Lime Garden, courtesy Jono White.

This week we bypass traditional rock and pop entirely, traveling from Los Angeles to England, Belgium, the Congo, Tanzania and back across the Atlantic to northern Quebec for what we hope you’ll find is a fun mix of genres and cultures with the likes of Lime Garden, the Neighborhood Orchestra Collective, Ella Eyre, GUISE, Henry Moodie, Elisapie and Baloji.

Lime Garden, “I Want to Be You” — The simple yet effective guitar interplay on Brighton, U.K. band Lime Garden’s new single reminds me a bit of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Is it just me or do you hear a little “Maps” in there? The message here is considerably more complex than the fun melody.

Lime Garden’s Chloe Howard has described it as as being about an unhealthy obsession of wanting something others have, wanting to be the someone who has it, or both—which she first questioned while seeing a band perform in her teens. “Growing up with social media and the constant ability to follow your idols, with access into ‘their world,’ has fueled this in an unhealthy way,” Howard has said. “I Want to Be You” is from the Lime Garden debut album, One More Thing, out Feb. 16 on So Young Records.

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The Neighborhood Orchestra Collective, “In A Little Mood” — This funky jazz number is by an Angeleno ensemble, and it appropriately came out just before Thanksgiving, as its full name is “In A Little Mood for Gratitude.” How does it show it? Not with words. This completely instrumental tune shows the group’s “ethos of community building, thankfulness and appreciation for the dynamic musical and ethnic melting pot of Los Angeles.”

That’s according to the group. I find it to be true because of the synergy between these players, who perform in lockstep and completely in tune. I thought of a large family sharing Thanksgiving dinner without dropping a single side dish or having an argument. Impressive, considering it’s only the Neighborhood Orchestra Collective’s second single. On the first, they collaborated with hip-hop artist Murs. It probably helps that “In A Little Mood”was produced by Grammy winner Josef Leimberg (Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg). The group’s currently working on an album for next year.

Ella Eyre featuring Tiggs Da Author, “Head In The Ground” — Ella Eyre got her first major label deal at 16 and in 2014, her vocals on Rudimental’s “Waiting All Night” won a BRIT award for British Single of the Year. But now she’s an independent artist. “Head in the Ground,” which she’s said she wrote about her own complacency at a difficult time in her life, features her signature syrupy vocals. You can hear Northern Soul in her singing and a blend of blues, jazz and funk in the instrumentation.

Added benefit: The song features Tanzanian singer and rapper Tiggs Da Author delivers his own verse full of personality and colorful storytelling.

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GUISE, “Wish” — Singer-songwriter Jess Guise’s new single has such an easy-flowing melody, filled with strummed guitars, a mandolin, violins and piano that I nearly skipped right past the lyrics. But with a gnawing, familiar feeling in my gut, I listened to it a second and then third time. At which point I realized that in her theatrical delivery, she was singing a story  I know too well—a conversation with a father who passed too soon.

The song is a sort of conversation where Guise tells her late dad about the stuff he’s missed and what life would have been like had he stuck around for such events as her wedding (he passed away suddenly when she was 18). Frank Turner mastered the song, and the guy has great taste.

Henry Moodie, “Orbit” — U.K. TikTok star Henry Moodie may not exactly be an underground artist anymore, but he’s certainly up and coming. This new soaring pop power ballad is the third of a triptych telling the story of a newfound romance. The song is full of romantic space imagery that’s paired with a thumping kick drum beat and layered vocals, jangly guitars and rich synths. It’s the kind of song to which you could either pump your fist to the sky or slow dance. Moodie is currently working on his debut EP.

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Elisapie, “Love Is a Stranger” — Canadian Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie’s September album, Inuktitut, was a collection of her re-imaginings of classic rock and pop songs but he likes of Metallica, Leonard Cohen and Cyndi Lauper in her native Inuit language. But this rendition of the Eurythmics song, one of two she just released for Spotify Sessions, is sung all in English.

Even still, the song has a new vibe with the folky arrangements. Gone are the song’s signature synth-pop instrumentation and bop. The beat is still there, managed by Robbie Kuster, but it’s wrapped in the earthy and warm acoustic guitar playing of Joe Grass and colorful marimba plinks. Elisapie’s singing is equally warm, inviting you in for an embrace.

Baloji featuring Swazzi, “Arcade” — I’m less into Afrobeats than other genres originating in west Africa but this duet by Congolese Belgian artist Baloji—already recognized for his creative imagination—and Afrobeats musician Swazzi has an irresistible twilight-like vibe to it I couldn’t pass by. The song is one of five on an EP that accompanies Oscar-nominated film “Omen” (“Augure”) that Baloji directed. The film, representing Belgium, Congo and South Africa, is about four people considered witches and the songs are all written from the point of view of a character—I really want to see it!

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Roman’s pick: My colleagues tried to dissuade me from running this column this week, as the Thanksgiving week is just slower than usual, which is true. Yet I still found plenty of quality tunes to go around. But I’ll ago with Lime Garden for my pick of the week because I’m a sucker for jangly guitars and for vulnerability shown in different ways.