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Jamie Stewart, co-founder of the eerie indie rock group, Xiu Xiu, is no stranger to hardship. But thanks to the beauty of music, Stewart has long had a space where he can turn those difficulties into something new and, perhaps, especially beneficial. In that way, he can be constructive. Not the opposite.

Recently, Stewart says, about a half-dozen people he was “very close” with personally and professionally betrayed him, lied to him severely or just “fucked” him over at various recent times. For the sometimes cynical, oft-agoraphobic Stewart, that could have been the last straw. He could have pulled the proverbial blankets over his head and shut out the rest of the world. But, to his surprise, something else happened. Friends and fellow musicians began to reach out to him and ask about his state and offer their help. It was healing. And to thank them for their care, Stewart wrote and recorded his band’s new record, OH NO (out March 26), with the idea of the duet at its figurative center.

The art of music production is as varied as the number of people partaking. Some release demo after demo, track after track, almost indiscriminately. Others, like the New York City-based trio of brothers AJR, are more reserved and meticulous. In one sense, it may seem that the fewer songs a band releases, the easier it is. But for AJR, it’s the opposite. The group combs over its music, finding the right sound here and the right one there.

The band has a mantra—Given that no one is perfect, therefore everyone fails. But the brothers work to “fail faster,” meaning that they endeavor not to linger on their errors, get past the inevitable junk as quickly as possible to better locate the gems. Since its inception in the early 2010s, the trio has produced a great many hits amongst the 50-something formal releases. The brothers’ newest offering, the forthcoming LP, OK ORCHESTRA, is set for release on March 26, and should produce more fans for the already popular family project.

For those familiar with the at times-frenetic, at times-pleasantly disorienting music of the Brooklyn, New York-based hip-hop group, Flatbush Zombies, hearing the new solo music from the trio’s co-founder and primary producer, Erick Elliott (a.k.a. Erick the Architect), may come as a bit of a surprise. Where the Flatbush Zombies might try to proverbially push you over the sonic edge, Elliott, in his recent solo EP, Future Proof, instead tries to reason with you, relax you and offer kernels of insight.

While one style is not inherently superior to the other, what the distinction exemplifies is that Elliott, like many great artists, has multiple sides to his aesthetic and creative mind. Further, it shows that he embraces both. This latter fact took some time to manifest, but, thanks to Elliott’s concerted efforts to do so, the musician has already established himself in a significantly new way, which, he says, he fully intends to continue to dig into, embrace and find a home in.

Dicky Barrett, front man for the Boston-born ska punk band, the Mighty Mighty BossToneS, has come a long way to find himself. Growing up in New England (and other parts of the east coast like New Jersey or Philadelphia), one can feel in the shadow of the esteemed New York City. As a result, there is often a palpable tone prizing the group over the individual. For someone like Barrett, who stands out, that can create something of a psychological dichotomy. One wants to honor one’s home but also one’s own originality. For Barrett, this would manifest itself in the music he made in unique ways. For one, when the BossToneS began, the group prided itself on writing “anti-songs.” They’d start with a ska riff and make a “left turn” to a punk rampage. At one point, a famous record executive challenged Barrett, saying he was “afraid” to write genuine songs. With the gauntlet thrown, Barrett and the BossToneS dug in and began writing in earnest. Not long after, they became household names. Now, the band is set to release its latest record, When God Was Great (out May 7), which is also one of its best.

Nashville-based songwriter, Maia Sharp, has begun to examine her orientation to the truth in her work in a brand new way. An accomplished and prolific artist, Sharp, throughout her career, has had the ability to write about virtually anything, from a simple observation to using misheard lyrics for her own new compositions. But in recent years, Sharp’s life has changed dramatically. Her marriage of 21 years ended. She moved from her longtime home in Los Angeles to Nashville. She endured a difficult bout with COVID-19 just after a tornado ripped through her Music City neighborhood. To sort through these events, Sharp has looked keenly at her life and written about it clearly. It’s more than therapeutic. It’s invigorating—as if stepping in a whole new realm of possibilities. It’s not that what Sharp wrote before was all fiction, but this new lens through which she’s writing feels fresher. It’s also the foundation of Sharp’s forthcoming new LP (out May 7), which includes the newest single, “You’ll Know Who Knows You” (co-written with Emily Kopp), which is premiering on American Songwriter here today.

