This warm breeze of an album marks the arrival of a promising songwriter to town. Tiago Guy came to New Orleans from Brazil in 2021, and the songs here include farewells to his old home and greetings to his new one. Musical influences from both are evident, but Tiago Guy is above all a melody guy, and the album often winds up in a classic-model, singer-songwriter mold.

“In a While” in particular has a touch of vintage James Taylor about it, both for the tune and the reassuring sentiment: It’s about knowing you’ll get around to all the important stuff, from folding laundry to finding a job, sooner or later. A few tunes mark the end of an old relationship, “Westbank Girl” celebrates starting a new one with Abitas in hand and the Saints on the radio. Jon Cleary’s piano sounds right at home in a more R&B-slanted love (or lust) song, “Beggars Can’t Be Choosers”. The Zion Harmonizers lend a hand on the a cappella “A Ways Away,” whose sound is old-school gospel but whose message, “Change will always be a ways away” seems perfectly timed for this election season.

The album only takes a darker turn toward the end, with the piano-only “Aftermath” evincing the bitterness that the other lost-love songs avoid; it asks his ex a few pointed questions including the capper, “How does it feel to hear this song?” Also here is a spooky harpsichord-led instrumental “Spiral” and the album’s most surprising track, “Trichotillomania.” This is a tricky subject for a pop song (the condition it deals with is better known as hair-pulling disorder) and has an arrangement to match, with an ominous keyboard lick and unlikely jumps into reggae. It’s the least accessible thing here but also the most impressive bit of writing, dealing less with what’s atop the character’s head than what’s inside it.