It’s no exaggeration to say Jessica Pratt’s voice is siren-like; I can totally picture myself getting shipwrecked on a Greek island just to be within earshot. From the eerily beautiful “Bushel Hyde” (from her 2012 debut) to the cosmic “Moon Dude” (from 2015’s On Your Own Love Again), the Los Angeles singer/songwriter’s catalog is packed with hypnotic folk songs that echo like they’re coming from someplace that’s always just out of reach. Released in February, Quiet Signs is Pratt’s first proper studio album, but it doesn’t lose the mysterious magic of her earlier work. It’s her most cohesive record to date; each song flows into the next with purpose, like they’re riding a powerful current. It’s still difficult to understand Pratt’s lyrics—it’s like trying to get directions from someone at the end of a long, cavernous hall—but you don’t need to know what she’s singing about to be transfixed, drawn closer like a moth to flame.

by Ciara Dolan