Dan DeLuca’s Mix Picks: Waxahatchee, Nada Surf, and Little Big Town

Waxahatchee, “Fire.” The first single from the fifth album by singer Katie Crutchfield — a former Philadelphian who records as Waxahatchee — was written while she was driving on a bridge over the Mississippi River. It leans into a country-flavored, Lucinda Williams-influenced Americana sound. It’s the first taste of St. Cloud, a new album due March 27 that’s informed by the recent sobriety of the singer, who now lives in Kansas City with Kevin Morby, the indie songwriter with whom she appeared in Atlantic City last month. She plays Union Transfer April 14.

Nada Surf. Twenty-four years ago, Nada Surf were supposed to be a one-hit wonder. That’s when “Popular,” from the Matthew Caws-fronted band’s debut album, produced by Ric Ocasek, was an unexpected nerd-rock smash. Over the years, though, the sentient power pop trio has endured with standout albums like 2005’s The Weight Is A Gift. A new one, Never Not Together, is due Feb. 7, and judging from clever, catchy cuts like “Something I Should Do,” it’s gonna be another good one. Aaron Lee Tasjan opens. Thursday at World Cafe Live.

Little Big Town. During Nashville’s bro country decade in the 2010s, Little Big Town were something of an anomaly. The half-female, half-male, harmony-singing foursome found mainstream success by mixing party songs like “Day Drinking” with more nuanced material like their 2014 hit “Girl Crush,” co-written by Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, and Liz Rose. Thursday and Friday at the Met.