Meels

Across the Raccoon Strait, Meels’ first EP on Lost Highway, is steeped in a retro feel and what the singer-songwriter calls “critter country,” where the doings of animals often serve as metaphors for what humans get up to. She told The Bluegrass Situation how the project came about: “A few summers ago, before I made the project, I dove deep into the country classics—like Loretta Lynn and Marty Robbins and Dolly Parton. I got super inspired, the floodgates opened, and I just started writing like crazy.” Recorded in Oakland’s Tiny Telephone studios, the EP includes “Out West,” about leaving New York to return to her California roots, and “Marsha June,” about her 86-year-old grandma in Pasadena.