Neal Francis // In Plain Sight (Cherry Red LP)

Neal Francis’ sophomore album offers up a body of work both enchanting and painfully self-aware. Recorded entirely on tape and mixed by Grammy Award-winner Dave Fridmann (Spoon, Tame Impala, Flaming Lips), the record spotlights Francis’s refined yet free-spirited piano playing, an instrument he took up at age four. The songs came to life over the course of a tumultuous year spent living in a (possibly) haunted church in Chicago. The result: a portrait of profound upheaval and weary resilience.