“My Dead End Self” begins with technological reminiscence. The stillness around me is filled with the recognizable yet abrasive sound of a skipping CD. I am briefly teleported back to my childhood, recalling the countless hours spent playing the same albums on a purple boombox until they too developed that eerie but familiar skip. However, as the song continues, I am jerked from my reverie and tactfully reminded that, for all intents and purposes, CDs are extinct. We live in an age where music is produced, consumed and promoted on the internet, and the band Dirty Nice couldn't be any more aware of this phenomenon.

If the Talking Heads were a product of the late 2010s as opposed to the mid-1970s, they would probably sound just like Dirty Nice.With a sound that pays homage to previous new wave artists through skilled sampling and synthesizing, “My Dead End Self” is hauntingly existential, yet ironically emotive—"All I need in these dead-end times is a place to live my dead-end life." The track and its accompanying music video pulse with an impending sense of doom and engage in a one-way conversation with what seems to be the end of the world. While the track itself is only three and a half minutes, its message is profound and long-lasting, giving you something to think about long after the sound fades into the atmosphere.

Atlanta singer-songwriter Faye Webster returns to the scene with a love song that is unapologetically sweet as honey. Lulling strings, staccato guitar and interjecting keyboard fuse together to create a track that touches an array of genres ranging from folk to pop all the way to R&B. I’ve always appreciated Webster’s way of expressing the most nuanced emotions with such few words—“In A Good Way” is no exception. The track explores the feeling of finding a love that is overwhelming in the most beautiful way, so beautiful in fact, that it makes you cry. The song opens with the line, “I didn’t know I was capable of being happy right now, but you showed me how,” and accurately depicts, how even in the midst of the unknown, love has the ability to poke through the cracks. All too often we look at crying as a negative expression of emotion and "In A Good Way" helps to remind us that it’s okay to cry and that sometimes, it’s even a good thing.

Serena Isioma’s new EP Sensitive showcases the artist in all their genre-defying glory. It’s an extremely well-rounded release, led by the brilliant "Cookout." A sunny song, the bass and drums kick it off, bringing the energy of a surfy garage band. Isioma’s smooth vocals recontextualize the entire track. While the melody in the verses stays simple, the flow feels completely fresh. Sprinkled with background vocals bouncing about underneath to add even more texture. The chorus is so catchy, instantly memorable and begging to be sung along to. Isioma comes out firing in the second verse, amping up the intensity, finding new ways to shine on the now-familiar groove. The songwriting, in the context of this production, brings heavy themes to life in a bright and surprisingly fun fashion. A balance made effortless by Isioma. The entire EP is a smash, but "Cookout" feels completely unique, something only Isioma could pull off. And they certainly have.

“Midnight love” is the first single from girl in red since her second EP chapter 2 was released in September. The 21-year-old Norwegian, indie-pop singer-songwriter broke ground in the summer of 2018 when, from her bedroom, she managed to create the DIY queer anthem we all needed with “girls.” Her music delves into the intricacies of love and longing, the gray areas of relationships, and the questions and doubts that creep in when we are alone, and it does so with soothing sound and poetic precision. In this way, “midnight love” is no different. A one-woman show by the name of Marie Ulven, girl in red ordinarily writes, records, and produces all of her own music, though for “midnight love” she brought in fellow Norwegian artist Matias Tellez for co-production. The song’s cinematic intro sets the scene for Ulven’s reverberating vocals to take hold as she describes the complex emotions that come with being someone’s “second best.” Her echoing voice engages in a delicate and tumultuous dance with the instrumentals throughout—the layers of sound ebbing and flowing, pushing and pulling, creating a tension that builds as it mirrors the inner turmoil expressed in the lyrics. “Midnight love” addresses the struggle to find inner strength and clarity in the face of unrequited love, and ultimately to find the power to walk away, or at least leave that late-night text on read.

“Rider” is just one of nine passionate and lyrically stunning tracks off Skylar Gudasz’s new album Cinema, which takes us into the world of a black-and-white movie scene. The North Carolina-based musician's lyricism instantly places sharp images into the mind. “You ask me to be candid as you comb your errant hair / Well what, I want to whisper if my true voice is despair / or I’ve got too good at drinking or I’ve told untowardly tails / or I’ve hung too close the shimmering of your mirror on the stairs.” Cinema is Gudasz’s first album since her 2016 record, Oleander, where she was compared to a southern Joni Mitchell. A sweet folksy sound is prominent in “Rider” and brings the Mitchell mood back once again. At a time when many of us are feeling stuck and anything but free, Gudasz’s song is there to make us feel as if we are riding unbound on the back of a motorcycle— on our way to everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Losing a loved one is never easy, and in Haux’s latest single “Heavy” he grapples with the heartache of losing his aunt to an accidental overdose. Told from her perspective, he explores the difficulties of substance abuse and fighting addiction. In the very first lines of the single—“I took my life in the palm of my hands / I apologize for all that I am”—he paints the struggle of being self-aware of the problem but feeling helpless to stop it. Layering painful piano melodies, soft percussion and haunting vocals, Haux leaves you with a heavy heart and a solemn look at the importance of life and those who matter most. He repeats the chorus, "Take a sigh, take a breath in / Keep ‘em close, keep ‘em guessing / People lie, learn a lesson / Count your friends and your blessings," throughout the track as a plea to pause, reflect and appreciate the world around you. If this single is an indication of what’s to come on his new album Violence in a Quiet Mind (set to release this summer), I think we’ll need a lot of tissues.

Brooklyn duo Salt Cathedral tap Brazilian rapper MC Bin Laden and songstress duendita for their latest single "How Beautiful (she is),"  exhilarating affirmation of beauty through soft dream pop textures diffused with Brazilian funk. It's as if vocalist Juliana Ronderos's airy vocals cradle you from the opening line, "I see her, so pretty, why can't you see?" before reaching the chorus. "She wines up / Shining on through every color," she insists, wanting you to recognize the good she sees in you. "Menina linda, 'cê veio da onde? / Tô me perdendo e perdendo o foco" ("Beautiful girl, 'Where did you come from? / I'm losing and losing focus") echoes MC Bin Laden in admiration, over a building bass. duendita's lavish verse rounds out the track on a moving note, simply stating, "Don't forget you're perfectly made." "How Beautiful (she is)" is the latest single leading up to Salt Cathedral's long-awaited debut album CARISMA, slated for a May release via Ultra Records.

“Honeysuckle” is a dark folk masterpiece in balance from Austin-based Margaret Chavez (Marcus Striplin). The track opens with hypnotic guitar arpeggiations that draw you in like waving wildflowers drawing honeybees. Then come the lyrics, which paint vignettes of tragedy that seem initially at odds with the cheerful guitar melody. As the song progresses, the track unfolds into a retrospective of loss and love. Each verse relays another heavy anecdote of someone the narrator has loved and lost in some form. The stories that hit the hardest are underscored with dark, warbly synths that make you feel as though you are being teleported into the world of memory. The lyrics are so heartbreaking, it would be easy for the song to sink into sadness as deep as Striplin’s beautiful baritone voice; however, the buoyant guitar lines keep the song in the realm of bittersweet. It will be exciting to see what else Margaret Chavez has in store on their sophomore album “Into an Atmosphere," due to release July 31, 2020, via We Know Better Records.