Days, from the new self-titled album.

Let's give a nod to the homebase of sharks with an ocean themed 9:30 Coffee Break. What songs about the ocean do you want to hear today?

MPR Movie Maven Stephanie Curtis joins Steve Seel and Jill Riley to talk about a new sci-fi thriller starring Matt Damon, Jodie Foster and Diego Luna. It's directed by Neill Blomkamp ('District 9').