"Prayer Beat" by LOMELI is a slow-burning slice of a vibration born out of some heartfelt, emotive pangs only an artist entangled in a messy love affair with melody and soul could make. The sheer longing in the vocal is enough to make the same face Jay-Z made when Timbaland pressed play on the final "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" beat. Yet, it's the unwavering, tasteful production built on several of the prettiest harmonies this era of neo-soul has offered the world. Now, where's the IDM edit?

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It only took three minutes for a few of the golden leaves to gently annex themselves from the towering oak tree outside of the girl with the view of the park's window. She counted the leaves nevertheless. She even had a laugh over the viral video of a man counting numbers, then regained her composure as this was serious business, counting the number of leaves and all. Autumn was her favorite season, after all. It had been the hottest summer in the planet's history, and the fall felt as calm and crisp on her skin and mood as a freshly cracked open frozen can of soda pop. She could only count a few leaves before they stopped falling, some humorously reluctant to detach from the wood and the bark. When she stopped counting the leaves, her senses alerted her to the sound melting into her studio apartment's walls and floor. It reminded her of days at the lake with him, walks through the park with him, nights watching movies with him, runs up the mountains with him, dawns in the kitchen with him, drives from airports with him and dusks in the dark with him. She caught herself swaying to the song before the vocals came in. Once they did, she started to saunter her way towards the speakers. She caressed them with her palms. She put them together to mutter a silent prayer for more lazy evenings like these to give her more than enough solace to last her a billion lifetimes. That was when he knocked on her door and startled her so much she jumped into the air, face flushed red. She had to grab the corner of her desk to restore her balance before she walked towards the door to open it, to find him there on one knee. They married that fall and were a family of three by the next summer.

Bedroom soul artist cehryl sings on the innocent side of unrequited love on “Moon Eyes,” channeling the effortless sincerity of jazz standards of yore. “It’s about being abandoned, left to wonder,” she explains, “specifically, to wonder with a childlike optimistic naivety.” “Darling, you don't have to be so kind / To travel down all for my surprise / Darling, I'm covering my eyes / So I don't see you've gone a long, long, long time" she sings, melancholy longing lurking under her cheerful scatting. Those first few times you notice someone pulling away, it’s easier to tune out, feigning innocence to hold onto the slim chance of hope that they may return. cehryl returned to her native Hong Kong after her tours with Jeremy Zucker and Cavetown were put on indefinite hold due to Covid-19. Despite her worry that her roots in the music and arts community there weren’t as strong, she collaborated with Jonny Ho to craft a quirky video with snapshots of Hong Kong amidst the pandemic’s second wave.

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you’ll pluck the glasses from my face 

to polish them without asking

we’ll put our own drinks down and wordlessly

pick up each others’ to try

i often substitute candy 

for meals and these days, i find myself 

choosing gummy bears more and more 

when we kissed goodbye you said,

“i’ll see you around”

“maybe”

“hopefully”

i’ve slept diagonally ever since.

In anticipation of Dent May's forthcoming record Late Checkout due out 8/21 via Carpark Records, the Los Angeles based pop master released his second single from the album, "Easier Said Than Done." Very much in Dent May fashion, he has constructed another groovy tune with an unforgettable melody, one you can't help but bop along to. Dent is joined by Andres Renteria (Weyes Blood) on percussion and Joachim Polack (Pearl & The Oysters) on keys. The music draws on Latin influences while Dent croons a simplistic tale of finding love after a long time coming. "It's easier said than done to fall in love / but finally it's happening to me." As the song comes to an end we recommend getting swept away in Dent May's funkadelic synth-pop breakdown. Keep your eyes peeled for more coming from Dent later this month!

“Sorry,” the latest single from beabadoobee’s forthcoming album Fake It Flowers, is a 90s inspired ballad featuring gorgeous string arrangements. At its core, the song is about what it means to confess to one’s wrongdoings in a relationship, and wondering how those mistakes will come to affect both parties involved. “...I’m doing alright and guess I’ve been feeling fine / But it hurts me / That you could be the one that deserves this / Even more,” the British-Filipino artist also known as Bea Kristi states earnestly, backed by an electric guitar. Halfway through the song, there is a sonic explosion, and the track takes on a rockier, gut-punching feel—a large departure from its simple, string adorned beginning. To start the second half of the song, she sings “I never want to think twice / With what could have been your life / And I’m sorry / I’m sorry.” An earnest, heartfelt apology, she acknowledges that she too has experienced bleak periods similar to the ones that the person she is addressing is currently living through: “...You stayed in the same dark place that I adore / But you stayed for more / I guess that’s what happens to the best of us.” Overall, “Sorry” is an exceptionally strong single that is bound to leave listeners asking the tough questions about themselves and the behaviors they have exhibited in relationships. Keep an eye out for Fake It Flowers, which is due to be released later this year, and listen to “Sorry” wherever you stream.

“Someone New” is Helena Deland’s commentary on the rhythm of the self and the infringing desire to find oneself reflected in the eyes of others. The slow-rising track stands as the title track of her first LP, which was recorded over the lapse of two years and can be expected in full come October.

There is a sort of elemental component to lending oneself to another person; to be seen in their eyes and to be rid of all control of the presentation of the self is an experience that carries its own celestial weight. In lending the image of the self to the hands of someone outside of the self, there is the opportunity for transformation, but not a solitudinous change; a reflection which absorbs an image of a person and transfigures it accordingly, in turn giving a lover a new image of themself.

In “Someone New” Helena Deland inspects the tendency that many have to seek out validation in the hearth of another. The fullness of her voice weaves through oscillating paces:

“If things go my way

I'll stay in this room

Where again I want to lay

Kissing someone new

Who tells me

Something pretty

So that I too

Can feel like someone new.”

In “AUATC (Ate Up All Their Cake),” Bon Iver’s crew is rolling deep: the voices of Bruce Springstein, Jenny Lewis, Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak), and Elsa Jensen meld together with Justin Vernon’s helium-ed vocals into a buzzing confection of a track. A commentary on capitalism, its lyric “shed a little light” also winks at James Taylor’s 1991 civil rights song.

At 2:22, "AUATC: is likely just a snack—following Bon Iver’s release of "PDLIF" in April, speculation hints at the possibility of a forthcoming 5th album of acronym-based titles.

Available via Jagjaguwar, the track was released with an accompanying statement including its full cast of credits and a call for listeners to support five organizations “working tirelessly to foster a world that celebrates our humanity on a local, national, and global level.” Also, be sure to watch the music video featuring exuberant movement and dance from Randall Riley.

Emulating a Sylvan Esso style vocalization on this track, Fake Dad serves up a summer's end song with their latest single "Summer Hill." Dreamy, ethereal guitar ushers along the psychedelic and surrealist lyricism of this easy-going, vibey tune. "Summer Hill" is about living in the moment. It's an observational tune about the quick passage of time. 

The musicality, similar to the track's themes, is taking its time. It's gentle, plodding and intentionally placed. Andrea de Varona's vocals here sound exceptionally striking. In an effort to live in a headspace that appreciates daily beauty instead of wishing the day away, "Summer Hill" is a great reminder to stop and smell the roses (through your mask, of course).

Check out this new single from Fake Dad and listen to the rest of their tunes wherever you stream!