When your admiration for someone is strong enough, there are moments when you can’t help but step back in awe that you actually know them. Nashville’s Carmen Canedo explores that feeling with an acoustic guitar and a folksy chorus of angels on “How Can I Know You.” Like the musical setup, the lyrical scenes are powerful in their tender simplicity. With the right company, everyday activities like watching the clouds or sipping hot tea become vessels of tender significance. Your perception of temperature can even shift; suddenly, sitting on the icy ground is a small price to pay to be with this special person. In fact, as Canedo says in the chorus, you may even “welcome the chill.” What strikes me is that this is not exclusively a description of romantic love. Although you could feel this way about a partner, you could also feel it about your mother, or your friend, or your baby nephew. It’s a special strand of love found only in genuine camaraderie, and the feeling of incredulity that comes with it is totally understandable. We are taught from a young age that magic isn’t supposed to exist.

Melbourne’s Wolfjay lets go of the past in their newest single “In Memory Of.” The new track blends synth-pop and alt-rock to create something that feels familiar yet new at the same time. Wolfjay is the project of non-binary musician and producer Jack Alexander. They create music caught in the middle of gender, genre, and time. Alexander wrote the song before coming out as queer. It commemorates the almost physical sense of loss you can feel as you grow up and out of your past self. While the loss can be painful, it is often for the best, "I left a long long time ago / I was sick of the neglect / cause now I’ve learned to think of myself.” Wolfjay harnesses a pop-punk rebellious spirit to push forward through a heavy distorted guitar and into their future—fully becoming the person and the artist they were always meant to be. Wolfjay will make their first visit to America this March at New Colossus in NYC.

Embarking on the journey to their fifth full-length album, New Jersey band Real Estate shares a maturing sound with their recent single “Paper Cup,” featuring sweet vocals from Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso. The song meanders away from their previously beachy and carefree tone into a more introspective look at seeing the people in your life grow and change while you stay in the same patterns you’ve always been in. The easy-listening flow of the production feels at home in singer Martin Courtney’s voice—soft on the ears, but now with lyrics that stretch deeper into self-awareness like, “You’re trying on new fits / I’m on the same old trip / But you know that I love it / And I can’t seem to quit.” “Paper Cup” is revealing, searching, and just what’s needed for Real Estate’s growing musical journey. Catch them on tour this spring following the release of The Main Thing which comes out on February 28.

From the outset of her debut EP in 2018, Ellis’ strengths as a purveyor of plaintive, perfectly-paced dream-pop tracks were evident. These strengths have been sharpened to a fine point on new track “Fall Apart," the first single from her forthcoming debut album via Fat Possum Records, Born Again. “Fall Apart” starts with a seemingly sweet story of Ellis listening to her favorite songs with a companion, but it becomes increasingly clear throughout the track that she’s in the midst of emotional turmoil. The strength of her songwriting is matched by her delivery—rather than adopt a self-deprecating tone, Ellis sounds apologetic and remorseful, mimicking the all-too-human compulsion to compound our misery with the thought that we’re being a burden to those we love. When the second chorus rolls around and the instrumentation builds to a crescendo, it’s natural to think her voice will follow suit. Instead, she stops the refrain of “I didn’t mean to fall apart” at the penultimate word, letting her voice slowly trail off as the instrumentation swallows the sound of her lamentations completely. This idea is brilliantly executed, and her delivery of that final line will stick with you long after the song has finished.

Aaron Maine, AKA Porches, is back with an emotional, swoon-worthy new track fit for late nights and the last dance. “Do U Wanna” is catchy and cool with a soft, sweeping melody that revels in the disparity between how people want to act and how they actually act. That disparity is mirrored in the arrangement, which combines intimate elements like atmospheric synths and Maine’s lovely vocal with grander, more distinct percussive sounds to exemplify the perception of joy. The instrumentation is easy-going and surprising, with a nostalgic, 90s-inspired bass and reverberating cowbell sound adding fun and whimsy to a song that, lyrically, veers in a much heavier direction, including the lines “I just wanna watch you live / But I never wanna do anything.” The clear, reverberating production gives the track a dreamy, weightless feel, and solidifies “Do U Wanna” as one of Porches’ best songs ever. Stay tuned for his new album, Ricky Music, due out in March from Domino Records.

Today, Berkeley folk artist Maya Elise premieres her newest song, “Side of the Road.” The track tells the story of a summer road trip, which makes it especially fitting that it’s perfect for singing along with. In the first verse, as Maya describes all the people she is picking up along the way, her rich vocals fill every crack between guitar and drums with a friendly warmth. Though she gives us only a few details on each person she meets, you can almost see each of their faces: the woman in Portland making jasmine tea, the Washington man she learned to trust, the brave woman from Alabama, and the South Dakota man looking for a home all look somewhat familiar. The song gradually builds to a transcendent scene in which the car full of new friends go skinny-dipping in the Atlantic Ocean, perhaps the ultimate symbol of the trust they have built along the way. On “Side of the Road,” Maya reminds us that making friends doesn’t have to be as complicated or awkward as we often make it out to be. Sometimes all it takes is two people going in the same direction and choosing to not be alone. The rest, perhaps, will figure itself out.

In 2017, the 5 member group Easy Life was born in Leicester, UK and they’ve been gifting us alternative r&b grooves ever since. Their newest mixtape Junk Food is full of hitters, but “Sangria” stands out in particular with its feature from our beloved vocalist and poet, UK-based Arlo Parks. By combining the vocals of Parks and lead singer Murray Matravers, “Sangria” takes the listener to lyrical places of confession and awareness of a dependent relationship. Smart and silken lines describe the nature of the relationship as “euphoric but unbalanced / like two top-heavy fractions,” revealing that the singer is aware of the turbulent state of their relationship, but continues to linger in it for the highs. With mellow production driven heavily by steady bass, Easy Life brings a fresh sound to your typical song about troubled love.