The reigning champ of indie pop returns with a razor-sharp, refreshingly self-serious album that plays like a travelogue from disarray to recovery.

Balanced between ballads and sports-bar anthems, the country singer’s sixth studio album delivers classic stories in a familiar fashion, occasionally accented by modern flourishes.

Produced by Jeff Rosenstock, the new album from ex-Cayetana songwriter Augusta Koch revisits her old band’s punky power-pop with hard-hitting lyrics about self-improvement and communal uplift.

The singer-songwriter finds emotional and creative rejuvenation on his third album, exploring vast emotional territory within conventional song structures.