Hailing from Cincinnati by way of St. Louis, James Bishop sounds like he’s got resilience built into his bones. His upcoming debut EP, Bad Dreams, is four songs worth of folky resolve with a wayward traveling streak. “Tailspin,” the first single, is light and airy until it’s not; scraggly beautiful as Bishop tries to avert the titular fate. “Nothing’s going wrong, everything is fine,” he lies during the track’s coda. “I can take the hit/ Do it all the time/ Wake up and repeat every single line/ Tell me is it true or, well, never mind/ I’m good with nothing.” That last admission hits hard, but Bishop still coos the song out. Listen below.

The Bad Dream EP is out 3/25 via Broken Circles.