BEST CHILL MUSIC: 10 CHILL VIBES FOR THE WEEKEND
Photo by Jasmin Chew on Unsplash
It's the weekend, everybody! I'm not sure about you guys, but I'm so ready for a couple of days of rest! I've spent the last week battling a deeply disgusting cold, and while it thankfully isn't COVID-19, I'm nevertheless planning on spending the next two days sleeping, eating soup, and demanding lots of sympathy hugs *sniff* *cough* *sneeze*! Check out the latest edition of We Are: The Guard's Best Chill Music, featuring Suriel Hess, Delaney Bailey, The Lagoons, and seven other favorites!
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SURIEL HESS – STILL SOMETHING
We Are: The Guard favorite Suriel Hess is breaking our hearts into tiny, little pieces and sticking them back together again on "Still Something." Produced with Jack LaFrantz and Emi Dragoi, "Still Something" is an emotive ballad about accepting a relationship isn't going anywhere, but still finding value in it regardless. "It's not love but/It's still something," coos Suriel – his voice arching into a breathy falsetto over delicate plucks. "It's enough to keep/Me from running from you."
DELANEY BAILEY – J'S LULLABY (DARLIN' I'D WAIT FOR YOU)
The greatest love of all is the kind that feels taller than trees. Vaster than the ocean. Brighter than the sun. Delaney Bailey pays tribute to this force-of-nature affection on her delicate latest single, "j's lullaby (darlin' i'd wait for you)." "Darlin', I'd wait for you/Even if you didn't ask me to/Tie a lasso 'round the moon/And bring it on down to you," whispers Delaney over strummed acoustics on the cut – her country-tinged twang oscillating between grievous infatuation and resigned fragility.
THE LAGOONS – LONG ROAD TO NOWHERE
Summer is a few months off yet, but The Lagoons has us dreaming of the taste of ocean spray and teenage invincibility on our lips on the atmospheric "Long Road to Nowhere." Featured on the Los Angeles duo's recent sophomore album, Daybreak – an eight-song collection that "follows a hero's journey, meditating on themes of love, resolution, hope, and desire" – "Long Road to Nowhere" is a reverb-drenched piece of climatic indie that could be lifted from a long-lost episode of The OC.
MONTELL FISH – AND I'D GO A THOUSAND MILES
There's nobody doing it quite like Montell Fish. Having previously enraptured us with "Fall in Love With You" and "Destroy Myself Just for You," the mysterious TikTok auteur continues to plunge us into his haunting world of melancholy on "And I'd Go a Thousand Miles." With liquidy grunge guitars rippling out beneath his rhapsodic, Blonde-esque croon, "And I'd Go a Thousand Miles'' is an ode to eternal commitment and unbreakable bondage that hears Montell manifesting: "One day I'm gon' find you."
LEXI JAYDE – DRUNK TEXT ME
Having gone viral on TikTok in November with a clip of the song, Los Angeles teenage sensation Lexi Jayde has finally unveiled the full studio version of "drunk text me." Produced by We Are: The Guard favorite Alexander23, "drunk text me" is very much living up to the last few months of hype. With Lexi pouring out her post-breakup vulnerabilities over a bed of soft, sweeping acoustics, "drunk text me" is guaranteed to resonate with the betrayed and the brokenhearted.
SFVEN – REAL PEOPLE
British folky troubadour Sfven captures that feeling of being completely overwhelmed and out of your depth in a social situation on his stunning latest single, "Real People." Written four years ago with Caitlin Stubbs, "Real People'' is a lush, verdant lullaby that could pacify even the most overactive of nervous systems. "Look around/Can't you see nobody's watching?/You're safe and sound/So don't you ever keep it boxed in," croons Sfven at one point – his voice forming a gorgeous embrace.
KUČKA (FEAT. NOSAJ THING) – GEMINI
Just under a year on from dropping her critically acclaimed debut album, Wrestling, KUČKA's Laura Jane Lowther is back today with the lush "Gemini." A duet with Los Angeles knob-twiddler Nosaj Thing, "Gemini" is the kind of cut that genuinely makes you feel like you're levitating several feet off the ground. Featuring KUČKA's dazzling voice piercing the sky like a shooting star atop Nosaj Thing's bottomless pit of sublime sub-bass, "Gemini" is a dose of aural escapism ahead of the weekend.
CHARLOTTE SANDS – DRESS (ACOUSTIC)
It's been over a year since she broke the Internet with "Dress" – a condemnation of gender norms inspired by *that* Harry Styles Vogue cover – and today, Charlotte Sands is back with a brand new acoustic version. While the original is a certified pop banger, this cut instead opts for a more swooning approach. Backed by quiet strums and very little else, Charlotte's voice sounds full of honest affection as she sings: "I love the way you wear that dress/Making everyone upset."
RIVER TIBER – SENT FROM ABOVE
This. Is. Divine. Following on from the release of "Rainbow Road'' and "Hypnotized'' in December 2020, Canada's River Tiber is back this Friday with "Sent From Above." Clocking in at around three minutes, "Sent From Above'' – which appears to be part of a fuller body of work, at least if this Instagram post is anything to go by – is every bit as beatific as the title suggests. With choir-like voices interlinking like divine mantras atop celestial glints, "Sent From Above'' is truly a religious experience.
WELLS* – OPEN SEASON
Breaking up is hard to do, but it's often the stuff that comes after that's the most difficult. That moment when a lover turns to a stranger. That moment when you realize all of the time and effort you put into a relationship was for nothing. Just ask Wells*, the New Zealand producer and singer-songwriter going through that transitional phase on "Open Season." With his downbeat voice blurring into soft atmospherics and ticking percussion, "Open Season" is a subdued end to a teenage dream.
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Follow We Are: The Guard on Spotify for lots more chill vibes! xo
Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.