LITM Pop Picks Weekend Tunes to set your mood featuring Ricky Earlywine, Sonny Southon and Amara Fe

LITM Pop Picks Tunes brought to you by Ricky Earlywine, Sonny Southon and Amara Fe

1. Ricky Earlywine—"Move "Like This"

   There are comebacks, and then there are reckonings. Ricky Earlywine's "Move Like This" is firmly the latter. Debuting in January 2026, the single arrives fresh off a deeply personal chapter of healing—and you can hear every bit of it. Channeling the vocal authority of Tori Kelly, Kehlani, and Rihanna, Earlywine layers a hypnotic cadence over slick, intimate production that manages to feel both epic and close to the chest. Recorded and mixed entirely in his home studio in Lacey, the track is a full declaration of creative independence, each harmony, each vocal breath, placed with the precision of someone who nearly lost it all and refuses to waste a single note. This is what survival sounds like when it's been set to music.

2. Sonny Southon – "I'm In Love"

Some artists spend their whole careers building toward the kind of quiet authority that Sonny Southon was simply born with. Samoan and Scottish, raised in New Zealand, she left home at seventeen with nothing but a passion for music and went on to perform at Wembley Arena, Glastonbury, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Montreux Jazz Festival, working alongside legends like Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, and Bob Geldof. Now, in 2025, she's finally turning those decades of lived experience into her own sonic musings, and "I'm In Love" is exactly the kind of song that only someone with that depth of history could write. It doesn't perform joy. It simply is joy.

3. Amara Fe – "Forever Last"

The best opening tracks don't ease you in. They grab you by the collar. "Forever Last," the album opener from Amara Fe's Echoes, sets the tone immediately: danceable R&B, a sharp, punchy beat, and vocal lines so elegant they almost feel effortless - luminous, flexible, and nearly weightless. A Mission, Texas-based singer and songwriter, Amara Fe blends alternative pop, R&B, and neo-soul into lush melodic soundscapes, with vocal performances that carry a quietly soul-stirring presence. She chose her stage name to represent something pure and everlasting, and "Forever Last" lives up to exactly that promise. It's the kind of song that lodges itself in your chest and simply refuses to leave.

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LITM Singer-songwriter picks tunes featuring Casey Louis, OCHRE, Sven Curth and More!

LITM Singer-songwriter picks tunes brought to you by Casey Louis, OCHRE, Sven Curth, Mahto & The Loose Balloons and The Cumberland River Project

1. Casey Louis – "Growing Pains"

Casey Louis has never been interested in the easy version of anything. Originally from Westport, Connecticut and now based in Los Angeles, he's built a career on creating music that speaks to people at a subconscious level, spanning singer-songwriter intimacy, alternative rock, and indie pop. Casey Louis "Growing Pains" fits perfectly into that restless search for meaning. His album work is filled with themes of self-discovery, identity, and change, and his approach is one of fierce authenticity, refusing to smooth out the imperfections because they are exactly what make the work feel real. This song feels like a journal entry written at 3am and never regretted in the morning

2. OCHRE - Way Out

OCHRE is the eclectic and electric banner of singer-songwriter, Charlotte Lloyd-Butler. The artist treats OCHRE as an alternative persona that exists within her, using music to express a dynamic and colourful atmospheres of her mind. Her latest release is ‘Way Out’, a tracks that has a delightful indie pop flavour with refreshing moments of synths and a buoyant riff dimension. Matched with her contemplative, almost dreamy vocals, the soundscape gains a technicolor dimension. A cerebral intensity that is so refreshing in this setting. It’s explorative, thoughtful, and sophisticated. The craft taps into an indie niche that you don’t often hear. The way she embraces the alternative sphere is her own, authentic and individualistic. Imagine a blend between The Arctic Monkeys, Billie Eilish, and Beach House. That’s how this artist’s music sounds. Listen Now!

3. Sven Curth – "How Come"

There's a moment in "How Come" where the guitar and the upright bass lean on each other like old friends at last call, and that's the entire spirit of this song. Opening Sven Curth's live set recorded at the Waterhole in Saranac Lake, New York, "How Come?" arrives with playful approachability, asking why everything good feels so fleeting, framing life itself as a game with limited seating. There's a thumping shuffle on the drum kit, the bass guitar walks on a loose leash, and Curth's vocals sit somewhere between Dylan and Van Morrison, questioning social norms with the energy of someone who genuinely wants an answer. Irresistible and quietly wise.

