When Alexa Dirks started describing her latest album as Begonia, Powder Blue, she turns to vivid imagery: her baby blanket, the airiness of clouds on a summer day, chlorine-filled water in a hotel pool, circa-1970s Elvis Presley wearing an ill-fitting jumpsuit, her collection of faded denim jackets. “Powder Blue is more of an emotion,” explains the Winnipeg, Canada, native.

Fittingly, Powder Blue’s music feels timeless and classic, as well as eclectic. Trip-hop beats and propulsive grooves pulse throughout the album, shadowing Dirks' stunning voice; she alternates between a dusky croon and an expressive, belting delivery. The album nods to vintage soul ("I'm Not Dying," "Crying") sunny R&B ("Bleeding Heart") and soaring balladry ("Chasing Every Sunrise"). Yet the album is firmly in the realm of contemporary music: Standout "The Only One" is modern, keyboard-polished pop that features Dirks' most powerful vocal performance on the album.

Begonia has exhibited such power since emerging into the Canadian music scene on the strength of her critically acclaimed 2017 EP Lady In Mind and her 2019 debut full-length album, Fear. The latter was nominated for a JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album Of The Year and was longlisted for The Polaris Music Prize. Songs from the album were also heard in numerous productions on Netflix & Oprah Winfrey Network, and NPR named Begonia as one of 10 Artists You Need to Know.

Fear is a deeply personal album bursting with ruminations on solitude, self-doubt, anxiety, and panic, all bundled up in that serene feeling that comes with an artist fully embracing their past and present self. Although Powder Blue's lyrics do mention specific situations—“NYE 2013” describes vivid heartbreak at a memorable party—the album wrestles with life's thornier moments in more evocative ways.