`~Atwood Magazine is excited to share our Editor’s Picks column, written and curated by Editor-in-Chief Mitch Mosk. Every week, Mitch will share a collection of songs, albums, and artists who have caught his ears, eyes, and heart. There is so much incredible music out there just waiting to be heard, and all it takes from us is an open mind and a willingness to listen. Through our Editor’s Picks, we hope to shine a light on our own music discoveries and showcase a diverse array of new and recent releases.

This week’s Editor’s Picks features Babygirl, sunbleached, Hollyy, Isaac Stuart, dani mack, and Augustine!

 follow EDITOR’S PICKS on Spotify

As enchanting as it is utterly aching, Babygirl’s “Sore Eyes” is a beautifully cathartic upheaval of raw emotion and heartfelt affection. “I felt like a pool drained on the last day of summer,” Kiki Frances sings at the start, her bandmate Cameron Bright right by her side as together they chart a course through life’s lows, and the people who help us make it out in one piece. “Woke up in the fast lane and the gas tank was empty. But I would drive all night, I would drive all day if it means I might get to see your face… It’s an ugly place but you make it feel alright.”

“We really want our music to be hopeful and sweet and full of love, but we also want to acknowledge how hard it can be to feel those feelings,” Frances tells Atwood Magazine. “We certainly both have a lot of emotional ups and downs, as everyone else does. This world is really hard to live in, and there’s a lot of pain and joy — equal measure at different times.”

I felt like a pool drained on the last day of summer
So lonely to sing leads when your band needs a drummer
Had a bloodshot look, had a lovesick head
Didn’t know I missed you until we met
What a sweet relief in an often bitter life

The lead single off Babygirl’s newly released EP Be Still My Heart (April 14 via Sandlot Records / AWAL), “Sore Eyes” is the kind of song that reminds us that it’s okay to not be okay – in part because there are people in this world who can fill even the darkest room with light, warmth, and love:

You’re such a sight for sore eyes
Like waiting up all night for sunrise
I might be blinded if I stare,
but baby I don’t think that I care
You’re just my type
You’re such a sight for sore eyes

“Music has been such a source of self-reflection and helped me to understand my own identity,” Cameron Bright explains. “I’ve spent so much of my life feeling seen by music that I felt less alone when I heard someone speaking my own feelings or experience back to me. Every piece of music that we write or produce, it’s all a love letter to the music that we love. I hope that people will listen to our music and experience that same joy and inspiration, and a sense that they are being seen as well.”

A comforting beacon of reassurance, “Sore Eyes” is the catchy, soul-soothing singalong ready for sunny and rainy days alike.

Yeah I was so bored
Yeah I wanted more
My eyes were so sore before you
A sleep with no dream
A ship with no shore
My eyes were so sore before you

I felt like a pool drained on the last day of summer

You’re such a sight for sore eyes
Like waiting up all night for sunrise
I might be blinded if I stare but baby I don’t think that I care
You’re just my type
You’re such a sight for sore eyes

sunbleached’s “Heavy Turn” is, true to its name, a real weight on the ears – but there’s something undeniably cathartic, even comforting, about this unapologetic, hard-hitting fever dream. Taken off the Brisbane band’s sophomore EP Delicate Places We Hide (independently released March 24), “Heavy Turn” aches with edgy, immersive alt-rock and a wealth of emotions withheld and words unsaid.

“‘Heavy Turn’ is a love song,” sunbleached share. “It’s about being in love with your best friend and just getting lost in those feelings. It has more rock influence than on our previous releases – it still stays true to our roots, but it’s a bit more lighthearted lyrically.”

