Note: NPR's First Listen audio comes down after the album is released. However, you can still listen with the Spotify playlist at the bottom of the page. "We grieve so deep in disguise / The private ...

Thao Nguyen began her last full-band album with the double-timed handclaps of an ominous, fatalistic field holler, a chorus of voices rising as the singer squared off against a ruthless adversary: “If ...