In a clipped Nordic accent, Swedish indie folk singer Sarah Klang politely asked the soundboard operator at Nashville’s Blue Room in Tennessee to turn up her microphone. The request, made recently during a rare U.S. performance in the music space attached to Jack White’s Third Man Records, seemed unnecessary.

Her voice could fill every crevice of the room, even if she used no microphone at all. Live, just as on record, her tone pins you down and holds you the moment she opens her mouth.

On her fifth album, “Beautiful Woman,” Klang worked for the first time with American producer Eric D. Johnson, known for his work with Bonny Light Horseman, the Fruit Bats and the Shins. It’s a winning partnership that lands somewhere between folksy Americana and ’90s jangle-pop, set apart not only by Klang’s voice but also by her honesty.

“Practicing every night/ How to dance in slow motion,” she sings on the title cut. “Writing in my diary, goals for the new year/ 16 and alone in my room.”

If wistfulness had its own voice, it might sound like her. Klang manages to convey pain even when she is singing about finding happiness, as she does on several tracks here. Few singers blend hope and sadness into such a rare mix of intensity: Billie Holiday, Hank Williams, Judy Garland, Patsy Cline, Amy Winehouse. The list isn’t long.

On “Beautiful Woman,” Klang details body-shaming, motherhood and her own arduous journey in a world that holds women to impossible standards.

“Nothing tastes as good as feeling skinny/ I was told when I was young,” she sings on “Other Girls,” a reference to a quote frequently attributed to supermodel Kate Moss.

The words come slowly. Klang’s voice sinks into her own rigorous journey to self- acceptance without seeming preachy or pedantic. It rises toward the majestic closing anthem, “I Have Everything,” but every note she sings tells you the outcome is no sure thing.

“Could I wake up tomorrow/ And put some music on,” she sings, “I would smile at my daughter and tell the sorrow I’ll be gone/ ’Cause you see I have everything I want.” — Scott Stroud, Associated Press

Flying solo from the nest of a mega successful band is difficult, but BTS member Jimin did it with 2023’s “Face,” his first studio album under his own name. Finding that magic with a sophomore outing is always a much harder proposition. And doing so while serving South Korea’s mandatory military service for men of a certain age? That’s nigh impossible.

While most likely recorded and produced before Jimin’s December 2023 enlistment, the K-pop superstar’s second album, “Muse,” feels a bit subdued and almost melancholy in its beats.

It’s not a record in search of an audience — that’s built in, always waiting for a new release. “Muse” functions like a palace bard (Jimin’s label, Big Hit) in search of something to say to keep fans’ spirits up while the prince (Jimin) is away on duty. Will his subjects remember him fondly? Will they keep him in their hearts until his return? Although an official news release describes “Muse” as a work portraying Jimin’s “journey of finding inspiration from his surroundings,” it feels more like a sometimes-fruitless search for an elusive muse.

Across the seven tracks, Jimin finds his footing with songs that don’t aim to be innovative but are charming nonetheless. Clearly a fan of the sad trombone, which was also used on “Face,” Jimin employs the instrument on the lively tune, mixing hip-hop with an orchestra and unsyncopated beats. Visually, the song’s music video was loosely inspired by the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” It’s a wholesome bop that feels fast and slow at the same time.

Elsewhere, “Who” is an enchanting R&B tune that slays the dance floor and the hearts of its patrons with a little recorder-like accent on the beat. The other one that grabs with its rhythm is “Be Mine,” a bombastic afrobeat song.

The album closes with “Closer Than This,” a love letter to fans, a stripped back, easy listening coda.

While “Muse” doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it will keep Jimin’s fans entertained. — Cristina Jaleru, Associated Press