Heavy, subtly unsettling beats offset a buttery voice and introspective lyricism on Spencer.’s latest "Maybe." The 21-year-old New York native who bet the house and his college education on a music career certainly came out on top and it's easy to see how in just two short years, he amassed quite a substantial following and millions of streams on his art. 

Spencer. opens with “Maybe life’s a joke / I feel like my soul is stuck” immediately and somberly introducing a raw and relatable emotion that is a theme throughout the song—overwhelming skepticism about life and the future. At such a young age, Spencer.'s grasp of the complexities of the emotions attached to the future is definite and his interpretation of them is creative. He playfully transitions from singing to speaking in epithets like, “I’m on my way up / cumulonimbus it got me stuck / in a few weeks I’ll be 21 / 2020 my vision till 20 sumn / I been working like I’m scared of growing up."Spencer. is currently working on his first full-length album—we definitely can't wait to hear more. Photo by Nathanael Turner

A delicate elegy, "Gaslight" is a stunning new offering from Ntu. It opens with a stutter, making us check that our headphones are working, but yes, they are, it’s just Ntu ushering us into his world of uncertainty. Each layer of ambient sounds—metallic whooshes and creaking floors—is laid down with the precision of a painter adding soft strokes to an intricate canvas. We are in the haunted house of Ntu and his lover, each daring the other to “gaslight me, then leave." It’s a world of pleasure and pain. The electronic kick drum is the slow beating heart of the lovers who want to make something work even while enjoying the dysfunction: “my love can hold you down / it’s like a million birds / around your neck, dead / weight, don’t leave me.” Ntu’s voice melts into the soundscape, a hushed whisper-song coming at us in all directions, then singing in tandem with the other vocalist with simple but luscious harmonies. We are subsumed, and we love it.

London-based artist Zilo’s latest track sings as a diary page that has been left open on purpose. “Tell Her” is an open-letter plea to a lover to let go of an ex, while also offering the reflection that she should just trust her partner and let it go. Jealousy is a tricky emotion and Zilo’s exploration of this conflicting feeling is heightened by the sultry R&B bass grooves and staggered percussion leading us through her thoughts. Produced by Bowtye, the smallest detail of delicate chimes in the background sound eerily similar to a text tone and give the listener a tinge of anxiety similar to what you might feel if you were worried about a partner and someone they’re talking to. A slowed edit of the song was released alongside the original, which gives Zilo a more androgynous tone that seems exhausted by the stress of the unknown. “Tell Her” is the third single in a string of soulful releases from Zilo this year.

Portland-based band M A N E's first single “|| Catamaran ||" is a dazzling, easy-listen. Its bedroom pop and soft sound is soothing to the ears, making you instantly feel at ease—mentally transporting you to the sea where you sail calming waters on a catamaran. The lyrics create a lovely juxtaposition, where expression of anxiety and inner battle exists. At a time when many are experiencing pain and unease, this track is there to make us feel a little less alone with our feelings. “When there’s a war in your chest, anxious and vexed, it’s all such a mess.” M A N E, who perfectly embodies HOMESHAKE and King Krule, successfully builds a sound of honesty when the world needs it most.

HAWA’s dreamy track “IPHONE” opens with a nuanced piano line and simple guitar accompaniment—it sounds soothing, smooth, and calm. But when you pay attention to the lyrics, they tell another story.  “I just wanna love someone / I don’t wanna fight no more / You say you sick of all the lies / I don’t know why I keep lying,” she sings earnestly. At its most emotional points, “IPHONE” is a song about the push and pull of relationships, and both craving and fearing intimacy. The person she longs to be intimate with, however, does not seem to fully reciprocate her feelings. 

“I just wanna know if you’ll be all mine / I can take it slow, I don’t really mind” HAWA pleads to her lover, which sends the message that she would do anything for their approval. As she receives a phone call at the end of the song, it’s not hard to imagine that it is her lover on the other line, ready to fight. “Fuck,” HAWA mutters as her phone starts to ring. Instead of the actual phone call, we hear these lines repeated like a chant: “Leave me alone / Leave me alone, babe / Leave me alone” and “Is it alright? Is it alright? / You know I want peace and safety in my home.” It seems that no matter what she says or does, the person she’s in love with will never be satisfied. Listen to “IPHONE” wherever you stream.

When your admiration for someone is strong enough, there are moments when you can’t help but step back in awe that you actually know them. Nashville’s Carmen Canedo explores that feeling with an acoustic guitar and a folksy chorus of angels on “How Can I Know You.” Like the musical setup, the lyrical scenes are powerful in their tender simplicity. With the right company, everyday activities like watching the clouds or sipping hot tea become vessels of tender significance. Your perception of temperature can even shift; suddenly, sitting on the icy ground is a small price to pay to be with this special person. In fact, as Canedo says in the chorus, you may even “welcome the chill.” What strikes me is that this is not exclusively a description of romantic love. Although you could feel this way about a partner, you could also feel it about your mother, or your friend, or your baby nephew. It’s a special strand of love found only in genuine camaraderie, and the feeling of incredulity that comes with it is totally understandable. We are taught from a young age that magic isn’t supposed to exist.

"Calling all fans of Ben Folds and Nick Cave! Finn Andrews' “Wide Winged Bird” will satisfy all of your soulful, folky, British dreams. The production on this one is just so, so lush; harmonies that somehow sound soft and sparse at the same time, strings that you can feel the bow dragging ever-so-lightly over, bass that thumps faintly, keeping the subtle swing of the song...I wish I’d been in the room when this was recorded. Each lyric feels like a watercolor; “When you kissed my lips, they were cold like mine.” Expertly balancing an aesthetic equally at home in Sons of Anarchy or in a heart-string tugging movie like About Time, “Wide Winged Bird” will make you FEEL. “At the end of the day, across a moonless sky, comes a wide-winged bird, sent to close my eyes.” Oof! Well done, Finn Andrews. While you're at it, check out the whole new EP and his previous album, One Piece at a Time—standout songs include "Love, What Can I Do?", "One by the Venom", and "Al Pacino / Rise and Fall."