Murder by Death + Samantha Crain + Ninja Gun

Indiana outfit Murder by Death takes a gothy, cinematic approach to country rock. Samantha Crain prompts plenty of comparisons to Joanna Newsom and Neil Young, but any attempt to label this 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Shawnee, OK, invariably falls short. On You (Understood), out since June on Ramseur, Crain applies her elegant punk alto to 11 songs that show real artistic strides since her album from last year, Songs in the Night.