Mackenzie Leighton is the friend you call up when you finally book that flight to Europe. She’ll take you down dark, cobblestoned alleyways to smoke-filled underground jazz clubs and give you that authentic Parisian experience not found in Lonely Planet guidebooks. You start to think that maybe after a week of observing the breezy elegance around you—and splurging on a bottle of expensive perfume—you’ll have acquired that coveted French elegance by osmosis. Leighton is here to tell you that’s not how it works. You can take her word for it, too. The California-born singer-songwriter moved to Paris after graduating from NYU and is still chasing that infamous je ne sais quois that Parisian women claim as their birthright. “Paris Girls” is a swinging jazz-pop number with a waltz feel in the verses. Leighton’s navigation of agile melodies makes her sound like a smoother Nellie McKay for a modern young audience. Unapologetic electric guitar remains prominent throughout the song, transporting you to the front row of that smokey Paris jazz club ‘round midnight. Until it’s safe to travel again, this track should hold you over.

Lustrous and smooth, “What’s Wrong? Pt II” is a transient jam that basks in that hazy, dream-like state between sleeping and waking. The new track from Brooklyn indie duo Fake Dad is actually a remake of their first single, with brighter, more vivid production and a groovy, head-bopping hook. Jazz-infused keys and vibrant, spacey synths transport you to a world where sounds are more stimulating and everything shimmers under starlight. The arrangement is crisp and dreamy, with the sort of intimate style and psych-rock instrumentation that will appeal to fans of Crumb or HOMESHAKE. Andrea de Varona’s vocals, velvety and dynamic, bring the theme of disorientation to the front of the arrangement by singing about displacement and false awakenings. “What is wrong with me? / Been chasing after something I don’t believe.” Atmospheric and bright, “What’s Wrong? Pt II” reflects the curiosity surrounding fragmented consciousness. Check out the accompanying music video, which features dinosaurs and wonderment, on their YouTube page.

After producing and penning music for indie greats such as Your Smith, and Bay Ledges as well as pop powerhouses like Adam Lambert and Quinn XCII, it seems it was finally time for Jamie Sierota to go solo. To that end, the latest from his solo project as meija,“Laugh It Off”, comes fresh off the heels of his last track, “Buttons”, and explores the complicated way we respond to vulnerable moments. This fresh and summery track makes use of classic 80’s drum machines and a nylon string guitar along with less conventional accents like glass bottles and bongo drums. Of the song, Sierota remarks about how “some things are too serious and hurtful to shrug off, even if that helps you avoid an uncomfortable conversation.” The juxtaposition of a more serious topic with a lighthearted sound was his ingenious way of “making something hard to say easy to listen to.”

With “Isn’t Up to Me,” Kat Lee makes a departure from her usual work fronting the rock group Tiny Gun. The NYC based artist creates a solemn acoustic tune that weaves through internal conflict—ruminating on the powerlessness that can accompany relationships. Lee brings us into her world immediately with concrete details, “On Halloween, you slept on my side of the bed / scared you off with all the thoughts I have inside my head.” The song explores the things we wish we could say and change. Lee sings over softly plucked acoustic guitar and sparse production—allowing the focus to land on her gentle vocals and introspective lyrics. "Isn't Up to Me" is a soft song about a type of sadness that many people feel. The sadness of wanting someone but not wanting to try too hard, lest the feelings not be reciprocated. The addition of a lower harmony in the middle of the song adds a depth that pulls the focus even more to the clarity of Lee’s vocals. The effect on her voice in the bridge makes her sound slightly muffled like an old recording, as she sings “Leave me on the porch again / maybe I’ll see you in New York again / and I will stay inside your memory / I will be your secret memory.” “Isn’t Up to Me” is the first track off of Lee’s solo debut EP Catch and Release.

Start your morning with “Waffles,” the feel-good new single from Brooklyn-based artist Evan Nachimson. Complete with a funky hook, upbeat keyboard melody, and infectiously catchy beat, “Waffles” is the perfect mid-tempo bop to keep you moving (and grooving) easily through even the darkest days. Nachimson’s vocal, clear and pleasing, is an inevitable burst of sunshine, and his lyrics, which start with coffee and waffles, hold surprising depth: “I used to tread in negatives / They’re easy to hold on, harder to move on / Disregard the evidence and the good going on.” The central message is simple and accessible: to be happy, live day by day and just keep looking up. That message is embodied in the instrumentation, which is lush with fun, psychedelic synths, and pumping, R&B-style percussion. “Waffles” is a happy and hopeful track that's worth playing on repeat.

19-year-old pop songstress Maude Latour is making music for the ears that spent their final years of grade school filtering every experience through the low-humming draw of Lorde’s Pure Heroine. Today, the college freshman (who plans to be the first president to perform at her own inauguration) shares her latest single, “Ride My Bike.” Catchy and expansive, Latour’s vocals sulk through vocoded harmonies before erupting into a chorus of dance-y, bubblegum brightness. If “Ride My Bike” is meant to sonically characterize the very same runner’s high the song celebrates, it succeeds. An optimistic ode intended for getting one out of their head and into their body, keeping still becomes near impossible when set to the refrain’s effervescent lyrics and pulsing house beats. “Have I told you that I’m really fucking scared to die?” Maude divulged on her earlier single, “Superfruit.”  “Baby for the very first time / I’m not afraid to die,” she amends with her latest and most energetic release.