From Cat Power to Joanna Newson, much of indie folk seems to revolve around women with offbeat personalities and technically imperfect voices. Which means that Alexandra Scott is flat out of luck: Not only is she technically spot-on but her voice is a thing of real, polished beauty. Consider her version of Newson’s “Clam Crab Cockle Cowrie,” one of two non-originals here. Newson’s version is sweet but a little grating, with its frequent jumps to the helium-high register. Scott pulls that trick only once, at a wordless moment toward the song’s end; so, instead of a quirk, the high notes become the song’s emotional payoff.

With a voice this pretty, you need a bit of contrasting darkness to make the album resonate. Scott provides that here, since most of these songs were written during a year that brought medical issues and personal losses. The album’s central number, “If I Go to Heaven” takes on loss, transcendence and the whole damn thing and hits its catharsis as Scott goes for an uncharacteristically between-the-eyes pop hook. Another taking-stock moment happens on “Hymn,” where the singer longs for grace and Tom McDermott’s piano provides it. Not every song dives into big issues but there’s an overall generosity to the lyrics—not least on “Gas Station Lover,” which shoots down a stranger’s advances in the nicest way possible. Producer Rick Nelson and multi-instrumentalist Sam Craft vary the soundscapes without overwhelming the singer; though they avoid outright rock, there are nice touches of bachelor-pad exotica on “My Moonbeam” and Kinks music hall on “Little Black Cloud.” And the album’s second cover, Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire”, proves Scott can also do sexiness quite handily.