These LITM Pop Picks are warm and hopeful on a gloomy day – featuring Joyce Lopez Jose, Carl HS, Pretty Little Saturday, and more!
1. Joyce Lopez Jose – Echoes
If the feelings of hope and warmth were distilled into a song, it’d probably result in Echoes. Joyce Lopez Jones’ voice is raw and vulnerable, floating effortlessly above the fluid, indie-pop instrumental arrangements. Echoes is disarmingly honest, finding its way into your heart; it glows with ethereal, shimmering vocals and instrumentals, while being driven forward by the drums that start up, moving the song along just before the first chorus. The accompanying video perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being lost in music and thought before you need to move on with everyday life – Echoes doesn’t just accompany you, it sneaks into you and stays there, giving you an optimism you’ll constantly want more of.
2. Carl HS – Buy sunnies on a gloomy day
On Buy sunnies on a gloomy day, Carl HS turns a seemingly ridiculous act – putting sunglasses on in gloomy weather – into existentialism. Produced with restraint and sobriety, the track allows Carl HS’ voice to shine – gliding effortlessly between charging forward with confidence and settling down into mellow notes. It opens with acoustics reminiscent of retro Britpop, while the build-up to the chorus is packed with glam and release of tension. The sound is intimate, like he’s singing right next to you, and is just that vulnerable – its melancholy carries undercurrents of hope, and that is what will keep you coming back.
3. Pretty Little Saturday – Tangerine
Tangerine is layered and textured in a way that draws you in from its first seconds. Vulnerable and intimate, it carries a distinctive indie-pop sound – like a lovechild of Clairo and Mitski. Lyrically, it dives deep into the fragility of loneliness and inner turmoil (“No more human decency between us anymore / Who’s gonna love you when you’re falling apart at the seams?”), voicing the questions we all have but don’t articulate very often. Kristianna Knupp’s voice carries the same delicacy as the lyrics: it’s breathy and emotional, yet radiant with the shimmer the song carries throughout – give it a listen here.
4. Maeve Kelley – Moonrocks at Midnight
The first thing that hits you on Moonrocks at Midnight is Maeve Kelly’s powerful, confident voice. She sings with a self-assurance that pulls you into her world effortlessly, and once you’re there, you won’t want to leave. The whole track thrums with life – from its lyrics (“Moonrocks at midnight / Karaoke mics / These are the nights we’ll tell stories about”) and Kelley’s belted out vocals, to the steady percussion lifting the song. While listening, you can easily imagine yourself singing along to the earworm-status chorus at a music festival – it’s easy on the ears, and warms you up instantly!
5. Dreaming Soda – Kissing Stacey
Kissing Stacey is vibrant indie-pop-rock at its finest! It’s tongue-in-cheek, dropping not-so-subtleties on queerness and queer theory – from the album cover and title, to the straightforward lyrics (“Barbie’s kissing Stacey and I’m feeling kinda spacey / If Barbie’s into Stacey, then what the hell does that make me?” is just one example). It’s guitar-forward, distorted and fuzzy: leaning into the feeling of growing up and figuring yourself out, it never tips over into preachy territory. It’s made to be ironic and cool, but it’s still sincere in moments that then hit you even harder.
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