BEST CHILL MUSIC - WEEK 5

If you've had to scrap your Friday plans due to the arrival of the polar vortex, well, fear not as We Are: The Guard is here to keep you company while you wait for the thaw this weekend with the latest edition of Best Chill Music. It may be quite literally freezing outside, but this curated selection of the Internet's most relaxing tracks is sure to keep you warm 'n' cozy despite the plummeting temperatures. Crank up the thermostat and gather all of the blankets, then, as it's time to hunker down with the following songs from Perfume Genius, Lou Doillon, OK Button, GOLDN, Branchez, and more.

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PERFUME GENIUS – WHEN I'M WITH HIM (EMPRESS OF COVER)

One month on from sharing his grandiose cover of Bobby Darin's “Not for Me,” Perfume Genius returns with another regal reimagination. This time, we get to hear Mike Hadreas taking on Empress Of's “When I'm With Him” – a breezy bilingual song originally written about that moment when you realize that you no longer love the person that you're sleeping beside – with Lorely Rodriguez providing backing vocals while Perfume Genius imbues the track with a whole new sense of weight and gravitas.

ALEX SIEGEL – LATER

Snow may be falling outside of your bedroom window, but Alex Siegel is here to warm you up like a roaring fireplace with his melancholy new single “Later.” With spacious synthscapes forming like crystals around the Los Angeles artist's dreamy vocals, prepare to get lost in this wistful winter hymn for days on end.

LOU DOILLON (FEAT. CAT POWER) – IT'S YOU

French model and daughter of Jane Birkin, Lou Doillon, collaborates with indie icon Cat Power on “It's You.” Featured on Lou's recent album Soliloquy, it's a haunting country ballad that came about after Lou reached out to Chan Marshall over Instagram about working together, with both women's dusty voices intertwining with sisterly ease over an evocative bed of acoustics and harmonicas.

OK BUTTON – FLESH & BLOOD

We Are: The Guard favorites OK Button touch on a topic that's close to their hearts on their latest single: Depression. “'Flesh & Blood' carries two threads of narrative around the effects of depression on both sufferers and those close to them. It's a story of loss and isolation, about losing your sense of self and gradually drifting further from those you love,” say the Scottish ambient-pop trio of the wearily beautiful follow-up to “The Message,” which will leave your skin covered in goosebumps.

LOLO ZOUAÏ (FEAT. BLOOD ORANGE) – JADE

Because I forgot to feature the video last week, okay?!

GOLDN – HAPPYSAD

If you've ever felt that bittersweet blend of emotions coursing through your circulatory system following the end of a relationship, then you're sure to relate to GOLDN's new single. “I'm happy, I'm happy, happy is when I'm sad,” sings the St. Louis-via-Los Angeles artist through a wall of vocoder on “happysad,” a song that'll simultaneously make you want to smile and break down in tears.

POOLS – BLUE

Dive into the sounds of “blue” by enigmatic producer Pools. With hypnotic vocal loops and chops rippling and dappling over waves upon waves of captivating synths and percussion, this two-minute ambient instrumental has got to be the ultimate audio escape from these historic winter temperatures. Just don't forget to come back up for air.

ELIAS BOUSSNINA (FEAT. UNOTHEACTIVIST) – BRING THE PAIN

Unrequited love can be addictive – masochistic, even – and it's that which Elias Boussnina taps into on his latest single. “'Bring the Pain' is about feeling unable to keep yourself away from something that you clearly know isn't good for you, you keep returning to it because it feels great in the moment, but you know deep down that it will all come crashing down in the end,” writes the Danish crooner of the squelchy R&B-trap groover, which comes completed by a verse from Atlanta rapper UnoTheActivist.

GIRL IN RED – WATCH YOU SLEEP.

There's something exquisitely intimate about the music of girl in red and her latest single is no exception. Listen as the Norwegian singer-songwriter studies her dozing lover under the light of the morning sun with almost microscopic intensity on “watch you sleep.,” a gauzy, cottony aubade that deserves pride of place on your Valentine's Day playlist.

WET – 11 HOURS (BRANCHEZ REMIX)

“11 Hours” by Wet gets an ecstatic club reinvention courtesy of Branchez. Listen as the New York City producer preserves the majestic grandiosity of the Still Run original while injecting the song with a sense of dance-floor nirvana on this most rapturous of reinterpretations, which presents Kelly Zutrau and company like you've never heard them before.

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Until next time, why not follow We Are: The Guard's Best Chill Daily! on Spotify for more relaxing tracks?! x

Photo by Duncan Shaffer on Unsplash

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.