When the video for her song, “Phenom,” hit the internet on April 3, 2020, no one knew really what to expect. America had just begun the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic but there was still new music to release and new videos to make. That’s when the work went viral and Thao Nguyen, front person for the project, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, saw her face on prominent talk shows and her songs in mass media. She’d released the first Zoom music video of note and it was a powerhouse.

Now, about a year later, Nguyen is attempting something new and noteworthy again by partnering with the online publishing platform, Substack, to invite fans behind the curtain and into the process of making her next record ($5 a month of $50 a year). If Nguyen’s success with the release of “Phenom” is any indication, she shouldn’t have any issues surfing this new platform to great success.

Tom Grennan’s life is marked by massive changes. The gravely, big-voiced British singer grew up playing soccer. Music wasn’t ever really on his mind. When asked if he even sang in the shower, Grennan says, “No.” Singing wasn’t cool, wasn’t the thing to do. He was an athlete and a pretty darn good one. But as he got older and as the demands of a top-notch soccer player began to feel further from him, Grennan’s life began to change. His confidence dropped, his identity drifted through his fingertips. But then, one day at a party, the 17-year-old Grennan drunkenly took the mic of a karaoke machine and belted out a tune. He was good—really good. His friends encouraged his ability and burgeoning interest. But it wasn’t until the day as an 18-year-old that Grennan was severely assaulted that he started writing his own music.

For Brooklyn, New York City-born musician, Mike Garson, there was no real accomplishment in music without the necessary, accompanying homework required to make him better. For Garson, who began playing piano in 1952 when he was seven years old, the instrument has been an important part of his life ever since. As he began to learn, he played for 20 or 30 minutes, but as the instrument started to consume him, he’d play for two hours. Later, he practiced in regular eight-hour shifts before heading to a late night, six-hour jazz gig. But, of course, his dedication paid off. It did so in a significant way when he received a phone call out of the blue from David Bowie, who asked Garson to try out for his Ziggy Stardust tour kicking off in 1972. Later, what began as a chance encounter eventually turned into a lifelong friendship and partnership. So much so, that when Bowie died in 2016, Garson had become Bowie’s longest tenured and most frequent band member.

In music, they say that “legends never die.” For quick proof of this maxim, just look to recent album and song titles from seminal artists like Juice WRLD and Orville Peck. The idea, of course, is that some artists are so accomplished, so groundbreaking, inspiring and unique, their work will live on long past their last breath. And all of that may be true. Legends may never really leave us. But that doesn’t mean they don’t experience a lot of pain on their way to cementing mythical status.

Take, for example, the fabled musician Lady Gaga. Her work, including her most recent LP, Chromatica, has traveled the world billions of times over. Yet, that doesn’t always make the days and weeks easy for the platinum-selling, 11-time Grammy Award-winning artist.

It’s rare for a burgeoning artist to understand what their voice is early on. It’s uncommon to know what lyrical style and content works best and most efficiently, what sonic qualities define. But Frances Garrett (a.k.a. Frances Forever) is a unique artist. Garrett, who prefers the pronouns “they” and “them,” is set to graduate this year from Clark University and they have already landed on a style and tone that is both immediately recognizable and particular.

Listening to Garrett’s latest single, “Space Girl,” which has amassed millions of spins, is to understand their dreamy dichotomy. Bouncy music meets at times-eerie, confounded vocals and subject matter befitting of Garrett’s spirit. The artist, who released a new video for the song today (below), is already working on new music, too. Some of these songs, which they plan to release later this year, will include bigger production methods while still maintaining the same kernel of artistry that makes Garrett stand out.