Other than 4AD, Michael Gira’s Young God Records is the label best suited for Lisa Germano's beautifully melancholic musings. In the Maybe World opens with “The Day,” a two-minute intro that reflects the wintry darkness of the cover art. If you ever need a song that recognizes what it feels like to be lonely in such a cold winter, it’s hard to beat “Too Much Space.” Germano’s whispery inflections and desolate lyrics paint a chilling backdrop, while her restraint and negative space between piano notes convey a desperate solitude. This is expanded with the similarly forlorn “Moon in Hell.” Here she somehow makes isolating depression appear to be as oddly beautiful as an East Coast icestorm. But not all is misery: a spark of light warms up the corners of “Golden Cities,” and in “Except for the Ghosts” Germano pays loving tribute to the late, great Jeff Buckley. Fans of The Smiths will be pleased to hear Johnny Marr’s guitar in the standout song “Red Thread.”