Meels - Across The Raccoon Strait EP (2026) Hi-Res

‘Across The Raccoon Strait' feels like the moment Meels stops searching for her voice and starts fully inhabiting it. The seven-song EP, released via Lost Highway Records, builds naturally on the promise of 2024’s ‘Tales from a Bird’s Bedroom,' but it sounds surer of itself, more grounded and more adventurous in its emotional reach. Where her earlier work introduced a compelling new presence in indie folk, this collection deepens that impression, drawing the listener into a carefully observed world where humour, memory and quiet vulnerability coexist. There’s a sense throughout the record that Meels has found a creative home, and she invites you in without ceremony.

The opening track, ‘Out West,' sets the tone with what Meels aptly calls Critter Country, a loose but thoughtful blend of folk, country and bluegrass that feels both lived-in and gently playful. The song moves with a freewheeling ease, its warmth underscored by an affection for place and character rather than grand gestures. That balance between nostalgia and honesty becomes a throughline for the EP, as Meels explores the landscapes that shaped her while remaining keenly aware of how time and change complicate those attachments.

‘Old Mill Valley' continues that reflection, offering a wistful meditation on a town aging alongside its people. Lines about bringing back the freaks and sweeping the debris carry both affection and frustration, capturing the tension between preservation and progress. It’s one of the EP’s most quietly pointed moments, grounding its charm in a real sense of loss and longing. That attentiveness to detail and place gives the record a strong emotional spine, even at its most lighthearted.