Composer/singer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane is the guest on a special episode of New Sounds' Soundcheck podcast, recorded a live event at WNYC's The Greene Space in New York City last week, in which Kahane spoke with host John Schaefer about his two Nonesuch albums—Magnificent Bird, released last month, and his 2018 album, Book of Travelers—and performed several songs from both with a string quartet. You can listen to the episode and watch his performance of the Magnificent Bird songs "We Are the Saints," "Hazelnut Tree," "Chemex," "To Be American," "Linda & Stuart," and "Sit Shiva," and the Book of Travelers set of "Baedeker," "Baltimore," and "Little Love" below. You can see Kahane perform live on tour now, with shows in Beaverton, Stanford, Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Nashville, and Columbus; tickets are on sale at nonesuch.com/on-tour.

Magnificent Bird chronicles the final month of a year Kahane spent off the internet. He explores quiet, domestic concerns, coupled with losses personal and collective, against the backdrop of a nation and planet in crisis. "Deft, prose poem-like songs: an illuminating humanity is absolutely key," says Mojo. "A most eloquent exploration of our current lot." The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "a gorgeous, intimate collection ... glistening and magical." Guest musicians include Sam Amidon, Punch Brothers' Chris Thile and Paul Kowert, Caroline Shaw, and Mountain Man's Amelia Meath.

Book of Travelers is a musical travelogue about the looping railway journey across the US he embarked upon the day after the 2016 US election and the people he met along the way. "Exquisitely crafted," says Uncut. "Musically fascinating and hauntingly empathetic." "Extraordinary," says the San Francisco Chronicle; "vivid and wholly original." Rolling Stone calls it a "stunning portrait of a singular moment in America."