The Chronicle’s guide to notable new music.

NEW ALBUMS

Cécile McLorin Salvant, “Ghost Song” (Nonesuch)

Dizzying jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant’s last three albums have each won the Grammy Award for best jazz vocal album. Surely that raises the bar for the release of “Ghost Song.” But Salvant, who self-produced the album and just came off a four-night run at SFJazz in February, is undoubtedly up to the challenge. ”It’s unlike anything I’ve done before — it’s getting closer to reflecting my personality as an eclectic curator,” she said in a statement. “I’m embracing my weirdness!”

The pristine lounge jazz of “Moon Song” contrasts with the hypnotic and spooky “I Lost My Mind,” while “Optimistic Voices/No Love Dying” is a bubbly number that chides and soothes with piano, flute and a gentle drumbeat. The spirit of Appalachia is strong on album closer “Unquiet Grave.” It all serves as another riveting journey through vocals-forward jazz from the decorated singer.

Nilüfer Yanya, “Painless” (ATO)

On 2019’s righteous debut, “Miss Universe,” the British singer-guitarist established herself as one of the brightest emerging acts in indie rock. Now with “Painless,” Yanya is cementing her role as a consistent creator of songs that snap. The guitar reigns supreme in all of her tunes, while “Stabilise” comes equipped with a fast-driving rhythm as Yanya accepts that only she can dictate her future, singing “’Cause I’m not waiting, for no one to save me.” She rises through adversity on “Midnight Sun,” another track that empowers the listener, but lets the sweet groove do the heavy lifting.

(VAULT) SONG OF THE MOMENT

Screaming Trees, “Nearly Lost You”

Mark Lanegan, who was a driving force in the bridge from grunge into alternative rock in the ’90s and then became a crucial voice in desert rock circles in the early aughts, died last week at the age of 57. The Screaming Trees singer and frequent Queens of the Stone Age collaborator was a part of many notable projects throughout his prolific career, but none stood the test of time quite like the Screaming Trees’ 1992 hit, “Nearly Lost You.” The track was the band’s hallmark, and it illustrated Lanegan’s upswing as a force larger than the Seattle scene that he helped define. His flawless, gravelly vocals over a wicked guitar riff made for a timeless track that belongs in a museum of the grunge rock era.

LOCALLY MINDED

The Seshen, “Beyond Me” (self released)

The local stalwart neo-soul and electronic R&B outfit has been one of the best bands in the Bay Area for 10 years. Singer Lalin St. Juste (who recently embarked on a solo endeavor as well) is nothing short of magnetic when she sinks into the band’s glorious arrangements. Now for the first time since the band’s 2020 standout album “CYAN,” the Seshen has released new music, with the promise of a new song each month in a lead-up to the eventual release of their next album in June.

“Beyond Me” evokes the instability of life during the pandemic. “I wanted something that mirrored the repetitive nature of how life felt during quarantine: the piano being unstable and looping over and over again,” producer Aki Ehara told The Chronicle. St. Juste spoke of how meditation informed her songwriting: “I’d contemplate the infinite space above and beyond me, allowing myself to expand inside of the silence … beyond the confines of my four walls.” It’s a killer example of a band that always provides soundscapes in which to get lost and appreciate the beauty that’s still present in the world.

Ozer, “Purposeful” (Ozer/Audi Vandals)

发现当地行为的最好方法就是出去in the city and engage with what you hear. There is no algorithmic substitute as good as that, and with live music slowly returning, IRL discovery is finally possible again on a proper scale. San Francisco rapper Ozer, whose showcase I stumbled upon at Mission/Bernal Heights staple KnockoutSF, is a prime example: Following the release of last year’s sleeping giant of an album, “Lost in Translation,” Ozer has been focused on community-building, putting on hip-hop shows called “Family Not a Group” with artists from all over the Bay Area.

But his star as an individual is also on the rise: He just released a music video for album opener “Purposeful” that depicts Ozer walking down from the Visitacion Valley hillside and effectively into the rest of the world. “I’m from the bottom where the top seems like a long reach,” he raps. It’s a forceful opener to an album that thumps with live instrumentation on top of sleek production, all propping up a deft lyricist from the city. If you want to hear what local independent hip-hop sounds like in 2022, Ozer is putting on another “Family Not a Group” showcase atthe Chapel on March 9.