On alt-pop trio COIN’s sixth album, I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore, the Nashville band wraps complex emotions and vulnerable feelings into sugar-sweet melodies and sticky choruses. The project finds the group returning to their roots, abandoning the more experimental exercises of 2022’s Uncanny Valley for something immediate and direct. Instrumentally, the band hones in on the rambunctious indie joy of early-aughts bands like The Strokes, as guitar melodies ping-pong off each other and the drums keep the energy from ever wavering. “Asking for a Friend” dances along with triplet hi-hats, inviting handclaps and a bassline that mirrors Chase Lawrence’s vocal line as he croons: “I don’t have a chance/I’m just asking for a friend.” The girl in question, though, doesn’t walk away. It never hurts to ask. “Strawberry Jam” is a sing-along waiting to happen, with Lawrence admitting that his relationship leaves him perplexed. Before an epic harmonica-led jam serves as a bridge between choruses, he wonders, “God only knows what you see in me.”