Begonia

The Power Blue Tour. Tickets $20.

When Alexa Dirks started describing her latest album as Begonia, Powder Blue, she turns to vivid imagery: her baby blanket, the airiness of clouds on a summer day, chlorine-filled water in a hotel pool, circa-1970s Elvis Presley wearing an ill-fitting jumpsuit, her collection of faded denim jackets. “Powder Blue is more of an emotion,” explains the Winnipeg, Canada, native. “The name of this album needed to be something that encompasses all of the feelings that these songs give me when they are put together. When I listen to them as a unit, they send me back to the words, the color.”

Fittingly, Powder Blue’s music feels timeless and classic, as well as eclectic. Trip-hop beats and propulsive grooves pulse throughout the album, shadowing Dirks’ stunning voice; she alternates between a dusky croon and an expressive, belting delivery. The album nods to vintage soul (“I’m Not Dying,” “Crying”) sunny R&B (“Bleeding Heart”) and soaring balladry (“Chasing Every Sunrise”). Yet the album is firmly in the realm of contemporary music: Standout “The Only One” is modern, keyboard-polished pop that features Dirks’ most powerful vocal performance on the album. Read more.