“Valley,” the opener off of Kevin Morby’s latest album Sundowner, is a melancholy ballad to the singer-songwriter’s Midwestern roots. Like many of the songs off the album, “Valley” finds the singer reflecting on life in the Midwest by using its landscape as a vehicle to remark on the simplistic beauty of it all. Morby’s singular voice acts as a guide through the rich landscape that the laid-back instrumental paints, as he croons, “In the valley below me / In the valley below / They all pretend not to know us / They all act like they don't know.” As the two-minute mark rolls around, Morby keeps quiet and lets his guitar steal the show, once again showcasing simplicity, as you can almost close your eyes and see the grand and underrated beauty that Morby depicts just lines before. Photo by Johnny Eastlund.

Henry Jamison is a storyteller at heart. It may be in his blood — his father, a classical composer, and his mother, an English professor — but Jamison is a writer and artist in his own right, evidenced by his debut album The Wilds (released October 27th). Beyond writing, recording and arranging the album all on his own, Jamison has a special ability to bring each track to life. Take his song, “The Wilds”: it’s instrumentally rich without being overbearing, letting Jamison’s narrative whisk you away. “The Wilds” sounds like an old-time American love story - unassuming and familiar, but nevertheless, still surprising.

Los Angeles genre-bending artist Moses Sumney released his gorgeous and ethereal debut album Aromanticism into the world this September. Sumney has made a big impression on artists like Solange and Sufjan Stevens for good reason. His infusion of soul and folk come together on this album in a way that leaves us begging for more. A prime example of this heavenly blend is found on the third song of the album, “Plastic.” A previous version of the song can be heard on the first season of Issa Rae’s HBO series, Insecure. This new version serves as one of the more simplistic songs on the album, featuring just a fingerpicked electric guitar, a synth and Sumney’s captivating voice. The hook of the song repeats the line “my wings are made of plastic,” each time sung in a slightly different way than it was before, continuing to imbue the phrase with new meaning. This song of vulnerability, self-awareness and secret-spilling is the kind that you can leave on repeat and get lost in for hours.