Sometimes plans are overrated, something that’s proven by Half Waif’s fifth album, Mythopoetics. Released in July 2021, Nandi Rose, the singer, songwriter, and producer behind Half Waif, told Variety she was unexpectedly inspired to write new music that would become her latest album while helping a loved one get sober. While her original plan was to revisit old work with less synth and more piano, Mythopoetics is much grander than what she anticipated writing—its 12 tracks are imbued with powerful, not always pleasant emotions and beautiful harmonies. Although it was written largely in isolation before COVID took hold, the album, released a year and a half into the still-raging pandemic, somehow manages to embrace the turmoil of our current realities. On one track, aptly titled “Sourdough,” Nandi Rose coincidentally sings about making bread from scratch—a popular pandemic activity: “And so, I make sourdough on the counter like he showed me/ Though I taste his loneliness in the crust of every loaf/ I’ve got this weight in my mouth/ But I’m keeping it down.” The track also uses both stripped-down piano and grand vocals. Even at less than three minutes, it’s a song to get lost in. After a long stretch without touring, Half Waif hits the road in November, not only to promote Mythopoetics, but to also return attention to her previous album, Caretaker, which Variety notes was one of the debuts released in March 2020. Though the two albums embrace different sounds and life experiences, when listened to together they somehow manage to feel like a coin, different on each side, yet whole. Nov. 14 at Songbyrd Music House and Record Cafe. $15.