The new EP from LA-based Scarypoolparty (solo project of Alejandro Aranda), Doom Hologram, opens with “Return2Sender”—the first of an eight-track story, meant to be played in order. Lingering just under five minutes, “Return2Sender” encapsulates the feeling of watching raindrops roll down the window, as golden candlelight flickers and once-fresh flowers on the table slowly wither away. Throughout the ethereal track, the scent of broken promises is as fragrant as wilting roses, leaving the listener to once again taste the words they wish they’d said to someone (“You take my words and break me down / I wrote you letters just to say ‘I love you’ / And now I know that you would tear them all apart”). The track allows Aranda, an American Idol alum, to flex his pop sensibilities and brings to mind the exact inspirations referenced in the release’s press statement—that he “channels the prodigious dexterity of John Mayer overlaid with the ethereal pop of The 1975.” Aranda’s hurt is undeniably palpable, and this candor is the heartbeat that drives the song through its melodic turns and an aching acoustic interlude. But, as great art is so often made, Aranda turned heartache into a glowing and visceral connection with his listeners — and one they won’t soon forget. Photo by Nicole Busch.

You may know Brittany Howard as the powerhouse vocalist at the helm of blues-rock group Alabama Shakes, but on her debut solo track “History Repeats,” her performance is softer (though still not soft), subtler, and much more personal. It was released along with the announcement of a debut full-length titled Jaime, named after her late sister who taught her how to play the piano, and due out Sep. 20 via ATO Records. “History Repeats” is the opening track on the album. Funky and immersive, it’s quick to differentiate its sound from any of Howard’s other projects. A drumline pound coupled with a punching, urgent kick drum and psychedelic guitar open the track, evoking a sense of persistent unease over a smooth groove. Howard’s vocals are washed out and doubled as she sings about the exhausting inevitability of repeating old mistakes, adding to the hazy, twirling effect of the arrangement. “History repeats and we defeat ourselves / Come on everybody, one more time again,” she sings in the chorus, repeating the line over and over. The song ends on an audible phew from Howard, whose enormous effort fuels the song with a contagious vigor. Clocking in at just over three minutes, “History Repeats” shows an impressive display of growth from one of indie music’s strongest female voices.

Ritt Momney's track "(If) the Book Doesn't Sell" is a poetic fever dream in autotune totality. A half-ballad lament of religion long-forgotten (and evidently resented), the Mormon-raised Ritt Momney uses colorful storytelling to communicate his ongoing frustration with the worldview he was raised in. Though sung through an auto-tuned filter for the entire track, his vocals are somehow mesmerizing and very compelling. The conviction of his tone isn't lost because of this but is actually amplified by the auto-tune affectation. The message of Ritt Momney's "(If) the Book Doesn't Sell" seems evident and can be summed up simply by the lyric "The Devil speaks / Your God and I put all our differences to rest and the man's actions are his own, but man will blame us nonetheless." The artist is pleading to be taken seriously as he endeavors to determine his own beliefs regarding the divine and pleads with other kids being raised in religion to ponder their independence and humanity in a similar way. It's a song of genuine yearning and struggle that many coming-of-age types can relate to.

Sharp-toothed and honey slick: somehow Samia, the 22-year-old New York songstress whose warbling wit has captured the attention of acts like Father John Misty, manages both. The singer’s latest release, “Ode to Artifice,” stands as no exception, serving up a relatable dose of anxious self-reflection wherein she begs her authentic self and stage persona to just merge already! “Keep it together for both of us,” she pleads, her desperate itch for a confidence supplemented by more than just makeup and party tricks sanded down into an inviting, retro-groove. Such vulnerable self-cynicism—a phrasing that would sound utterly oxymoronic to the uninitiated ear—is nothing new to the artist, who often uses her work to explore the ugly and uncomfortable through a feminist lens. It’s enough to argue that Samia goes down kind of like a top-shelf whiskey; in her warmth and smoothness, there's a potency that will absolutely kick your ass if you’re not careful.

Generationals are a beautiful anachronism. They write the kind of songs you might (quite reasonably) assume were hits decades ago the first time you hear them because their soulful, retro stylings are more than an excuse to write soulful, retro songs, but are instead an inseparable facet of the band’s identity. But they seem to love smoothing over these potentially jarring juxtaposition—in the accompanying video for their latest single, “Breaking Your Silence,” a truck mounted with a video billboard shows the band performing in front of a vanilla concrete wall while driving through the idyllic wilderness. The truck, with its abrasive video screen, seems out of place at first, but dogs still frolic in its wake. The drum kit sounds like it’s covered in a layer of dust and the chorus explodes with a wall of sound like the Motown greats, but these techniques are used in the service of a sound more akin to trendsetters like The Strokes than to other retro-soul reenactors. Generationals’ fourth full-length album, Reader As Detective, is due out July 19th.

Vermont-born singer-songwriter Casey Dubie has arrived with a stripped down version of her folk-pop ballad, “Confetti.” Feather-soft musings of both ache and fondness cascade around the listener like the very squares of rainbow tissue the song is named for. Such lightness is thanks in part to Dubie’s chiming harmonies echoing in the background, which lend a fuller, more mesmerizing tone to the song’s acoustic approach. Fans of acts like Daughter and Oh Wonder will appreciate “Confetti*"'s warm glow and accessible lyricism.

“No Bullets Spent” is a Spoon song. It was released as part of the announcement of Spoon’s upcoming greatest hits album, Everything Hits At Once,and it has all of the hallmarks of what defines Spoon—the introduction has Britt Daniel’s snarling voice echoing with the reverb of their more experimental outings before Jim Eno’s simple drumbeat highlights the dual staccato guitar hits. Outside of numerous song placements in films and TV shows, Spoon has never quite hit the mainstream, although they perhaps came close when a video surfaced of Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg playing the instantly recognizable piano riff from “The Way We Get By.” A perpetual cool-kid’s band, able to co-headline with The Shins but open for Cage The Elephant, Spoon’s remarkably consistent and perhaps intimidatingly deep catalog—spanning nine full-length albums—is an obvious candidate for a greatest hits collection. In an era of playlists and single song streams, Everything Hits At Once is a way to canonize the work of a beloved band for future generations and “No Bullets Spent” is a summary of an astounding career and a commitment to continue forward. This is Spoon.