Atlanta’s Ben Trickey is a layman’s existentialist, a dive-bar philosopher both driven and paralyzed by a deep fascination with life’s greatest question. In his songs, he perpetually contemplates his purpose, and with a wounded, wary croon, his dark country-folk struggles for hope in the face of desolation.

Trickey’s latest offering is the fourth and final installment in a seven-inch series he recorded over the past four years, all of which will soon be compiled into a hand-made limited edition box set called The Long Box (out June 9th). The A-side of the new seven-inch, “Alabama,” is quietly devastating, its stark rural imagery contrasted with a nostalgia for unburdened youth. This is followed by a cover of Kris Kristofferson’s “Shipwrecked in the ’80s,” and “Guiding Star,” which finds Trickey’s quivering vocals at a heart-wrenching pinnacle.

Clocking in at about a minute-and-a-half, “Guiding Star” a brief but impactful indulgence in loneliness. The premiere of the track can be streamed below.