These LITM Pop Picks, featuring Ryan McDavid, Pretty Little Saturday, 唯美人形 Yubiningyou, and more, are textured, delicate, and cinematic!
1. Ryan McDavid – Runaway (Late Night Reverb)
Ryan McDavid’s Runaway (Late Night Reverb) is a song that’s hypnotic and psychedelic in its synth-driven framework. When McDavid’s voice enters the cinematic, relaxed pulse that’s been established, it does so with a reverb that puts you in a trance; you stop trying to focus on the lyrics, or even the world around you, as the track washes over you with its unhurried yet energetic beats. It’s nuanced in its approach to synthpop, never leaning into sounding generic or predictable. The perfect soundtrack to late-night thought spirals, Runaway (Late Night Reverb) is soothing, subtle, and restrained in all its shimmer.
2. Afterglow – Pretty Little Saturday
Like Pretty Little Saturday’s other work, Afterglow plays with layers and textures, carrying a breathy, delicate tonality throughout. On the surface, it’s chill and relaxed, but upon listening a little deeper, there’s a current of restlessness running throughout that subtly sweeps you up with it. The song feels like it’s simultaneously urging you to escape your reality while also pushing you closer and closer towards self-sabotage, drawing lines between this and the vicious cycles you keep pushing yourself into. “Send me off on a holiday / Chasing joy artificially,” Kristianna Knupp writes, summing it all up neatly for a song that refuses to stay within any boundaries.
3. 唯美人形 Yubiningyou – 秘密 Himitsu
唯美人形 Yubiningyou’s 秘密 Himitsu is restrained, delicate, and precise even as it bursts open and becomes something more than just energetic and upbeat. Unease is built into the very foundation of the song – from its musical patterns to the music video itself, there’s a delightfully unsettling contrast between creepy imagery (whether sonic or visual) and cheer that seems almost too good to be true. Its glassy, shimmering vocals sit atop a bed of hard rock elements, further contributing to the song’s disorienting nature. It opens slowly, taking its time, but when it eventually does reach its peak intensity, you’ll find that the wait was completely worth it.
4. Yamazaki – Katsu
When Katsu hits your ears, it does so with an unhurriedness that relaxes you, priming you for the journey it’s about to take you through. It’s cinematic in its scope, surrounding you completely with its multilayered production that takes everything along with it as it moves ahead. Blending synthwave with Japanese lines that cut through at regular intervals, it moves with the confidence of someone who knows the worst is behind them. As Yamazaki puts it, Katsu is a ‘zen shout of awakening,’ and ‘about transforming childhood loneliness and trauma into unstoppable power.’ It certainly succeeds in breaking the chains that keep you stuck in place – listen here!
5. Cosmo Cloudy – After All
Diving deep into the realm of chill lo-fi is Cosmo Cloudy’s After All from the album Radio Weather. Even in its relatively short runtime, it showcases Cosmo Cloudy’s mastery over layering elements to create a full sound that occupies every empty space in your body. With an introspective, reflective sound that looks outward nonetheless, the song makes for the perfect listen on gloomy days when you’re spiralling just that little bit more than usual. It envelops you as you get lost in your thoughts, as it blends chill beats with atmospheric sound and melodic experimentation. Give it a listen here!
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