4. Mahto and The Loose Balloons – "Systemic"

Mahto Addison-Browder has a gift for making the political feel personal without making it preachy. The live version of "Systemic," opening his radio sessions recording, arrives with contained tension: a nervous acoustic guitar, an upright bass pulsing in the background, and minimal drums, stripped back to reveal its skeleton, a precisely written song about social mechanisms delivered without raising its voice. Based in Johnson City, Tennessee, Mahto writes lyrics that often arrive to him mid-shift, mid-drive, or mid-conversation—ordinary moments producing extraordinary observations. Punk Head "Systemic" is the sound of someone looking at how the world works and deciding, quietly but firmly, that it doesn't have to.

5. The Cumberland River Project – "Turntable"

Frank Renfordt is a man in his sixties from Hagen, Germany who fell in love with American country music and refused to let geography stop him. He worked in the steel industry for most of his life before switching lanes entirely, becoming a songwriter, singer, and producer — building The Cumberland River Project into a vehicle for stories about blue-collar life, love, and the enduring pull of authenticity. "Turntable" carries that same warmth: narrative-based songwriting with a high emotional quotient, metaphorical depth, and poetic prowess — genre-expansive at its core, blending soul, jazz, and Americana influences. It's proof that the best music comes from people with something real to say.

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LITM Pop Picks Mid-week Tunes brought to you by Big Cat Season, Matare, Amelie and more!

LITM Pop picks tunes featuring Big Cat Season, Matare, Amelie, CS Hellman and Night Wolf!

1. Big Cat Season-"Another Wasted Moment"
There's a particular kind of melancholy that only synth-pop can capture—the kind that feels like floating in a room full of echoes. Boston-based duo Big Cat Season, the creative partnership of Melissa Dudek and Tom Durkin, nail it completely on "Another Wasted Moment." Voices float amidst waves of sound, conjuring the sensation of listening to frequencies from deep space-emotional, alive, and deeply connected to something interior. The duo, born of a creative reunion between two people with seventeen years of shared history, brings the warmth of a late summer evening and the ebb and flow of something that feels effortless. It's the kind of song that makes you stop scrolling.

2. MatAre – "Brevity"
Some tracks are not self-announcing. They have just arrived. The title track of his most recent EP, "Brevity," is the best example of how Matthew Rousseau, who formerly wrote fast-paced club songs as Vibal in Orlando, has changed from dancefloor joy to something considerably more contemplative on his MatAre project. Plastic Periodical Rousseau's vocals glide with a dreamily alluring charm evocative of Wild Nothing as the tune, which begins with an expressive, jangling interest, rises from rich mystique into surging energy, its combination of sharp jangles and warming distortion recalling '90s alt-rock memories. The song is more about the peaceful clarity that emerges when things eventually settle down than it is about specific moments.

3. Amelie – "Mumma" (Luis Almau Remix)
At just 14, London-based Amelie writes with the kind of emotional sincerity that most artists spend decades chasing. This remix operates less as a stylistic overhaul and more as a careful reframing, placing the original's warmth into an electronic pop environment that feels airy, sunlit, and deliberately accessible, without stripping away its emotional center. Parkett producer Luis Almau, drawing on his background in film scoring, builds space around Amelie's voice rather than drowning it in drop-bait production, resulting in something brighter, shinier, and dangerously streamable. What lingers is a young artist's love for her mother, refracted through a remix that makes it feel universal. That's no small thing.

4. CS Hellmann – "Dagger In The Sun"
Not every song about emotional honesty dares to actually be emotionally honest. This one does. CS Hellmann crafts a soundscape that weighs shimmering retro tones against deep personal introspection, channeling the vibrant sounds of Johnny Dynamite's "Bats In The Woods" and the intimate textures of Papertwin, warm, analogue, and glowing like old-school synth-pop while sounding entirely alive in the present. The song addresses the dissonance between how we look and how we feel, that gap most of us quietly live in. Drummer Sean Bennett's steady, tactile touch gives the single a live-band feel that breathes beyond the studio. It doesn't shout. It just tells the truth.

