Al Menne – “Beth”

Great Grandpa singer Al Menne has been rolling out their debut solo album Freak Accident this summer. Early singles “Kill Me” and “Grandma’s Garden” portended a softer, more folk-pop-oriented sound than heard from Menne’s band, and today’s haunted, whispery ballad “Beth” takes that a step farther by basically sounding like a Phoebe Bridgers song. That makes sense because Bridgers’ pal Christian Lee Hutson plays guitar on the track. Jodi’s Nico Levine is in there on pedal steel too, lending just the right amount of gorgeous shading to the song’s minimal canvas.