Mitski returned earlier this month with a new single and corresponding music video called "Working for the Knife." Engaging, catchy and lyrically fascinating, "Working for the Knife" exhibits what Mitski does best: present thoughtful, probing questions about the nuance of growing old to the beat of a unique, indie-pop sound. This is a recurring theme in her music: maturing, inadequacy, heartbreak, the natural consequences of aging. Though what "working for the knife" actually entails feels open to interpretation. We see that, to her, the knife that enslaves her is her cyclical sense of pestering deficiency—the world's perception of her, her writer's block, her heartbreak songs, all of it: "I used to think I would tell stories / But nobody cared for the stories I had / About no good guys / I always knew the world moves on / I just didn't know it would go without me / I start the day high and it ends so low / 'Cause I'm working for the knife." The music video is a gorgeous reiteration of this very conflict. At the end, we see Mitski finally release into her artistic expression. We see her fully lean into her movement as she dances and beats and flails to nothing but the sound of her own hands and feet hitting the stage floor. Photo by Ebru Yıldız.

Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker provides a poignant, intimate deep-dive on her latest full-length solo effort, songs, perfectly capturing the state of mind after a breakup, how find solace within yourself and what to do with regret. Her ability to create tender, insightful ballads once again resides throughout each and every track. Lenker’s minimalistic approach creates the largest impact and allows the listener to not only focus but be engulfed.

The album's first song, “two reverse,” examines how to tackle the back-and-forth fight you have with yourself after things end with someone. Her charming guitar sets the pace as she begins to vocalize the natural yearning for that absent person: “Lay me down so / To let you leave / Tell me lies / I wanna see your eyes / Is it a crime to say / I still need you?” While listening, it feels like you’re witnessing a flashback and you immediately empathize with that kind of immense heartbreak. To go to such an uninhabited place, where it’s just you and those memories — whether good or bad — is always a sobering experience. This organic offering from Lenker provides a framework to heal during hard times, regardless of the source, and acts as a true companion. Her new LP songs is out now via 4AD, along with its counterpart release instrumentals. Photo by Buck Meek.

From Phoenix singer/songwriter Danielle Durack comes “Broken Wings,” a cinematic tale of unapologetic self-awareness and accountability. In three distinctive parts, her warm voice leads the listener through the seemingly eternal liminality of unhappy love. “I don’t know what it is about broken wings,” she chimes over a gentle arpeggiation that escalates to a percussive drop. Here, the song’s confidence amplifies in unison with hers. An empty outro holds space for heavy sentiments of brutal honesty. “The hardest love's the one that I want,” she admits. Many of us have been this person, and Durack’s generous navigation empathizes with anyone who has been forced to over-explain the decisions of their captured heart. Photo by Eunice Beck.

Nilüfer Yanya’s “Crash,” co-written and produced by Nick Hakim, made David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” pop right into mind. Sonically the songs are distinct, but in my brain they commiserate with each other thematically.

You’ve been there. Maybe it’s been an intense week and you’re feeling a little confined, a little off balance. Or maybe you’re in the car with Current Lover and their passive-aggressive comments are about to tip you right off the edge of sanity. Either way, the pressure’s gathering at your temples like cyclical waves (Yanya’s pounding bass!) and coming to a head. “Crash” feels like an introversion, a welcomed collection of self. It takes inventory of just how far we’ve had it up to, acknowledging we may be due for some self-care or a little self-destruction (where the heavy drinkers at?). Giving us a few moments of decompression, the melody shifts halfway through the song before diving back in (with that bass) to confirm that time’s up: there’s no expending any more for anyone. At least for the moment. Featuring “Crash,” Yanya’s new three-song EP, Feeling Lucky?, arrives December 11 via ATO Records. Photo by Molly Daniel.

A band's choice of singles in the lead-up to their debut can go a long way towards determining how large of an audience they'll manage to capture. This is particularly true for independent acts such as West London's Babeheaven, whose full-length debut, Home For Now, is due out November 20. The band is already well into the promotional cycle, and the third single, "Craziest Things," has further entrenched their remarkably polished sound, with singer Nancy Andersen laying smooth neo soul-inflected vocals over bandmate Jamie Travis' tightly wound psychedelic grooves. During the chorus, Andersen almost seems to be feeding off of the energy that Travis' punchy guitar riffs inject into the track, lamenting about the familiar struggles of being kept up at night by intrusive thoughts. While being struck by anxiety or insomnia late at night is far from a pleasant experience, "Craziest Things" almost feels like a panacea to these problems; it might not cure your sleepless nights, but it will at least make you feel like you're not alone in experiencing them, and sometimes that's all we need to hear. Photo by raf_fellner.

Nashville-based indie-pop experimentalist Benedict sings of a fickle love that shoots from the hip in “Sport To You.” It is a wonder how easily tenderness and devotion can mirror themselves into manipulation and game. This track is a lively exploration of the desire to experience affection with and from someone, even in circumstances wherein they treat your fondness like a game. “Sport To You” is the first single from Benedict’s upcoming debut EP All I Ever Did Was Love You which is set to be released this winter. Benedict’s lyrics describing a capricious lover are met with layers of pleasant, mellow synth bringing a refreshing balance to despondency. Photo by Jasmine Archie.

Julien Baker's new track "Faith Healer" is an articulate and rich examination of escapism, and our need for creature comforts that tend to do more harm than good. Upon release of the track, Baker herself explained it this way: "I think that 'Faith Healer' is a song about vices, both the obvious and the more insidious ways that they show up in the human experience... For awhile, I only had the first verse, which is just a really candid confrontation of the cognitive dissonance a person who struggles with substance abuse can feel — the overwhelming evidence that this substance is harming you, and the counterintuitive but very real craving for the relief it provides." Baker doesn't delve into what those particular vices are for herself, but based on the title of the track, one obvious association is religion and its beauty and promise. The standout lyric that solidifies this image, "Oh faith healer, put your hands on me... I'll believe you if you make me feel something," makes the message clear: every person in their hidden heart wants a quick fix. We're all looking for the sordid, final balm to cure what ails us. Baker isn't offering any sort of solution or cure to our human condition in this track, but she is pointing toward the problem — and clearly articulating the problem always leads to the solution. "Faith Healer" is a poignant and intricate song that candidly observes a crisis of faith and a hunger for relief embedded in every human spirit. 

Baker's newest full-length record, Little Oblivions, is set to release on February 26 via Matador Records. Photo by Alysse Gafkjen.