Kelsey Lu roots herself within the delicate tendrils of nature in her new single, “Morning Dew.” The track emerges with wistful pickings of guitar and deep, meditative saxophone tones—reminiscent of an awakening sun that gently disturbs the horizon and gradually rises over glistening meadows. The saxophone is played by Onyx Collective’s Isaiah Barr, and it re-enters with a fluttering grace midway through, further emulating the sun’s rippling rays, cradling all in its embrace. 

Spurred by heartbreak, the track grieves for a home found in another, as Lu sings, “Bring me home / back to you / wash off the old / put on the new.” While Lu grapples with the notion of a home, she communes with nature as a source of renewal. In an Instagram post detailing the song’s origins, Lu writes, “I’m relieved to feel like I’ve found a Home within myself enough to connect to the universe on a deeper level than when I first wrote it, and I invite you to feel that and get lost in it as well.” “Morning Dew” is a true cleanse to the system, of which you may surely lose yourself in its tender solace. Take this offering with care, and enjoy.

“I promise that somehow things will be okay” Chloe Berry offers, cutting through calamity with her new single “Bitter Melon.” This Brooklyn-based artist is stepping onto the music scene with a vengeance, especially with her background in writing music since the age of seven. When asked about the intentionality of the track, Chloe expressed that it was written with the sentiment in mind that “everything passes eventually." This high energy assemblage of sound is filled with the whimsical nostalgia of a coming-of-age film end-credit montage. Easing into the track, Chloe sings softly over a zig-zag of electric guitar until the percussion comes in and the track erupts into a vibrant invitation into her own escape from hopelessness. “Bitter Melon” is a precursor to promising future work to come from Chloe Berry, so get comfy and stick around.

"ALL THESE CHANGES" is the spectacular opening statement for Nick Hakim’s exquisite, sensitive new album. At first we hear tentative sounds—a cry, a few notes plucked on a guitar, an electronic snare, a flute tuning in and out—coming together into a single undulating unit with the deep boom of a synthesized timpani-esque drum. Delicate, stacked vocals envelop us from within the groovy synth-drenched ambiance as Hakim sings an ode to Mother Earth, calling on humanity to change our ways before it’s too late. “Cities burning, tides that rise / She's in pain, she's been hurting / Can you feel our mother raging? / She'll flood us out, her heart is flaming / Pretty soon we'll be underwater.” The song grows in complexity and power before glitching to a stop; Hakim introduces a de-tuned piano and a wide vocal that sounds like a phantom prophet warning us of the danger of our ways, whispering “She will drown us” and “Hope is fading.” We’d do well to heed Hakim’s words even as we lose ourselves in his sublime soundscape.

Sleek, polished, poised to be bumped in your headphones while you strut down the street on the first day of summer, Satellite Mode’s latest single “Kill the Choreography” goes down like a Pacifico and a lime. Jessica Carvo’s devil-may-care lead vocals croon singalong, standout lyrics like “Tear me off this leash, I wanna kill the choreography to feel the beat” and “Four, five, six, and seven, countin’ social proof, we are shameless”—one can almost see a vibrant retro talking head video before their eyes. Fleshed out with production tweaks like the oh-so-crisp layering of her expressive voice, swinging compressed drums, and the track’s shimmery synths and delays, the result is a festival-ready romp in the grass. By the time she’s yelling, “Dance the pressure OFF!” towards the end of the song, you’re ready to kill that choreo, too, and make up your own dance to this single’s slick beat. At the very least, it’ll definitely shake off the sheltering blues.

WHEW I love Flyte. They're a three-piece British band with my heart in their hands. Their debut record The Loved Ones felt like a secret I kept between me and the band, an Easter egg in an 8-bit video game I revisited again and again, continually charmed and surprised. It's a gorgeous, passionate, musically beautiful album, which rounds out with an acapella cover of "Archie, Marry Me" by Alvvays. I think about it all the time. It's desperate and haunting. It's one of those covers that hops in your bones. But enough about their LP (but for real, open your window and listen to it), I'm here to tell you about "Easy Tiger." 

"Easy Tiger" is a break-up track. It's a predator with a thorn in its paw. It's brought low, it's humble, it's sad. It's brilliant for all of that. Will Taylor has a giant vocal register, but he is so subdued on this track, the emotionalism is totally carried by the instrumentation. The music is anxious in "Easy Tiger," while the melody is steady, rhythmic and calm. It's the embodiment of trying to keep your cool while you see an ex at a party: on the surface, you're collected, inside you are an ocean. 

Give Flyte the love they deserve today. I reckon a new record will be dropping soon from them, so listen to The Loved Ones and their 2019 EP White Roses after you give "Easy Tiger" a spin.

Kllo’s "Insomnia" is a deep dive into a stream of consciousness, the meandering thoughts that arise in those late night moments right before falling asleep. We’ve all been there—unable to stop thinking of someone even as the clock ticks its way into tomorrow—and lead vocalist Chloe Kaul’s voice draws the picture with crystal clarity. The sound palette is spacey, leaving room for our thoughts to meander as well. A trip-hop beat and expansive bass contrast perfectly with Kaul’s breathy vocals, leading us into a chorus we can’t sit still to. This is the ideal song to lose yourself to in the dark hours.

Some songs are impossible to listen to without dancing and singing along, and Girlhood’s latest single release, “The Love I Need,” is at once one of them. If you don’t know the words, you soon will—just press play. The London-based duo exemplifies their synergy in this remarkably upbeat and genre-bending single, as Christian Pinchbeck and Tessa Cavanna join forces to create the perfect balance of rhythmic energy and inspiring melody. The track is a blissful mix of nostalgic and contemporary, relaxing and invigorating. There is an undeniable nod to gospel music in the choir of voices heard in the chorus, and the percussion builds before dropping off as Cavanna’s bright soulful voice drips like honey over the track. It should come as no surprise that Girlhood has cited Fugees, The Avalanches, and late-80s hip-hop as influences. Legend has it they write, record and produce their music from a narrowboat docked on a London canal. Beyond the music, embedded in the single’s cover art, done by intersex artist Rae Smith, is the message that the term “girlhood” encompasses all who identify with it, including, in the words of the artist, “the messy, complicated beauty of non-binary non-standardized human bodies in all their hairy complex shapes, sizes, forms and beings.” The colorful cover art and the buoyant sound together evoke an overwhelming sense of joy and solidarity, making this single from Girlhood a timely release.