Isn’t it funny, isn’t it strange
Somethings missing the whole time
And you don’t know until
You’re face to face
I’ve missed you all my life
Now you’re here so close
Close enough too taste
I’ve felt you near enough
Not enough to touch
It makes me dizzy
To fall from grace

Comprised of Josh Baker (vocals), Bradley Maddaford (guitar), Zane Hughes (bass) and Joey Keating (guitar), sunbleached have been active for three years now, amassing over that short time a compelling discography of songs that tap a nerve deep down inside. “Heavy Turn,” together with the three other songs on Delicate Places We Hide, represents the band’s most mature and evocative work to date. It’s sonically stunning – a breathtaking wallop of hard rock energy – paired with a shiver-inducing emotional display.

“‘Heavy Turn’ has probably been one of our most collaborative songwriting experiences so far,” Josh Baker explains. “I struggled with writing lyrics/melodies for ‘Heavy Turn’ for quite a while until Joey came up with the chorus, and then it kind of came easy. The verse lyrics were inspired by Joe’s sentiments in the chorus, which sort of had me thinking about being lost in love, knowing there’s someone for you but not knowing where or how long until you find it. The verses refer to knowing the person and having had them in your life for a long time, and only just realising they are your person after they’ve become a permanent fixture.”

That aforementioned chorus aches:

Lost without a trace
maybe I would write you
Write you another time

I caught you in my head
Maybe I will find you
Find you when I can

For those in need of a good angsty outpouring, look no further than “Heavy Turn.” sunbleached have set a high bar for themselves, capturing inner turmoil and yearning in a song that ultimately “all comes out in the fray.”

It all comes out in the fray
Every corner you’re further away
And you elude me
I’ve missed you all my life
Now you’re here so close
Close enough too taste
I’ve felt you near enough
Not enough to touch
It makes me dizzy
To fall from grace

Lost without a trace
maybe I would write you
Write you another time

I caught you in my head
Maybe I will find you
Find you when I can

Chicago’s Hollyy have already established themselves as a beacon of modern soul in the midwest; since 2020, the six-piece led by Tanner Bednar has captivated listeners with soaring outpouring filled with passion and heartache. “It’s a classic fire in the modern age,” I wrote back in 2020,”and it’s a true wonder to behold.”

That fire continues to burn bright today, with the band’s first single of the year coming to life with a deep, radiant groove, gorgeous instrumental harmonies, and at the center of it all, Bednar’s singular, stunning vocals light a spark in the air, as in our hearts. Released April 7, “After Every Storm” is a smoldering, soul-soaked reverie attesting to the strength (and resilience) of the human spirit:

Waded in the waters, days flowing gently through my head
Crystal blue calm carried on wish those dreams (days) had no end
but the wave always comes, drags me down till i’m lost in the sea
struggle to find peace of mind, when it’s so hard to breathe
Pre when the current tries to take me under
i’ll hold on till calmer waters drift my way

After every storm that I’ve been through,
(I know) Murky waters turn to blue
sunshine gives, what dark clouds take
the river always flows the same

“We’ve rewritten and rearranged this song over the course of the last few years, both in the studio and playing it live dozens of times,” Bednar explains. “It’s about coming from the depths of grim and painful points in life while still understanding that through the course of time everything will find light and pain will pass. It’s fitting while we were trying to stay hopeful during lockdown in 2020 and knowing that one day we’d all be writing and performing music together again. The outro of this tune is a purposeful nod to creative musical journeys that some of our biggest album inspirations, like Songs in the Key of Life or Abbey Road, embark on.”

Laid-back and lilting, sun-soaked and stirring, “After Every Storm” is a beacon of reassurance that no matter how bad things get, life will work itself out. Hollyy have once again outdone themselves, returning just in time for summer with a song that can be the soundtrack to our relaxation, our reinvigoration, and our rejuvenation.

there’s no fighting tides, they’ll bring change to this life endlessly
rivers will run even after the sun sets on me
when the current wants to take me under
i’ll hold on till calmer waters drift my way

After every storm that I’ve been through,
(I know) Murky waters turn to blue
sunshine gives, what dark clouds take
the river always flows the same

