The majority of new music that has been released during quarantine has felt urgent and introspective—often forcing us to face uncomfortable sides of ourselves. However, California artist Lillian Frances has us looking outwards. Her debut album, Moonrise Queendom, is a joy to listen to and puts her among a group of exciting new artists to follow.

On "Pídelo," Frances invites us to look at the moon. She describes a bright summer night, which she’s in awe of—enticing us to join her skywatching. As her lyrics discretely shift to Spanish, she asks us to listen to gossiping stars, "Las estrellas son cotillas, escucha!" Her reverence for the moon and stars is contagious and vibrant with childlike wonder. And yet for a song that wanders through the night sky, "Pídelo" seems to have plenty of sunshine. A self-described "sonic collage," Frances weaves together electronic textures and rhythms with a warped playfulness that brings to mind recent Dirty Projectors.

Lillian Frances brings the same kind of fun, colorful energy to electro-pop that Sylvan Esso did in 2014. It is no surprise that six years ago, while attending a Sylvan Esso concert in L.A, she described what she was thinking on her Facebook page, “that is what I am going to do.” And so she did, and even more impressively, she managed to make her own sound along the way.

Bedroom pop phenom Clairo blossoms into a refined, yet unflinchingly sincere songwriter on her debut album Immunity, released August 2 via FADER label. With "Softly," Clairo gives queer girls an outlet to dance around their bedrooms full of youthful infatuation. It captures the subtlety of a soft brush of fingers and stolen glances in the early stages of an innocent crush without the pressure of labels on a relationship or sexuality. Wistful lyrics over a lax, off-rhythm guitar melody improvised by Rostam further the song's whimsical energy. "I got this feeling / Telling me girl, I gotta know," she croons in a way that young queer girls can look up to, while also tugging at the heartstrings of older queer girls who felt confused and repressed. As a children's choir echos "I don't care what they say" in the background, Clairo asserts that she's exploring her sexuality on her own terms; she's "doing it differently," and although some look down upon queer love, this blissful feeling is the only thing that matters.

Indie pop artist Someone’s new song “Playground Love” sounds like walking through a dream. The opening track on her new EP, Airspace, showcases ambient, spacey synths, twinkling, reverberating keys and raw guitar tones working together to create soft, pumping mood music. Someone’s vocal, sung just above a whisper, is dark and velvet-smooth as she beckons her lover like a siren: “I’m your high school lover / And you’re my favorite flavor.” She holds your attention as the instrumentation builds, even when it’s not clear where her voice ends and the strings begin. The lush composition is mysterious and surprising, using slapping percussion and deep, swinging bass to give the song a pulse while amplifying the strings to emphasize the song’s hopeful, emotional center. Perfect for those quiet, contemplative hours of the night, “Playground Love” is soothing and surreal.

“Hologram Lover,” premiering today from Brooklyn-based songwriter and instrumentalist Jesse and Forever, is a lush and full amalgamation of pulsing, eerie soundscapes and catchy, head-bopping beats. The track is just two minutes long but has an arresting composition, packed most notably with nostalgic samples, a groovy bass line, and grungy, rippling guitar. Jesse Scheinin’s vocal—dreamy and wistful in a hypnotic soprano—is transfixing as it guides you through the arrangement, keeping you hooked even though specific lyrics are sometimes hard to make out. Hazy, atmospheric moments awash in oohs which are offset by strikingly clear lines like “You can lie to your friends but you can’t lie to me.” It’s a distorted but pleasant listening experience where latching onto the vocal forces you to lose yourself in the arrangement, and once more, you’ll love every second of it. Surrealist and vibrant, “Hologram Lover” is a unique and carefree party song.

Pearla, the folk-tinged project of Brooklyn-based songwriter Nicole Rodriguez, has a knack for evoking worlds that exist slightly off-center. On her recent release "Quilting", Rodriguez's imaginative lyricism is on full display as she weaves esoteric sentiment into her reflections on love and loss. Smoldering, dreamlike production and a kaleidoscope of sounds—like the creaking of a closing door, or humming overheard from the next room, settle like a haze over Rodriquez's steady folk lilt. Aching turns of introspection—"I should be fine on my own / I was born there / now I’m reaching out with both hands and nothings there"—pull us from the abstract into her inner world, where she parses through the notions of isolation and impermanence. Check out our recent Buzzsession with Pearla, where she performs two tunes from her upcoming release Quilting and Other Activities, out Sept 6 via Egghunt records.

Marika Hackman unveiled a dynamic, emotive, and unapologetic dose of intimacy in her new album Any Human Friend, which dropped August 9 via Sub Pop Records. Wedged right in the middle is “send my love," a track that doesn’t fail to grasp your attention. Hackman captures the biting mix of feelings that arise when something comes to an end with her poignant songwriting and swirling production. The harshness and self-deprecation ripple from beginning to end, “Are you coming home to feel alone / Did you love me tonight, or any night of our lives / It's never gonna be like it was before.” It’s an effort to put herself in the other person’s shoes and examine a turning point in a relationship that can’t seem to be undone. "Send my love" is a sort of reckoning in the aftermath of a difficult situation, which we’ve all experienced in one capacity or another.

Velvet Kove, a 23-year-old artist hailing from Richmond Virginia, is breaking out in the Brooklyn music scene with the help of DummyFresh, a recording artist hailing from Maryland with a background in jazz and classical piano. The two have collaborated on a new track, "Hazel-Green," a song which grieves the loss of a relationship, one which is kept in the present through the small details which only exist between two lovers: waking easily, taking over Park avenue, the feeling of rain entering the apartment. As the artist sings, “You’re the woman in my dreams / I awake easily / My thoughts turn hazel green / Help me”, she is learning how to yearn for what is gone, begging for the past to become reinvented in the future. Velvet Kove and DummyFresh are both members of goodstuff, a new artist collective and record label based out of Brooklyn. With this new track, they are not only creating a name for themselves but for local New York musicians who are putting their heart into music, only asking to be heard, not unlike a song meant for a past lover.

Chastity Belt reminds us that the simpler moments in life are worth remembering with the release of “Ann’s Jam”, the first single off their forthcoming self-titled album. The comforting track progressively floats along as lead singer Julia Shapiro warmly sings about old times the group has had and revels in the meaningfulness of possibility. Chastity Belt masterfully paints the picture of youthful experiences and how things used to be, “We were driving South in your parents car / Singing aloud to scratched CDs / Feeling meaningful, thinking / This is a start / And it'll go on.” At the same time, their narrative tone isn't filled with wallowing—they point towards a hopeful kind of change, a chance for a new start. “Ann’s Jam” is an ode to the friendship that the Seattle outfit continues to share. It also reminds the listener that where your story started isn't always something to skip over or forget. Chastity Belt is officially out September 20 via Hardly Art Records.

Bella Union signee Modern Nature create hushed, melodic folk-pop that gushes with both precision and vitality. Their newest single, "Séance," showcases the trio's delicate nature, spearheaded by Jack Cooper and supported by Will Young, Jeff Tobias, and Aaron Nevue. There are some obvious nods to White Album-era Beatles, with sprawling melodies colliding with stuttering tape experimentation, and a deep reverence for the insular blues of English Folkman Nick Drake. It's a wistfully satisfying listen that hints at the boundless promise of the newly formed band. "Séance" is lifted from their debut album, How To Live, due out August 23rd.