Laura Marling surprised everyone earlier this month when she announced her new album, Song for Our Daughter, was coming out much earlier than expected, and she dropped the first single, “Held Down,” right away. Lyrically, the song deals with a disappointing communication breakdown between two people that are healing at different speeds: just as one is finally ready to be held down, the other runs away (and, in this case, leaves only a short letter). “And I just meant to tell you that I don’t want to let you down,” Marling sings in response to the letter, massaging the regret of her own inaction with cool vibrato. But for a song about separation, the emotional impression of “Held Down” is one of measured optimism by the end. Maybe it’s that we can tell Marling has learned a lesson from her misfortune (“Seen or unseen, say what you mean”), and that the loose confidence in her vocals and guitar work tells us she is going to be okay. But I suspect the real comfort comes from the solidarity and empathy in Marling’s all-lady backup chorus, who by echoing Marling’s words throughout seem to say, “You’re good, you’re okay; we got you.”

Starting out in a Michigan basement, JR JR—formerly known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.—has perfected the balance between electronic synth beats and heartfelt rhythms. In “Dumb Myself Down,” the creative minds behind it all, Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott, showcase their abilities to effectively get a crowd dancing while staying true to the indie characteristic of meaningful lyrics.

In this track, Epstein and Zotts explore the idea of ignorance being bliss. From the very start of the song, JR JR sings of yearning for the level of happiness that someone without any worries feels as they go about their day: “Danger lives just up ahead / Walking through mind fields as you dance.” Then, with the drop of the beat, the song's progressive build-up falls away. The listener is suddenly driven to dance, as JR JR sings along to lyrics alluding to their wishful desire to be dumb and therefore less aware. "Dumb Myself Down" is just one of 16 songs off the band’s double album, Invocations/Conversations, coming out May 31st.

Australian songwriter, Kurt Vile collaborator, and notable left-handed guitarist, Courtney Barnett is back with a new single, "Everybody Here Hates You," released as a Record Store Day exclusive. The title, though, does not indicate any sort of mean-spirited dig. Instead, the song is a look inside a mind plagued by insecurity. Barnett is no stranger to this level of candor in her music. Her most recent full-length album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, featured the track “I’m Not Your Mother, I'm Not Your Bitch,” and her lyrics often bring surprising life to the mundane and straightforward. “I feel stupid / I feel useless / I feel insane,” she opens, “I get my hair cut / I feel the same.” Already, in this first line, she introduces a drawl in her affectation on “i-i-i-insane” present throughout the song’s sluggish chug, like it’s taking every ounce of effort she has to sound this effortless. She’s uncharacteristically optimistic in the anthemic breakdown, shouting reassuringly, “We’re gonna tell everyone it’s okay.” Still, her judicious use of the tremolo bar in the final guitar solo reminds us of Barnett’s truly singular songwriting voice.

Indie alt-rock trio Middle Kids dive into the “lifelong quest for meaning” and touch on feelings of inadequacy in the expectations of one’s life in their latest track, “Real Thing.” The Sydney natives begin the song with a wavering, somber-sounding guitar intro paired with singer Hannah Joy’s attention-grabbing vocal sighs. Once the chorus hits, all three members come together to create a bittersweet melody backed up with fuzzed-out guitar and pulsing percussion. As a whole, the single is effortlessly layered and contains touching lyrics like, “Don’t it ever make you feel sad / Is this is the real thing.” This enables listeners to pick up on the song's themes of vulnerability and emotional isolation—staying true to this narrative of constantly searching for “meaning” in a world that doesn’t provide you with a clear path to happiness.

Big Thief’s new single “Cattails” feels like home. The major key is somewhat desirous and dreamy, and vocalist Adrianne Lenker’s upward inflections make the song feel like the sight of a car rolling up a gravel driveway it’s been away from for too long. As Lenker sings out, “And the clusters fell, like an empty bell / Meteor shower at the motel / Where the empty space is a saving grace / Making good time and doing well," the star brushed poetry of this song reverberates through the soul. Filled with endless grace, "Cattails" builds a kinship between the music and the listener that is satisfying in its broad nostalgia.

Field Medic’s “henna tattoo” combines acoustic strings and lo-fi beats to create a cathartic analogy about the temporary and mercurial nature of love. Singing “I’ve been feeling so insecure/ like is it gonna come true if i say it?/ rolling blackouts in your heart/ gave you a henna tattoo/ and it’s fading,” Field Medic beautifully uses the imagery of a henna tattoo to allow listeners to conceptualize and empathize with the universal experience of love’s tribulations. “Henna tattoo,” the fourth track off the album, fade into the dawn is a cool, calm song that feels like an upward swing. It sound marries indie folk and lo-fi, resulting in something fresh that’s definitely worth a good listen.