Critics' New Music Friday picks
Critics rounded up March 20 picks across outlets: NPR flagged BTS, Alex Isley and genre‑blending acts; Billboard's New Music Friday poll spotlighted BTS, Latto and Lizzo; and Pitchfork called out CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso plus underscores for experimental Hip‑Hop‑inflected releases. It's a cross‑genre week that keeps Hip‑Hop central to the conversation. (npr.org) (billboard.com) (pitchfork.com)
NPR’s New Music Friday episode named a five‑album “Starting 5” that included Alex Isley’s When the City Sleeps (Warner), underscores’ U (Mom + Pop), Grace Ives’ Girlfriend (True Panther/Capitol), ZENA’s Temesgen (Brownswood) and Suitor’s Saw You Out With The Weeds (Feel It). (lpm.org)) NPR’s March 20 podcast was hosted by Hazel Cills with guest Francesca Harding of KCRW and ran 39 minutes and 37 seconds, with a separate lightning round and a long list of additional picks published alongside the episode. (lpm.org)) Billboard’s New Music Friday roundup notes BTS’s comeback album Arirang is a 14‑track set that credits producers Diplo, Kevin Parker (Tame Impala), Mike WiLL Made‑It and Ryan Tedder. (billboard.com)) Billboard reports BTS staged a comeback concert at Gwanghwamun Square scheduled to stream on Netflix on March 21, 2026, and that RM’s appearance will be “partially limited” because of an ankle injury sustained during rehearsals. (billboard.com)) Billboard flagged that Latto revealed her pregnancy on the new single rollout and set a May 29 release date for her album Big Mama, while Lizzo released the Tina Turner‑referencing single “Don’t Make Me Love U.” (billboard.com)) Pitchfork’s weekly “12 New Albums You Should Listen to Now” package ran March 20 and included writeups for Grace Ives’ Girlfriend (produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and John DeBold) and underscores’ U, which Pitchfork describes as a push toward big‑room EDM–tinged pop. (yahoo.com)) Argentina duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso released the album FREE SPIRITS on March 19, 2026, a set that their official site lists as including collaborations credited to Sting and Jack Black, and Pitchfork/aggregators show the record scored in the high 70s in recent critic tallies. (ca7rielypacoamoroso.com)) Grace Ives’ Girlfriend has drawn strong critic scores this week — Metacritic lists an aggregated critic score of 85, and Pitchfork’s individual review gave the album an 84 on March 20, 2026. (metacritic.com))
