“Past Lives” by Jay Som & Hayley Williams
“I’m stuck in the mud, I’m spiraling up [ . . . ] it’s falling apart.” Som and Williams come together on “Past Lives” to deliver a beautifully sorrowful ballad that puts words to a mind wrought with anxiety. “An open echo,” not all too different from the constant sound of raindrops, reminds the listener of those moments where peace seems out of reach.
“Nights in Armor” by Water From Your Eyes
Water From Your Eyes blends the line between lyricism and internal dialogue, crafting a song that could easily pass as a journal entry. With lines that evoke a certain directionless anger, the band perfectly captures the cold, wet, and damp feeling that listeners likely know all too well — “I just wanna fight you ‘cause I’m tired [ . . . ] Spite me, I’m on fire.”
Gloom begets internal reflection, as wet socks and windblown leaves cause us to sink deeper into our own thoughts. “I don’t know how to be what I wanted to be when I was five,” Florist writes. “Maybe I just want to get married, or maybe I just want to fall asleep,” they add. Faced with such uncertainty, we often take refuge in that which we hold true. “At least I know that the world is spinning when we’re tangled in the bedsheets,” the artist sings.
“I know why she could make it big time, but she’s scared to try again.” With a gravelly voice that cloaks the listener’s ears like the comfort of a weighted blanket, WHATMORE delivers a uniquely avant garde rap style that perfectly encapsulates that feeling of being stuck. Whether you are glancing longingly at the window wishing for sunnier days or scared to take the next step in life, this song is there for you to lean on in the meantime.
