TOP CHILL SONGS - WEEK 3

Now the holiday season is over and you're returning to work or college, you may be finding your stress and anxiety levels are starting to rise again. It doesn't have to be this way, however. This 2020, it's time to take back control and make YOU and your mental health your priority. And what better place to begin your self-care regime than here at We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs?

Just run a nice bath, light a candle or two (I mean, you might as well use those wax melts your aunt got you for Christmas, right?), and indulge in these chill songs from Mac Miller, EDEN, Selena Gomez & 6LACK, and more!

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MAC MILLER – GOOD NEWS

Just two days ahead of what would have been his 28th birthday, Mac Miller returns to bless our ears with “Good News.” It's a languid acoustic meditation – like the aural equivalent of taking a beach-side stroll in the early-morning sun – with Mac's sleepy, somber bars emanating from a place of thoughtful contentment and contemplation. Circles is out now.

SHALLOU & DAYA – OLDER

I'm not crying, you're crying! Jokes aside, Shallou and Daya have rendered me an emotional wreck with “Older.” “Maybe one day when I'm older/I might understand why love just doesn't happen to everyone who wants it,” sings Daya on the weightlessly morose, melancholy cut – an ode to being #ForeverAlone that genuinely moved me to tears.

EDEN – ISOHEL

Ahead of the release of no future in February, EDEN is back with the powerful “isohel.” The follow-up to “love, death, distraction” is another fractured torch song from Jonathon Ng, with EDEN calling to an estranged lover to come home over a wandering guitar, shattering beats, and other found sounds that together contribute to his evocative tapestry.

SHY MARTIN – SLOW

Tissues at the ready, as SHY Martin is aiming straight for the feels with her stunning latest single “Slow.” Written with her brother and a couple of friends in the Swedish countryside, it's a spartan, stripped-back acoustic lullaby about fear of commitment following a lifetime of hurt, with SHY bringing a genuine sense of vulnerability to the organic production.

LANE 8 (FEAT. ARCTIC LAKE) – ROAD

Following on from the release of the ecstatic “Just,” Lane 8 returns with “Road.” As the song title suggests, the Brightest Lights cut is like the sonic representation of a long road of opportunity stretching out ahead of you, with “Road” – which features the sublime Arctic Lake – sounding best with the car windows rolled down and the wind blowing in your air.

SELENA GOMEZ & 6LACK – CROWDED ROOM

Is it me, or is it getting hot in here? No, really, Selena Gomez is turning up the heat and then some on Rare cut “Crowded Room!” “Baby, it's just me and you/Just us two/Even in a crowded room,” aches Selena over a spread of finger snaps on the song – a pillowy-soft piece of R&B that concludes with a seductive verse from Atlanta's 6LACK. *Fans self*

ATTOM & FRYE – WAY YOU MOVE

Attom and Frye are offering us a much-needed escape in the form of the beautiful “Way You Move.” It's not often we're afforded the opportunity to get away from the noisy chaos of everyday life, but this paradisical piece of chill-hop is providing us with exactly that, with Attom's sunset synthscape acting as a sublime setting for Frye's gorgeous vocal chops.

CHLOBOCOP – NARCOTICS

Introducing CHLOBOCOP, the Scottish rapper who's completely entranced us here at We Are: The Guard with “NARCOTICS.” Originally released in May 2019, it's a bleary-eyed banger that pulls you under like the illicit substances after which it's named, with CHLOBOCOP's somnolent flow coming intertwined with a totally hypnotic Latin guitar line.

HOT SHADE & MIKE PERRY (FEAT. CHRIS JAMES) – DIVE

Summer is five months away, but Hot Shade and Mike Perry are already getting me in the mood for the sunshine season with “Dive.” While this isn't the first time the producers have come together to create tropical-house-inflected beauty, it may be their most gorgeous offering to date, with Chris James really setting “Dive” off with his hoarse, husky vocals.

KEVIN KRAUTER – GREEN EYES

Prepare to get lost in Kevin Krauter's “Green Eyes.” The latest single to be unveiled from the Hoops bassist's upcoming solo album Full Hand is a gooey piece of neo-psychedelia in the vein of Mac DeMarco and Connan Mockasin, with Kevin's tripped-out vocals coming set against a backdrop of guitars and synths melting like Silly Putty in the summer sun.

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Photo by Ava Sol 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.