Taylor Swift is back with a deeply reflective new album this week called Midnights. It’s a record she co-wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff and Zoe Kravitz, with songs that tug between self-hatred, doubt and narcissism, with tales of troubled relationships and the ever-present longing for escape. We kick off this week’s show with a listen and talk about the ways Taylor Swift continues to grow and expand her sound as an artist.

We’ve also got powerful meditations on race and identity from the U.K. rapper Loyle Carner, the transfixing voice and sounds of singer iLe, a transporting collaboration between Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn and more. Alt.Latino host Anamaria Sayer joins contributor Cyrena Touros and Radio Milwaukee’s Tarik Moody, along with host Robin Hilton, as they share their picks for the best albums out now on Dec. 30.

Featured Albums:

1. Taylor Swift — Midnights
   Featured Songs: “Lavender Haze,” “Vigilante S***,” “Karma,” “Sweet Nothing”
2. Loyle Carner — hugo
   Featured Songs: “Hate,” “Nobody Knows,” “Georgetown”
3. Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn — Pigments
   Featured Songs: “Cerulean,” “Vantablack” “Sandstone”
4. iLe — Nacarile
   Featured Songs: “Ningún Lugar,” “traguito”
5. Nick Hakim — COMETA
   Featured Songs: “Feeling Myself,” “Something,” “Ani”

Lightning Round:

• Bibio — BIB10
• Frankie Cosmos — Inner World Peace
• Tegan & Sara — Crybaby

Other notable releases for Dec. 30

• a-ha — True North
• Alice Boman — The Space Between
• Archers of Loaf — Reason in Decline
• Arctic Monkeys — The Car
• Babyface — Girls Night Out
• Carly Rae Jepsen — The Loneliest Time
• Dry Cleaning — Stumpwork
• Goat — Oh Death
• Jesse Harris — Silver Balloon
• Jeezy & DJ Drama — Snofall
• Meghan Trainor — Takin’ It Back
• Rubblebucket — Earth Worship
• Simple Minds — Direction of the Heart
• Sloan — Steady
• Takuya Kuroda — Midnight Crisp
• Wiki & subjxct 5 — Cold Cuts

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