LITM Rock Picks Tunes for your weekend brough to you by BLAD, Royal Griff, Paid By Cash, Belling The Tiger and Jacob Chacko.
BLAD – My Liba
BLAD's "My Liba" is like coming into a lucid dream you never knew you wanted. Soft, moody, effortlessly gliding in the mind with the stealth of a late-night thought you can't get rid of, there's something innately cinematic about its movement. Ambient textures fold over whispery vocals, all anchored by a beat that hums like a heartbeat on autopilot. Minimal but not simple, the landscape is that kind of minimalism where a dozen details are held in plain sight. Every tiny synth shimmer seems to serve a purpose, every vocal echo weighted. "My Liba" does not crescendo-it unfurls slowly, as it invites one into breathing at the rhythm it proposes. The result is a song that, though ethereal, feels tangible, mysterious yet strangely comforting. BLAD makes music, but he curates moods, and "My Liba" is one you will want to stay in for a while.
2. Royal Griff – It’s All in His Head
"It's All in His Head" by Royal Griff really captures that rare quality of what happens when introspection learns how to groove. The quiet confidence oozes, not that over-the-top variety, but that far cooler kind which comes with knowing exactly what you're trying to say and refusing to rush it. Every instrument on this song seems to have its pulse, its heartbeat feeding into the bigger story. Griff's songwriting is reflective without being self-indulgent; he gives you fragments of thoughts and feelings and then lets you piece together the rest. It is refreshingly human against a backdrop of overproduced noise. The mix is crispy, warm, like coffee and rain on a gray morning. With every listen, another emotional layer is pulled back, another hidden detail in the arrangement. Griff's voice sits perfectly in that sweet spot between vulnerable and assured. "It's All in His Head" doesn't demand attention; it earns it, tenderly and fully.
3. Paid By Cash – A Day Before
"A Day Before" by Paid By Cash sounds like the kind of song you find by accident and then spend the rest of the week obsessed with. This track is indie-pop at its most effortlessly stylish: crisp guitars, rolling drums, and vocals that shimmer like sunlight through blinds. There is a certain cinematic nostalgia-the kind that smells of summer air and feels like driving without destination. This song moves well; it's never in a rush but never lags. Every verse opens a little wider, like watching memory unfold in real time. Lyrically, it's wistful, not weepy; introspective without getting heavy-handed. There's this delicate balance between melancholy and momentum that makes it stick. "A Day Before" captures that exact moment before everything changes: the anticipation, the ache, the weird comfort of not knowing. Paid By Cash may not be shouting for attention, but this track makes a quiet kind of noise impossible to ignore.
4. Belling The Tiger – Listen
Belling The Tiger's "Listen" is an album that sounds at every turn like a master class in musicianship masquerading as a rock record. The Detroit-based outfit bends the genres like light: one minute floating through an art-rock reverie, the next caught up in a storm of prog-rock precision. Lush and alive, it is full of melodic twists and turns, none too interested in playing it safe. Every song on Listen-from the breathlessly intricate standout "Devil's Lure"-feels like a living thing, breathing and shifting in real time. Guitars soar, drums flex, and vocals ache with classic prog-rock yearning never out of place. The wild thing is just how emotional it all seems; this isn't just technical wizardry, this is feeling wrapped in form. "Listen" is one of those records that makes you believe in albums again: immersive, intelligent, and beautiful enough to make you forget the skip button exists. If modern rock had a renaissance painting, it would probably sound like this.
5. Jacob Chacko - Control My Pride
Jacob Chacko's "Control My Pride" is pure groove therapy - a slick, soulful pop-rock track that struts like it knows it's got the goods. The bass line alone deserves its own fan club, swaggering right through the mix with that warm, vintage charm. Chacko's vocals are clean, confident, and surprisingly tender, walking the line between reflection and release. There's a quiet self-awareness here-he's not just singing about pride; he's wrestling with it, and the production lets you feel every moment of that tug-of-war. Talya Gelfand's backing harmonies wrap around his lead like sunlight on glass, and the whole band clicks together with unforced chemistry. You can tell everyone involved knew exactly what the song needed-no filler, just finesse. "Control My Pride" sounds like the soundtrack to personal growth-catchy enough for the radio, real enough for your soul. Jacob Chacko doesn't just make pop-rock; he makes it mean something.
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