In relinquishing the desire to control the world around her, Arrowleaf songwriter Sarah Marker abandons the patterns of frustration and hopelessness triggered by those things outside her control. Arrowleaf’s forthcoming album Getting By focuses simultaneously on Marker’s exhaustion and hopefulness as she recognizes the importance of keeping her frustration from getting the best of her. Its songs act like post-it notes on a bedroom door reminding the listener that there’s a big difference between giving up and giving in.

It’s a constant barrage, so the cycle is seemingly endless, yet Getting By tacitly and pleasantly reconciles the unfolding of shared events with specific stories and feelings. Recorded in Marker’s home studio, Arrowleaf pairs washy guitar work, humming bass, and the occasional riotous trumpet line with delicate anecdotes; dreamy conversations with wide open spaces that address stories of loss and grief on a larger scale.

Bolstered by the supportive and diverse Missoula scene, which exists across a broad variety of liminal venues and helpful communities, Arrowleaf’s pensive sounds gleam tonally and crackle dynamically while they survive in lyrical cycles of hope and frustration; control relinquished and regained over and over in seemingly every song.

The core band of Sarah Marker, Amanda Ceaser, Jon Filkins, Jim Riach, and Brady Schwertfeger are bolstered by Missoula musicians Kira Bassingthwaite, Sean Burress, Bethany Joyce, Kaya Juda-Nelson, Peter Puczkowskyj, Dan Weiss, and Jake Whitecar to create something languorously comfortable and imminently sensory.