Anya Marina - Paper Plane

2016 release, the fourth album from singer/songwriter Anya Marina. Recorded in Portland, Oregon, and Brooklyn, New York, Paper Plane was produced with help from Dave Depper (Death Cab for Cutie), Eric Hutchinson, Leo Sidran and Gary Philips. Deeply felt yet approachable, it marks Marina's first independent release since her 2005 debut, Miss Halfway. "If I folded my heart into a pretty paper plane and flew it across the Hudson would it come back again?" Marina wonders on "Shut Up," a lyrical slow-burner that lends the album its title. It's a hint at what's to come on the New York City-based artist's 2016 effort, whose 12 tracks play like 12 love letters, each a meditation on relationship in its various forms. Hutchinson lends his vocals and production skills to Paper Plane's first two singles: the infectious "Gimme Resurrection," a song whose themes will be familiar to anyone who's ever wished for a do-over in life, and "Ordinary Dude," a bouncy number about a make-or-break moment in a relationship. Other highlights from Paper Plane's 12 tracks include "We Were Happy Once," a dreamy ballad co-written with Bess Rogers (Ingrid Michaelson, Secret Someones) that showcases Marina's trademark razor-sharp lyrics ("sometimes I play a game to see if I still love you / pretend we never met and I know nothing of you"); "Candy," a beguilingly sweet song about addiction and saying goodbye; and a cover of Huey Lewis' "The Power of Love" like you've never heard it before.