On this edition of LITM Pop Picks, tracks take a vast array of moods and tones, ranging from soulful nostalgia and expansive soul-searching to playful reflection and wistful sentimentality. The list features Francesca Fuentes, Bailey Grey, Found Instruments and more!
1. Francesca Fuentes - I Just Want To Be Your Lover Again
‘I Just Want To Be Your Lover Again’ by Francesca Fuentes is a soulful track that ponders on love lost and longing. Our narrator on the track longs for her lover, and all the ways they make her feel, while the soundscape feels wistful and a bit nostalgic.
“...How do you me to accept losing you?...”, “...I just want to be your lover again…”. There’s a sense of yearning to the tone. The music video that accompanies the song layers that heartache & longing with a sense of grief, given the touching tribute to the singer’s grandparents a few moments before the song begins.
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2. Made of Sand - Based on a Novel
‘Based on a Novel’ by Made of Sand dwells on identity with slow synth-led melodies that are heavy yet quick-paced and expansive. Its lyrics ponder existential questions and feel as though they’re sung in the wake of something moving away from life.
The soundscape feels almost meditative, while its lyrics retain this sense of dark inquisitiveness, while the narrator ponders. “...(We) can’t determine how our lives unfold…I fear my life is based on a novel…”. The track offers a metaphor that feels familiar for a feeling that is immense and pretty destabilising when undiluted.
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3. Talking to Sophie - Galaxy
‘Galaxy’ by Talking to Sophie is a bright indie pop-rock track that uses it light guitar melodies to juxtapose its emotionally charged lyrics. The narrator seems to be moving, away from where they’re rooted. A sense of ease permeates the track, the mood of escape and distance in the lyrics seemingly lending to the soundscape’s heady quality.
“...Walk away to another life…go to a new galaxy…”, the narrator sounds untethered and at peace, floating high and away from the things tha ground them while urging us to join them. Whirring calmness laps at the tone, with this edge of melancholy melding with wistful stillness.
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4. Bailey Grey - USE ME
‘USE ME’ by Bailey Grey is a quirky, bright blues-inspired track that takes on an optimistic tone and mood. Our narrator ponders on their legacy, asking whoever may listen to use them. Not simply lay them in the dust, for someone to soon forget. “...When I go I want to be useful…”.
“...(I) don’t want to get mixed up in the debris…”. The melodies are slow-paced but sure, pulling on threads of self-assuredness while the narrator asks their loved ones to remember them as they are. They hope that their loved ones would “...like to keep my heart…” to themselves.
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5. Found Instruments - Memory Shift
‘Memory Shift’ by Found Instruments is a heartwarming melody that ponders on the question “...what now?...”. There’s a settled peace to the song’s slow-paced mood, while the song’s guitar pulls in a slightly heavier tone. This evokes heavy-set nostalgia while our narrator attempts tomove forward and onward.
The narrator is pushing, “...thinking about where we go from here…”. It begins with a wistful mood that shifts into something a bit brighter and more optimistic. “...Memories shift…feelings fade…”, highlighting this dynamic mood that feels a little like moving onward and forward. Untethered but self-assured in a way that reeks of potential and empowered optimism.
Listen here:
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