5. Night Wolf – "Unstoppable" (feat. Lois Powell)

Healing isn't cinematic in real life; it's slow, unglamorous, and punctuated by ordinary mornings. But somehow, Night Wolf and Lois Powell have made it sound like a film score. Their third collaboration is a moody, dream-pop piece about fresh beginnings and resilience, carried by Powell's enchanting vocals above distorted acoustic guitar, lush cinematic strings, and eerie backing vocals. The song exists in the liminal space between intimate confession and widescreen drama, grounded yet ethereal, hopeful without being dishonest. The metaphor of winter giving way to spring runs through every lyric: silence, introspection, and then, finally, movement.It earns its catharsis.

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LITM Rock Picks Tunes To Set The Tone for The Weekend featuring Groovy shirt club, Rosenthal, Brother Dolly, CATSINGTON and Patience Please

LITM Rock brings tunes to live up your week brought to you by Groovy shirt club, Rosenthal, Brother Dolly, CATSINGTON, and Patience Please

1. Groovy Shirt Club - Believe

"Believe" has gentle rock appeal and amazing guitar tones that make it seem like a loving hug. The songs of Groovy Shirt Club make optimism shine, pulsate, and linger in addition to being about optimism. The chorus seems like ardent light penetrating through foggy uncertainty as soft arpeggios float into lush harmonies. Every strum and breath seems genuine, lived-in, and honest because of the performance's lovely human looseness. The lyrics of the song serve as a reminder to guard your heart, build relationships, and cling to your faith despite a deceptive world. The song "Believe" has a profound effect on listeners since it is serene, moving, and subtly strong.

2. Rosenthal – Afraid of Stairs
Vulnerability drifts across layers of blurred guitars and an echo-soaked ambiance in "Afraid of Stairs," which is like entering a foggy emotional dream. Rosenthal creates a sound that is both sensitive and unadulterated, with a fundamental sense of calm certainty. The song progresses slowly, gaining emotional impact without ever coming across as overbearing. Like someone whispering encouragement in the dark, it is close-knit, engrossing, and very human. Motivated by love, compassion, and defense, the song strikes a balance between intimate narrative and universal feeling. The song feels reassuring, sad, and somehow uplifting - like a cozy blanket for the nervous soul—as dream pop and indie rock collide in a gorgeously delicate embrace.

3. Brother Dolly – Transmission Number 5
"Transmission Number 5," with its nostalgic synths, poetic warmth, and dreamy soundscapes, provides a window into a dazzling cosmic atmosphere. It is like discovering an old song from an other galaxy thanks to Brother Dolly's chillwave-folktronica fusion, which is both futuristic and nostalgic. The song grows with lovely certainty, drawing you further and deeper into its shimmering realm with every beat. The impression of movement produced by rich harmonies flowing across pounding pulses is both exciting and comforting. It's the kind of music that makes driving at night seem dramatic and necessitates the usage of headphones. This electronic dream-pop is flawless, vibrant, captivating, and expressive.

4. CATSINGTON – many gears ago
"Many gears ago" floats like a vaguely recalled dream, emotional, consoling, and introspective. It's like looking through faded pictures of nearly forgotten events in the delicate indie world that sweet melodies and gentle rhythms produce. Behind the beauty is a subtle melancholy that represents the bittersweet tug of time and memory. To give emotion time to settle and stay, the music breathes rather than rushes. A gentle, contemplative, and very intimate mood is produced by the thoughtful arrangement of each note. At night, when introspection is more prevalent and memories are clearer, this type of music sounds its finest.

5. Patience Please – wasting time
The phrase "wasting time" refers to going through a turning point in your emotional journey that is marked by sentiments of vulnerability, tenderness, and longing. Patience's performance combines complex instruments with unique vocals. That is a really direct, urgent, and heartfelt plea. Its gentle intensity captures the restless pulsing of the need for emotional release, understanding, and connection. The song seems to have been created in real time and has a confessional feel to it. The heartbeat slows, the tune lingers, and the emotional weight gradually decreases. It's the ideal late-night companion for times when contemplation blends with optimism and doubt becomes silent determination.

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