Indigo De Souza - Any Shape You Take

Despite missing some of its predecessor's rough-and-ready charm, Any Shape You Take is a solid indie effort.

Spirit of the Beehive - Entertainment, Death

Spirit of the Beehive's sonic mayhem makes up for some occasionally lackluster songwriting.

Frances Quinlan - Likewise

Likewise's plain instrumental palette doesn't do much to complement Frances Quinlan's unique voice.

Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog

Hop Along's song structures and storytelling mature on Bark Your Head Off, Dog.

Hop Along - Painted Shut

Hop Along delivers a series of indie rock tunes with some serious vocal power.

Orenda Fink - "This is a Part of Something Greater"

A few months ago, Orenda Fink--who is also known for being a vital force of Azure Ray, O+S, Art In Manila, and a few other side projects--released what is potentially her finest work yet with her album Blue Dream. After a couple impressionistic, abstract videos for the first two singles, Fink has produced one for the track "This is a Part of Something Greater," and it's a doozy. Impeccably timed for Halloween, the clip finds Fink reenacting various classic horror movie staples - from Videodrome, Psycho, Poltergeist, Blue Velvet, to name a few--to an almost startlingly precise degree. One highlight includes an eerily placid rendition of the bathroom scene from The Shining. The clip fits the slightly menacing tone of the song well, adding a creepy new layer to the refrain, "You know that my love will never die," with Fink playing both the victims and the villains.

Blue Dream is out now on Saddle Creek.

Orenda Fink - "Holy Holy"

"Holy Holy," Orenda Fink's third song to drop from her forthcoming record Blue Dream, opens with a very classic-sounding guitar progression. Then you realize the almost spiderweb quality it has--spindly, dewy, and delicate. Fink's vocals come in shortly and it's all just pretty, blissful, and mournful. Fink wrote the song while grappling with the struggle of how we can love someone so deeply if the relationship ends in death. "Where does the love go?" she asks. The album was written after the death of her beloved dog. It all sounds very dour, but in this track (and the two others she's dropped) there is also a sense of hopefulness, of yearning. Fink is looking for answers.

The song progresses quite nicely, with a beautiful chorus replete with a luminous harmony (which has always been one of Fink's strong suits). In the first verse Fink sings, "We come into this world all alone/And we leave with not much more," but by the chorus she seems to exalt her deceased love into the clouds above. A shimmering chime sounds out for emphasis, and then a keyboard gently glows, like the embers of a sinking fire. Fink has always been an astounding talent - her group Azure Ray's debut remains one of my all-time favorite records - and her forthcoming record is bound to be one of aching loss, but also of a tender beauty, the kind that comes from having hope in times of darkness.

Blue Dream is out August 19 via Saddle Creek.

Orenda Fink - "You Can Be Loved"

Stream: Orenda Fink - "You Can Be Loved" Omaha-based songwriter Orenda Fink, one half of Azure Ray, is getting ready to release her third full-length solo album. She already showed us first single "Ace of Cups", and now a new one has arrived: "You Can Be Loved," a dreamy, soft piece of pop. With slightly twangy, stringy guitars, and Fink's perfectly understated voice (which she also uses to harmonize nicely with herself), the song establishes itself to be very much in the same vein as "Ace of Cups," while also deepening the sound and showing a different shade of what is one of my most anticipated records of the year.

Blue Dream is out August 18, via Saddle Creek.