Cheyenne Marie Mize

We get a lot of records sent to us here at The A.V. Club. Fortunately, we end up liking some of them. In Playlisted, we share our latest recommendations.

Album: We Don't Need by Cheyenne Marie Mize (out now on Yep Roc)

Press play if you like: A grab-bag of singer-songwriter styles, ranging from snarling, twisted guitar jams to violin-accented noir-folk to bouncy piano pop; vocals that sound like a ballsier Feist (or a less brassy Neko Case).

Some background: Judging by the artists that the Louisville, KY-based Mize has collaborated with in recent years—she appeared on Bonnie "Prince" Billy's Among The Gold, and supported folkies Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore on their Dear Companion tour—it would be easy to lump her into the over-stuffed indie-folk movement. But on her new EP We Don't Need, the follow-up to her 2010 full-length debut Before Lately, Mize demonstrates a quiet, sure-footed knack for a number of music styles, integrating sunshine pop, blues, and jazz into her fine songs. "Call Me Beautiful" is a woozily atmospheric ballad with a vocal reminiscent of Billie Holiday, while the guitar-heavy "It Lingers" rumbles and glowers like mid-'70s Neil Young. We Don't Need might only be six songs long, but it covers an impressive amount of ground.

Try this: The most immediately appealing song on We Don't Need is also the poppiest: "Going Under" has a great piano hook and a beat made for clap-alongs.