Australian singer/songwriter Riley Pearce delivers an authentic ballad for the everyday dreamer on “Electricity," an affecting track that explores the uncertainties of the future. Pearce perfectly wraps this subject in the delicacy of an acoustic guitar and profound, mellow vocal production. Sentiments about pursuing a dream tend to be melancholic as the value of tribulations seem to outweigh the possibility of success. We inevitably question, “Will it all work out?” It may or it may not, but for Pearce, that doesn't matter. The track begins in a cynical tone, but it ends optimistically. “One day things will go our way / Maybe we can build ourselves a home / Oh, I want to be all that you need me to be / Someone who sparks your electricity.” It’s a simple reminder that a journey is sometimes meant to be bleak, but treading it with someone else makes it worthwhile. Photo by Al Parkinson.

Less is more on Linden Jay’s latest track "Got Me All Wrong." Half of FARR, the talented and accomplished producer creatively turns on the charm on this track. Beautiful vocals echo words that evoke the realization of incompatibility, “I think you've got me all wrong / you don't know me at all / you like the way I make you feel / you like the way I see right through you,” still, the exclamation, “I think your soul is so beautiful” dramatically stands out for more reasons than one—as isolated vocals highlight a sentiment seemingly juxtaposed from the rest. 

Playful electronic elements accent bassy undertones and unique vocal distortions. The stylization of repeated lyrics plays nicely with the beat, adding an air of novelty akin to getting to know someone familiar all over again. It's hard to deny the way "Got Me All Wrong" pulls you in lyrically and sonically with such stunning simplicity—a true testament to Jay's production prowess.

Cherished hometown heroes of West Palm Beach, Mona Lisa Tribe is a locally loved delicacy moving in a new direction, in terms of location, to Nashville. Their new song “Fly” was written on an airplane—a breeding place for boundless creativity and rumination amidst the company of strangers and the clouds. This track was originally written by band member Tabitha Meeks about a moment in her life where she felt that multiple people she loved had approached a time in which they could move forward and “reach their full potential." In a manner true to their form, they share charming harmonies, exemplifying (with their voices) exactly how they made the city of West Palm Beach fall in love with them. While the song was originally about friends of the band, it has taken on a new meaning as they’ve migrated to a new city to pursue their own full potential with all of the support of the loving community in front of whom they came to life.

Songwriter cham ii’s third single as The Sleepovers, “Come Back,” was created at home alone. Its location in the world of music is that uncontrollable molten center of true DIY bedroom pop: a person giving time to a feeling, alone, perhaps literally in his bedroom, and seeing what music comes out of it. In this case, the feeling being explored is FOMO: the fear of missing out. “Where are you guys going? Can I come along?” starts the track, and the question is never answered. But as time passes, it feels like cham is escaping deeper into his own mind, and that is an answer in itself. “Feel like a square, feel bad / that I can’t find my path,” he sings, and you start to realize the whole song is built on that feeling of meandering in the dark. But another word for “meandering” is “improvising,” and the sense of unedited spontaneity is one of the track’s strong suits. As soon as you compare The Sleepovers to another artist, the vibe shifts drastically and the comparison is gone. When the warm humming of synths is joined by the blooping funk of electronic water droplets in the track’s first moments, it might remind you of early chillwave artists like Toro y Moi. But then when cham delivers a stream-of-consciousness flow over an echoey breakbeat later on, it feels like hip-hop alchemists BROCKHAMPTON are more nearby on the musical family tree. Sometimes you just start walking and the path finds you, again and again.

Melting colors bleed into each other as Amaria’s new track "Moon" wraps itself around us like a delicious fog. The tune opens with a simple, oh-so-groovy bassline and a wah-wah synth but quickly becomes so much more. Amaria’s voice floats over a side-stick snare and a nearly imperceptible down-pitched vocal—something in between a duet and a ghost. "Caught up in all the motion / my mind is like the ocean," she sings, delicately placing each note in its place. It’s R&B at its most intimate and bedroomy, bringing to mind the romance of late-night infatuations. "Take me to the moon," she sings, "up high, up high," and we lift our eyes skyward in response.

Shuffling about in our own existence this year sometimes feels like we’re playing a losing game. The days mesh together—some good, some already forgotten to the count of our isolated months. As if answering our loneliness, producer Jim-E Stack returns with “Note to Self,” a track that is equal parts aware and uplifting. "Note to Self" features a soul-cleansing vocal from Empress Of (aka Lorely Rodriguez), who he collaborated with on her songs “U Give It Up” and “When I’m With Him." Akin to the two's previous collaborations, the song holds optimism in both the lyrics and the production. The vocals urge us to “just let it knock you down” and not to fight what’s coming to you. In the end, you’re going to come up stronger than you were before. Danceable drums and light percussion carry us through the body of the track—uplifting in the midst of our summers.

"For What Was," the new release from Stray Fossa glistens and glitters its way into a dreamy-dancey soundscape. This newest tune is in keeping with past releases by the Charlottesville, VA based trio—somehow maintaining a driving energy while creating what feels like infinite space. The song opens with a guitar progression and drum groove produced to sound narrow, but the vastness comes in immediately with the soft vocals in the first verse. "Lean into stranger thoughts," sings Will, "Stronger than I could dare ignore," right before taking us into stranger realms of ethereal sound design and vocal harmonies. From then on it spirals outward into the ether; this song is the soundtrack to a road trip in outer space.