This month’s edition of “The Soundcheck” deciphers a range of relationships, whether they’re fleeting or everlasting. Some pull the “Ripcord” to break a scary free fall while others cherish “Every Heartbeat” and say a belated “Thank You for Breaking My Heart.” It also reveals the wisdom that comes with age and experience—I Know a Thing and Ronronner—and the potential for future growth.

Adam Liles, “Ripcord”

The Indigo Curve guitarist shares an instant headrush of emotion and energy on his debut solo single “Ripcord.” Produced by Anton Pastoria, the track’s swirling, indie-rock array of pounding drums, glistening electric guitar and humming bass propel Detroit’s Adam Liles into a brief infatuation until the “ripcord” of reality takes over. In raspy, reverb-filled vocals, he sings, “And I’m feeling it all / As far as feeling it goes / She came in like a star / Oh, but she left like a ghost.”

Liles also released a new video for “Ripcord,” which features him strumming a cream Fender Stratocaster on a pedestrian bridge at sunset over an interstate. He teamed up with Love Streams Films’ director Andrew Brumfield and Craigen Z Oster to film the introspective take on his single. Liles and Brumfield also collaborated on The Indigo Curve’s kaleidoscopic video for “But I Wanna Write Love Songs” last summer.

Bourgeoisie Paper Jam, Obtanium Flow EP

Bourgeoisie Paper Jam shares another funky, delicious helping of luscious basslines, rich harmonies and zesty grooves on their latest EP Obtainum Flow. The Belleville husband-and-wife duo of Bruce Henderson (vocals, bass, guitar) and Victoria Henderson (vocals) features two scrumptious tracks that mix funk, reggae and dance into an eight-minute sonic snack.

The funk-reggae opener “Give Your Love Freely” satisfies a growing hunger for newfound love as one partner entices another to heal and overcome heartbreak. Bruce Henderson sings, “How can you / Fill that hole / That opened up / In your soul.” The track also promises a blissful state of satiety while ingesting flavors of love, hope and trust.

That commitment grows stronger on Bourgeoisie Paper Jam’s addictive dancefloor banger “Every Heartbeat” as peppy electric guitar, infectious bass and soulful percussion provide a reassuring embrace. Bruce Henderson sings, “I give you all my life / I give you every heartbeat / I give you all my mind / I give you all my time.” It’s an uplifting anthem for love at any stage in life.

Lilly MacPhee, “Thank You for Breaking My Heart”

The metro Detroit singer-songwriter returns with a contemplative indie-folk ballad about reflecting on a past relationship and expressing gratitude for its unexpected outcome. MacPhee’s “Thank You for Breaking My Heart” explores how a wrong partner’s exit suddenly leaves the door open for true love to emerge.

Alongside bold acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and drums, MacPhee sings, “Who knew / Falling out of love with you / Would be the best thing / I’d ever do.” The vulnerable track also explores the internal transformation someone undergoes when they’re loved by the right person. “Thank You for Breaking My Heart” provides swift healing for those overdue to close old romantic chapters. (MacPhee’s acoustic version of the track for NPR’s Tiny Desk contest is just as curative.)

Jeff Socia, I Know a Thing

Alt-country tales of wisdom and growth fill Jeff Socia’s latest album I Know a Thing, which features reflective lyrics and nostalgic instrumentation across eight cathartic tracks. With hints of Jason Isbell and Bruce Springsteen, the Traverse City singer-songwriter’s album takes a road trip through the past to reconcile the present.

The honest opener “Your Scar” revisits deep wounds and painful memories of the one who got away. Earnest electric guitar, pedal steel and organ transport Socia back to that time as he sings, “Lost her in the setting sun / That July night she swore you were the only one / To see her for who is right now / Every time that she showed you how.”

Socia continues to shine on the somber acoustic ballad “4th of July,” which addresses the losses that accumulate over time. In addition to losses, he examines life’s valuable lessons and the constant struggle to move forward on the title track. He co-wrote the perceptive track with wife Melissa Socia and named his third release after it.

I Know a Thing also includes collaborations with Bay City, Michigan’s Andy Reed and Griffin, Georgia’s Jason Hoard, who previously worked with Socia on 2022’s Until We Have It All and 2020’s Release. Overall, a therapeutic listen, the hopeful album closer “Breathe Now” echoes Socia’s most important life lesson: “Said baby we can do this / We can rise above the storm / I ain’t got the kind of time to fake it anymore.”

Nicholas Arthur Powers, Ronronner

Nicholas Arthur Powers, a St. Clair Shores, Michigan-based writer, released his 16th collection of poetry Ronronner (which is French for “purr”) via a new zine from Kickpop Records earlier this month. Powers named the compelling collection after a working title Scott Walker had for his final album Soused in 2014.

Soused served as a crucial pandemic companion to Powers, who took inspiration from Walker’s surrealistic, pithy lyrics. Ronronner explores feelings of loss, self-doubt, contentment, anxiety, overwhelmingness, pride, isolation and more over 60 poems. Twenty of those poems are included in Powers’ spoken-word collection Poems from Ronronner and Other Collections, which is available on Bandcamp.

Throughout Ronronner, there’s a comforting universality, yet refreshing individualism to Powers’ concise, forthright poetry that speaks volumes about everyday emotions and experiences. One of my favorites poems is “Support,” which questions following your dreams and finding the right connections in life. Powers writes:

I’ll prop up your dreams

while mine die.

I want to talk to everyone

but don’t want to be

uncool.

I want to be in love

longer than my frame

will allow.

“Older” also resonates with me heavily as Powers ponders how you change over time both physically and mentally. I’m 5’1” tall, just turned 47 and understand how “The climb for this body feels a few rungs too short.” While I see a “new wrinkle” now and then, I do realize:

But every new day

is a chance to

fix yesterday’s fuck-ups.

The older I get, the more that realization is true—it’s never too late to learn from the past and start over.