24-year-old Isaac Stuart has been a personal favorite ever since his 2020 debut, and over the past three years the London-based singer/songwriter has spread his wings and soared, finding his voice in an array of expansive anthems and intimate ballads born out of pure passion and raw, unfiltered emotion. This year – this month, in fact – sees the release of his long-awaited debut EP Skyline, a five-track record that promises to put him on the map. Leading that charge is lead single “13th Floor,” an achingly tender eruption from a brooding heart in the heavy throes of heartache.

one night, two hearts
i fell so hard
on the thirteenth floor
my thirteenth floor lover…

“This song is a story about dealing with the aftermath of a relationship,” Stuart tells Atwood Magazine. “You find yourself in this kind of sad-nostalgia, remembering what you once had with that person and every time you remember, every time you feel yourself missing them, you’re transported to this other-world — almost like the 13th floor is the place you go when you’re heartbroken and it feels impossible to leave.”

“13th Floor” bleeds bold and bright, and it’s just one of Skyline‘s five soul-stirring serenades. Stuart returned at the end of March with “Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way,” another golden, gorgeous track that seems to firmly answer the question, is it better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?, with ease.

Stuart is the kind of artist who unapologetically wears his heart on his sleeve, and quite frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way. “13th Floor” captures the magic, and the nuance, of his emotionally-charged, irresistibly warm and welcoming art.

A laid-back groove that promises to light a fire inside, dani mack’s first single of the year is cool, calm, and even somewhat collected. A gorgeous indie pop fever dream basking in the heat of the moment, “Nothing Better” (released April 12 via Future Gods) finds Texas-born, LA-based Baylee Barrett in a state – balancing relaxation with tension on a deep dive down the rabbit hole of own mind:

Think I made a pretty big fool of myself
Nothing to do but sit back and say oh well
What a lovely idea letting go of things
that we have absolutely no control of
But I think I’m gunna pass and just drive myself mad
Completely fucking mad, all the way off the map

“I feel ‘Nothing Better’ is a bit cheeky, really,” Barrett says. “It’s a simple song that kind of goes off on itself, which is usually what’s happening in my brain.”

There’s something to be said for a song dwelling in the moment; a smoldering, churning slow-burn, “Nothing Better” feels effortless, as if it’s a spur-of-the-moment stream of consciousness. It’s not, obviously, but the magic of dani mack’s music is that it soothes and settles us, all while stirring something deep down inside.

The lead single off Augustine’s forthcoming sophomore album is an instantly intoxicating reminder of the Swedish songwriter and producer’s talents. A staple of Atwood‘s pages since his we premiered his effervescent debut EP back in 2019, Augustine’s seductive blend of sweet soul and sun-kissed pop has led to two Swedish Grammy nominations, millions of streams, a dedicated (and ever-growing) global fanbase. Released March 10th via Genesis Records, “Mary Cookins” is the latest addition to this enchanting repertoire – a dreamy, poetic expression of love and connection that sees the artist radiating over a hot, funky groove.

So if I told you about every text that I’ve had to rewrite
A novel in notes then narrowed down less insane sounding

Mary Poppins, say what’s poppin, tell me your hard times
Money problems, sad and probably wasted from last night
Take me in your arms or watch me perish in real time
I’m yours in the nighttime

“This was the first song that came to me in this album process, and we had so much fun making it in a little cabin in the south of Sweden,” Augustine explains. “Everything just fell into place and I felt like it marked a new beginning after a break from the studio.”

There’s nothing more I want to do than sit back in the sunshine, close my eyes, and sink into this song. Augustine creates a world of relaxation and wonder in three minutes that seem to last a lifetime, stretching out over the horizon to give us a taste of what could be, if we make our dreams a reality. It’s simply sublime.

And I see all colors grey and I’ll never give myself away
Oh it’s so obvious in that way I don’t care about a thing

Mary Poppins, say what’s poppin, tell me your hard times
Money problems, sad and probably wasted from last night
Take me in your arms or watch me perish in real time
I’m yours in the nighttime

— — — —

Connect to us on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

Editor’s Picks

 follow EDITOR’S PICKS on Spotify