Activist Aaron Doerr tells his flock of pro-gun followers on Facebook that he's tirelessly fighting for their second amendment rights.

But if that's true, why do so many pro-gun Republicans hate him so much?

Aaron Doerr is a scam artist, a liar, and he is doing islands no services and no favors.

Find out on the No Compromise Podcast from NPR.

Happy Friday everyone from NPR Music and all songs considered. I'm Robin Hilton. I'm here with Ann Powers, Ann.

Hi Robin.

It's new music Friday and we're looking at the best albums out on September 25th. It's another busy week. We've got new ones from...

My gosh, public enemy. There's a new one from Joji and a whole lot more.

But we start with Sufjan Stevens. His latest is called The Ascension.

I'm Robin Hilton.

I'm Robin Hilton.

This is Sufjan Stevens. His new one is called The Ascension. The song we're listening to from that record is called Lamentations.

Put out an instrumental record with a stepfather, Lowell Brahms back in March called a porja that we covered. And now he's back with his first solo album since 2015's Carrienne Lowell.

And as you can tell, listening to this song, this album is not the delicate, fulky side of Sufjan. It's the electronic, synth-heavy programmed beats side of Sufjan.

The word on this album is that it's all about the current doom and gloom that we're living through in Sufjans.

I think words he's using to describe himself on the record are like bossy and bitchy and that he's mad at America and all this.

I heard lushness. I heard sort of a weird, doomy sexiness. But I'm ready for you to tell me I'm completely insane.

I do think maybe a first pass at this record, it sounds really lovely. And you know, it's not as bonkers as say like the age of odds, which was also a real maximalist record.

I think the electronics are a little more tinkly and delicate throughout the record. But once you dig into the words a little bit, you know, he basically has soured on the American experience.

Carrying low, his last record is my favorite Sufjan album for lots of reasons, but in part because, you know, he really showed this unbelievable love and compassion for the world and a generally positive view toward his own life even when everything seemed awful.

And he has said in an interview with the Atlantic that he really is a pessimist and you listen to a song like America on this record and he says flat out that he no longer believes in the promise of this country.

There is a darkness that meets a beauty in the middle and despite the sort of surface intentions of the lyrics, you can live in that beauty, the beauty of darkness.

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