I Will Keep Your Ghost, It’s Natural EP (Dec. 17, self-released, soundcloud.com/i-will-keep-your-ghost) In 2009, Bryan Bradley and Aaron Coughlin started jamming in a garage in Everett. Four years later, the duo is proving that all that jamming has done them some good. It’s fair to say this five-track EP is a lot like the otherworldly, feelings-filled stuff you’re hearing on alternative radio (part Foals, part Alt-J, with a little bit of weird). Yet it’s unlike anything else being released in the Northwest, which is what makes it shine. An eclectic mix of spacey synths, fuzzy guitar, and hushed vocals, It’s Natural lays down a sound all its own. As a whole, the collection is a bit dark, but it’s also got nice glam-inspired retro-pop moments. You’ll hear the latter on “Nothing,” an unexpectedly upbeat number that finds Bradley and Coughlin experimenting with sounds you might associate more closely with Thom Yorke or Trent Reznor (another sign I Will Keep Your Ghost isn’t trying to be the Northwest’s next big folk band). Album highlights include both the opener and the closer—aptly named “Lost” and “Found.” It’s here you really get a good listen to what the duo is trying to accomplish: a full-fledged sensory experience laced in meaty electronic beats. Built on a Bowie-esque ’80s blueprint, the result feels nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. (Sat, Dec. 14, Kroaker’s, Everett)

KEEGAN PROSSER

Mary Lambert,

Welcome to the Age of My Body (Dec. 17, Capitol Records, marylambertsings.com) When we last heard from Lambert, she’d just released “She Keeps Me Warm,” a spinoff of her now-world-famous solo on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’  “Same Love.” Countless shows supporting Mack and Ryan and one deal with Capitol Records later, the chanteuse has released her second EP, the first since her signing with Capitol. Opener “Body Love Part 1” finds the 24-year-old Cornish grad returning to her poetry roots with a poignant spoken-word piece about the crazy things women do because of their not-always-positive relationships with their body (expensive makeup, diet pills, self-harm). “When do we draw the line?” she asks, before proclaiming it’s time for women to take back their bodies (the lush, driving backbeat here has a bopping Ani Difranco vibe, which is interesting to note). The four-track collection also includes “She Keeps Me Warm” and “Sarasavati,” in which Lambert shows her incredible range over a piano backdrop. The album closes with “Body Love Part 2,” its most emotional song. Continuing where “Part 1” left off, Lambert acts as a guidance counselor, offering more advice on the topic of body image, an ever-present theme in her life and work: “You are worth more than who you fuck/You are worth more than a waistline,” she sings, the emotion building until you can hear her voice breaking. With Body, Lambert deftly tackles important issues so often swept under the rug by urging listeners to confront the part they play in the big picture. By doing so, she proves she’s a compelling voice of her generation. If we see more from her in this vein, she may be this for years to come, too. (Sat., Feb. 1, Showbox at the Market)

AZARIA C. PODPLESKY

Low/Shearwater, Stay/Novacane split 7” (out now, Sub Pop, subpop.com): The split, originally issued on Black Friday and limited to 3,500 copies, reveals a very different side to these two very indie groups. For starters, both are covering R&B tracks (by Rihanna and Frank Ocean, respectively). Yet each band approaches its song differently. Rihanna’s “Stay” is a polished, piano-driven pop ballad and Low maintains that structure but strips it down to its bare essence with lots of pretty keys (and, arguably, more sincerity). Shearwater, on the other hand, really reinterprets “Novacane,” musically and lyrically. For example, while Ocean sings about a “model broad” with a “stripper booty and a rack like wow,” Shearwater praises the “summer girl” who has “skinny legs and eyes like wow.” And while Ocean comes right out and says his “model broad” is doing porn to pay for tuition, Shearwater is intentionally vague, saying simply she’s doing “something” (hipster girl working at a bookstore?). Shearwater also slowed down the tempo, excluded the vocals from the outro, and reworked the R&B-inspired beat into a languid guitar riff, turning “Novacane” into a stark, haunting tune that really matches the song’s theme of feeling numb. Odd on paper, Stay/Novacane is surprisingly well done split that shows the ceaseless eccentricity of Sub Pop and its roster. Oh, and if the opportunity to support a local label isn’t reason enough, all proceeds from the single will be divided between charities Rock for Kids and the Southern Poverty Law Center. (Shearwater, Sat. Feb. 15, Crocodile) ACP