Anaïs Mitchell has an uncanny ability to bring new life to old stories. Fresh off of a Best Musical win at the Tonys for Hadestown, a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, she wasted no time before embarking on her next project. Bonny Light Horseman, a collaboration with Eric D. Johnson (known for his work in Fruit Bats and formerly The Shins) and Josh Kaufman (known for his work in countless critical indie darlings like The National and The Hold Steady), uses traditional folk songs as a jumping-off point for lush ballads that could find a home on an album by any one of the group’s innumerable associated acts. Their latest, “The Roving,” is a well-executed entry into the modern tradition of indie-folk, but elements of it stem from centuries ago. Of their process, Johnson joked, “These 500-year-old lyrics are so deeply applicable. ‘The Roving’ could be the plot of an ‘80s teen movie… How incredible is it that as humans we still just want to love and have sex and feel sad and fight?” The group’s debut album, due out January 24th, began and was mostly completed at the 37d03d event hosted by Justin Vernon, Aaron Dessner and friends. They, along with even more members of the April Base extended family, appear on Bonny Light Horseman’s collection of “semi-trad folk jams,” modernized with Mitchell’s signature touch - “We added a singalong chorus so everyone could bond about this.”

A door opens to a new future after the loss of something once beloved on "Loss & Relax," one of two recently released tracks from Portland songwriter Katherine Paul of Black Belt Eagle Scout. A compelling account of the strength of community and the resilience of the human soul, "Loss & Relax" finds Paul seeking comfort in memories of moving water and the cyclical nature of life—"oh, the loss of you / brings me to / a place that I call home." Beginning with a buzzing melodic guitar riff and airy vocals, the song moves through its varying cadence with confidence. Eventually ruminating in the intensity of memory and nostalgia, "Loss & Relax" builds to a conclusion that is both rock & roll and reverie.

“Palm Trees,” the newest single from indie-folk rocker Photo Ops, is the musical equivalent of a road trip down the Southern California coast. It’s a fitting sound for Terry Price, the singer and multi-instrumentalist behind Photo Ops; “Palm Trees” was written after he and his wife moved from Nashville to Los Angeles. A sun-soaked rumination on wealth and loneliness, it’s the second single from Photo Ops since the release of his 2016 LP, Vacation, and it’s undeniably his most feel-good track. There’s an infectious sense of optimism at the core of the arrangement—the upbeat percussion, shimmery guitar, and reverberating piano compliment the smooth, light vocal, making it impossible not to at least sway along to the beat. The lyrics are just as bright: “Palm trees taste the sunlight down the street / Sailboats on the horizon, they don’t mean a thing.” Photo Ops sings about witnessing the unnecessary excesses of materialism while thinking about what really matters in life: the people in your life. “Palm Trees” is a catchy, atmospheric single filled with beautiful melodies, and it’s here just in time for summer.

“Noise” is the first single from Brooklyn-based Zsela’s as-of-yet unnamed debut EP, making the attention she has received from outlets like The New York Times and Vogue all the more impressive. Somewhere between Florence Welch, Moses Sumney and Kate Tempest, but still floating on a plane of her own, Zsela’s opening statement is a promising debut from a singular talent. Her captivating delivery keeps ears glued to her devastating lyrics, like passersby slowing down by a roadside accident, singing, “They’re packing up the pieces / Of a broken love affair / And making it look easy.” Producer Daniel Aged, whose live performance and session recording credits include John Legend, Beck and Blood Orange, is a master of subtlety, leaving Zsela room to explore the track’s space vocally. “Noise” opens with an arrangement of soulful piano chords more akin to the ambience of a poetry reading, emphasizing Zsela’s rhythmic delivery, before showing off a full orchestration of flourishing instrumentation as the song reaches its crescendo.

Vancouver based production duo Potatohead People continue to combine cosmic themes with spacey synth pads over a thumping, dance-inducing beat in their latest single “Iced Tea.” The duo teamed up with fellow Vancouver artists Radina Vee and giorgi to create a refreshing song that touches on heartbreak, past relationships, and the things that remind us of old flames. The track is full of funky and winding bass lines that brilliantly stand out against its persistent percussion and catchy vocal lines. Radina Vee and giorgi's smooth and sensual vocals entrance listeners as they describe being reminded of a past relationship and how they “can’t even drink iced tea” without thinking of their old love.

Duncan Fellows are at their best when they wander through unexpected territory—structurally with unexpected twists and turns through different movements, musically with surprising chord changes, and lyrically, in “Deathwish Fish,” with the simply unknowable. The song, the opening track from the band’s upcoming Eyelids Shut EP, follows the narrator at the side of a close friend succumbing to a terminal illness, but much like The Antlers’ concept album Hospice, it is not a melancholic song. The psychedelic influences, interleaving guitar parts and quiet-loud-quiet-louder dynamics are reminiscent of the softer side of Cage the Elephant—by no means soft, but with a tenderness peeking through the distortion. In the sterile dungeon that is the fluorescent-lit hospital room, they “put on a Beatles tune and let the music fill the room,” and the song itself plays the same role, a comforting distraction in the face of worst-comes-to-worst. “Fishes keep swimming,” they sing in harmony—despite the seemingly insurmountable grief and the utter uncertainty of what lies ahead, like fish swimming ceaselessly lest they turn belly up, they have to keep moving forward.

The word “adore” is one of the English language’s most affectionate and intense verbs to describe the giving of true, unconditional love to someone else. Quite literally, adoration is the deification of another human. In “Better Part,” Meernaa’s frontwoman Carly Bond sings over and over again “the way I adore you / the way I adore you” about her bandmate and new hubby Rob Shelton. Like all great love songs, her deeply intimate sentimentality extends to you, the listener, warming you from inside out. A sparse, Pet Shop Boys-esque minute long intro gives way to Bonds soluble vocals and the lithe track snakes along from there, whispering for snugs and love absent of doubt from her better half. The synth and drum production is deft and quietly confident, the songwriting is lovely and heart-baring. Released last month, “Better Part” is accompanied by a kaleidoscopic animated visual and will appear on the band’s debut LP, Heart Hunger, out 6/14 on Native Cat Recordings.