I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore

On alt-pop trio COIN’s sixth album, <i>I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore</i>, the Nashville band wraps complex emotions and vulnerable feelings into sugar-sweet melodies and sticky choruses. The project finds the group returning to their roots, abandoning the more experimental exercises of 2022’s <i>Uncanny Valley</i> for something immediate and direct. Instrumentally, the band hones in on the rambunctious indie joy of early-aughts bands like The Strokes, as guitar melodies ping-pong off each other and the drums keep the energy from ever wavering. “Asking for a Friend” dances along with triplet hi-hats, inviting handclaps and a bassline that mirrors Chase Lawrence’s vocal line as he croons: “I don’t have a chance/I’m just asking for a friend.” The girl in question, though, doesn’t walk away. It never hurts to ask. “Strawberry Jam” is a sing-along waiting to happen, with Lawrence admitting that his relationship leaves him perplexed. Before an epic harmonica-led jam serves as a bridge between choruses, he wonders, “God only knows what you see in me.”