“Just when I thought I couldn’t feel more/I feel a little more,” sings the singer-songwriter Adrianne Lenker in her signature, trembling warble over the fragile fingerstyle guitar of “Free Treasure.” That phrase succinctly sums up the experience of listening to Bright Future, a folk gem that builds upon the introspection and sorrow of her previous release, songs and instrumentals (2020). Lenker’s recent pursuits both as a solo artist and through her work with the esteemed indie rock group, Big Thief, have dug deeper into her country and Americana inclinations. Bright Future feels intimate from the first second of muted piano, room sound, and Lenker’s voice direct in the microphone. This opening track sets the stage with its free, stream-of-consciousness delivery of heart-wrenching thoughts (“I thought of dying unprepared”). Not every track on Bright Future takes this sparse, meandering approach. Some display a lusher folk instrumentation (“Sadness as a Gift,” “Evil,” “Already Lost”) or upbeat, driving tempos (“Vampire Empire”). Lenker masterfully creates variety throughout without departing from the album’s core of confessional folk. Without fail, each song weaves together vulnerability and lilting melody, reminding me of the perennial thrill I experience listening to the lineage of revered singer-songwriters she is now firmly a part of.