The Chronicle’s guide to notable new music.

NEW ALBUMS

Paul McCartney, “McCartney III Imagined” (Capitol)

In December, McCartney released the stripped-down solo release “III,” which he produced and recorded during what he called the “rockdown” period in his Sussex farmhouse studio.

Now, in yet another display of his timeless creative spark, he has curated a cast of artists to cover and reimagine cuts from that album for the new “III Imagined.” He clearly has an ear for today’s best artists, as the 12 songs include versions by the multitalented rapper Anderson .Paak, world soul trio Khruangbin, Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, indie rocker Phoebe Bridgers, art pop multi-instrumentalist Blood Orange and R&B rapper Dominic Fike. Others, like St. Vincent’s rework of “Women and Wives,” adds a trip-hop beat, soulful backing vocals and a menacing guitar solo outro, while Beck’s “Find My Way” single is a methodical spin on McCartney’s upbeat original song that now comes equipped with a tropical cowbell that rings throughout. And who doesn’t want “more cowbell”?

Sharon Van Etten, “epic Ten” (Ba Da Bing!)

Before becoming one of the most revered indie acts, Van Etten was a humble folk singer-songwriter from New Jersey who wrote impactful songs as she yearned to find her way in love and the world. Her second album, “epic,” marked the early rise of her career with a touring band and is now getting an expanded reissue to connect the dots of her influential arc. The “epic Ten” album features its original seven songs, plus seven new covers by close friends and collaborators.

“Each one of these artists continues to influence my writing and provide a sense of camaraderie during this new era of sharing music,” Van Etten said in a statement.

The seven new productions include Lucinda Williams channeling Van Etten’s despair from a decade ago on “Save Yourself,” Courtney Barnett and Vagabon finding new hope in “Don’t Do It” and, on the album’s most earth-shattering moment, English punk band Idles gives “Peace Signs” a furious jolt.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Nick Hakim and Roy Nathanson, “Small Things” (NYXO)

Contemporary psychedelic jazz producer and vocalist Hakim andNathanson, the saxophonist of 1980s jazz stalwarts the Jazz Passengers, have teamed up on this interpolation of jazz styles across the decades. Both are native New Yorkers, part of the city’s Onyx Collective, and their experiences in different eras fit harmoniously on each of the seven tracks of “Small Things.” Hakim plays the Fender Rhodes piano, singing lyrics from Nathanson’s books of poems, while the sax punches in and out of different moods.

Like all of Hakim’s productions, the result is celestial jazz that can often take listeners on whimsical journeys into the musical cosmos.

SONG OF THE MOMENT

Claire George, “Pink Elephants” (Cascine)

The former lead singer of San Francisco band Heartwatch, George announced the May 21 release of “The Land Beyond The Light,” her debut solo LP — and its lead single is indie pop perfection.

Also produced by George, “Pink Elephants” is about the helpless feeling of trying to save someone closewho is lost to addiction. George wraps the heavy, deeply personal lyrics carefully and beautifully into a beat that makes you want to close your eyes and dance away the pain. “I’d do anything to get you out” she sings on the bridge, pleading with the demons that consumed her loved one, before finding hard-earned acceptance on the hook.

This song is meant to be played on repeat.

#ICYMI

Esperanza Spalding, “Triangle” (Concord)

Earlier this month, the four-time Grammy-winning jazz bassist, singer, Harvard music professor and collaborative partner of San Francisco Symphony Director Esa-Pekka Salonen released her most ambitious project yet. Designed to have therapeutic effects on the listener’s mind and body, the “Triangle” suite is presented as part of Spalding’s new Songwrights Apothecary Lab multimedia online portal.

Comprised of three tracks — “formwela 1,” “formwela 2” and “formwela 3” — this first release from the Lab sees Spalding consulting with experts in neuroscience, music therapy, Black American music, Sufism and South Indian Carnatic music. The result is, indeed, a restorative experience, with meditative strings and piano shining alongside Spalding’s gorgeous vocals that act as a spiritual guide.

整个项目将unfold in the coming months, with subsequentreleases on the Lab’s web portal, which also features collaborators like Oakland native Rapahel Saadiq, Chicago multi-instrumentalist Phoelix and saxophonist Wayne Shorter. Visit https://songwrightsapothecarylab.com/ for the full experience.

LOCAL PICK

“Zaytoven礼物:Fo15”(帝国)

In an effort to celebrate San Francisco’s resurgent rap scene, Ghazi, the CEO of local label, distributor and music industry heavyweight Empire, has entrusted multi-platinum producer Zaytoven to elevate the sound of the city in this compilation album. Dubbed“Fo15”(like the city’s area code), the album is the work of an all-San Francisco-native cast of artists, engineers, visual artists, producers and even down to the publicist and project manager.

The 10-track album features rappers from different neighborhoods like Geneva Towers’ ZayBang and Lil Bean and the Fillmore’s Lil Yee. Fittingly released on April 15, it’s a love letter to the city from Ghazi and the industry anomaly that is Empire, which has maintained a steadfast commitment to spurning industry enclaves like Los Angeles and New York and remaining in San Francisco for life.