Blue Canopy is the newest project of Portland-based musician Alex Schiff. "656" is Blue Canopy’s first-ever release, and it is a single that will be appearing on the band’s forthcoming album Mild Anxiety dropping April 17. "656" is high-energy, its full-bodied sound inspiring motivation in all of us. However, a closer listen reveals a somberness lurking behind the track's spirited instrumentation; its lyrics describing “crippling anxiety” and the defeat of an ending relationship. New York City, a place where finding solitude in hardship is historically difficult and Schiff's former home is the backdrop of "656". In this sense, the tone of the song is not mismatched to its message, but rather, its most clever feature. "656" highlights a frustration that every New Yorker harbors at some point; that despite what you’re going through in your personal life, the city’s pace does not slow. Think of it like crying on the subway—it won’t stop a performer from dangling on the rails with their speaker on full blast.

Imagine you’re driving down a long, wooded road in the middle of a calm summer day. The sun is shining, there are no other cars around, and the lush green trees trick the light into casting prismatic shadows across everything around you. Then, the perfect song comes on your queue: it’s indie rock trio Ritual Talk’s dreamy new single, “If.” The otherworldly soundscapes, psychedelic guitar riffs, and shimmering synths are reminiscent of nature’s hypnotically effortless beauty. Slapping drums push the song forward with vigor and optimism, and the hopeful melody, luminous in the form of singer Alex Desimine’s soothing vocals, feels like the sun coming through the clouds after rain. “If I hold my breath for another second more / fall to the floor,” he sings in the chorus, and his vocals drift off naturally into the arrangement, almost as if they had been born out of it. “If” is a vivid, atmospheric daydream, and it’s Ritual Talk’s best work yet.

"Islands," the title track from New York singer-songwriter Erin Durant’s recently released sophomore LP, is an open-windowed summer lullaby that captures the emotional dissonance that simultaneously experiencing beautiful weather and heartbreak can bring. Swelling piano melodies, the hiss of jazz-tinged percussion, and Hemingway references alight the tune, while Durant coos with the kind of quiet gravitas that harkens the greats of the folk revival. Durant seems to find some comfort in lyrical escapism, lines that paint images of drinking champagne on the Californian coast are informed by the ones that imply tension—“the islands are calling / the islands are calling / you told me to go and have a good time.” Durant’s narrator never settles on the ground, but even as the islands call and heartbreak looms at home, the tune shifts and expands like a kaleidoscope of swooning piano and summer breeze.

"Thinking of" by Mini Trees is as smooth and melodic as you'd expect from the artist. Kicking in a drum beat after the second verse, this silky synth song is interrupted tastefully with just the right speckling of angst and nuance. Mini Trees is the project of L.A.-based drummer Lexi Vega, who released her first EP under the moniker earlier this year. The five tracks are sweet sounding but still cut to the genuine anxiety of self-discovery and loneliness. It's all at once airy and drenched in meaning. The artist's conflict seems to meet at a pinnacle coming-of-age crossroads of self-expression or self-denial. "Thinking of" embodies this confusion and anger with subtlety and mastery. Mini Trees’ breakout EP Steady Me is out now.

On "rbbts," jazz-prodigy turned indie folk-rocker Kate Davis comes to terms with the heart-aching tension of endings and explores the implications of holding on a bit too tightly. With a title that pays homage to a recently shuttered coffee joint in lower Manhattan that Davis once frequented, "rbbts" highlights Davis’s keen narrative and melodic sensibility—one that allows her to remain open and empathetic as the world around her falls to rack and ruin. The instrumentals are low and looming, and a drowsy folk-tinged verse blooms into a chorus that is almost anthemic in its expansiveness and tension. Davis’s voice is both the salve and the wound, her deft lilt carries the emotional core of the song through the changes in cadence with an artful swiftness. Davis’ debut LP Trophy is out on November 8 via Solitaire Recordings.

With the inviting sway of twangy guitar, Ashe urges listeners into a zestful anthem advocating for self-awareness and pleading for the recognition of true friends with her latest single “In Disguise.” Ashe is a gleaming, down-to-earth California dream queen with the humble aspiration to remind us that our truest self is the one that will be loved and truly known by those that are genuine. She sings with vibrancy—“I’d rather be hated for who I am / Than to waste it all giving a damn”—reminding listeners that the noblest thing that can be done in a human life is to elevate your truest self, and steer clear of those who want to harm the sacrality of self. “In Disguise” is the self-aware summer anthem with a classic-sounding melody that will fuel your freedom— giving you space and strength to fight insincerity.