TOP CHILL SONGS - WEEK 27

Fourth of July hangover plaguing you this Friday morning?! Ooh, boy, I feel your pain. I never want to see another can of beer or vegan hotdog ever again...maybe. Anyways, if you're in search of some soothing sounds to ease your throbbing temples so that you can enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend in peace, well I'm pleased to inform you that you're in the right place. Just pop a couple of vitamins and find a pair of sunglasses to hide behind, as it's time to check out the latest edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs, featuring The Racer, Goldroom, Yotto, Conor Walsh, Flux Pavilion, and many more.

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THE RACER (FEAT. TIPHANIE DOUCET) – I'LL FIND YOU IN DREAMS

Meet The Racer, the Monroe indie band who are joining forces with We Are: The Guard favorite Tiphanie Doucet on “I'll Find You in Dreams.” It's an equally gorgeous and soul-crushing ballad about yearning for something or someone that you'll never possibly have, with The Racer frontman Pete Marotta and Miss. Doucet singing in devastatingly beautiful harmony over an emotional whirl of pianos and sputtering electronics.

GOLDROOM (FEAT. LOVE, ALEXA) – I CAN FEEL IT

Listening to Goldroom is like going on an instant vacation. The Los Angeles dance producer never fails to transport me to some place warm and inviting, and his latest single “I Can Feel It” is no exception. Sampling his previous offering “Do You Feel It Now?,” “I Can Feel It” is the kind of song that makes for a perfect accompaniment to a hot, humid summer night, with Love, Alexa once again finishing the whole thing off with a tantalizing topline that I could get lost in for days.

DIPLO (FEAT. TOVE LO) – WIN WIN (YOTTO REMIX)

“Win Win,” Diplo's gargantuan club banger released in collaboration with Tove Lo earlier this year, gets an ascendant remix this July courtesy of Yotto. Listen as the Espoo producer takes the dance floor smash to an even more heavenly plane on this four-minute reinvention, which hears Tove's vocals rising and falling like gossamer over a blend of ethereal, atmospheric synth arpeggios and low-end rumbles.

BENNY MAYNE – DROWN

benny mayne certainly knows how to get the emotions flowing, with the Toronto native delivering perhaps his most gut-wrenching offering to date in the form of “drown.” It doesn't even matter if you're in a stable, long-term relationship, benny will still have you feeling like you're going through the most soul-destroying breakup of all time with this acoustic ballad, with the R&B crooner singing in the chorus: “Don't let me drown/Alone and slowly sinking/Look at me now/I ain't ever been this deep/No more saving me.”

CONOR WALSH – BARS

And now for some truly breathtaking sounds coming to us by way of our friends at Majestic Casual. If it wasn't for them, I fear that I may have never discovered Conor Walsh, a late pianist hailing from County Mayo whose talent has ricocheted right through my chest on “Bars,” a deeply moving, emotive composition that comes accompanied by a video that pays tribute to Conor's love for nature and the outdoors.

VORSA – WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER

On his Bandcamp, Vorsa states that he wants his music “to be felt, not just heard,” with the producer more than accomplishing his mission with “wake me when it's over.” Featured on his recent EP Maybe I'm Overthinking, it's a nostalgic composition that finds Vorsa discussing his battle with anxiety, with tinkling, childlike keys backing the artist as he sings: “Distract me from my thoughts/'Cause I'm sinking lower/Sinking lower/It's getting hard to breathe/Don't wake me till it's over/Till it's over.”

BABY ROSE – ALL TO MYSELF

It's rare that a voice stops me in my tracks, but Baby Rose's voice has managed to do exactly that. The Atlanta singer-songwriter has rendered me near speechless with the incredible “All to Myself,” an achingly raw ballad that showcases Baby's astonishing vocal, which sounds like it's being pulled from the depths of her fragile soul. “'All to Myself,' a song I sang in one take off the mimosas and tequila when I was supposed to just be testing the mic,” reveals the 24-year-old. “Magic I couldn't recreate if I tried.”

KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS – CALIFORNIA TEARS (RΠЯ REMIX)

The 80s-tinged “California Tears” by dream-pop duo Keep Shelly in Athens gets a Balearic-inspired makeover on this remix courtesy of KSIA member RΠЯ. I can practically feel the island sun scorching my face while listening to this five-and-a-half-minute reinvention, which hears RΠЯ removing most of the vocals from the mix and replacing them instead with an oh-so-sultry beatscape that effortlessly evokes endless turquoise oceans and white-sand beaches.

JAKE HOPE – REASONS

This is my first time featuring Jake Hope in this column, although I sense that it won't be my last time, at least if “Reasons” is anything to go by. The young singer-songwriter has completely won me over with this cut from his recent EP Icare2much, with Jake's whisper-soft voice breathing life into a narrative about moving from a place of darkness to a place of light against a backdrop of chill guitars and dancehall-esque beats.

FLUX PAVILION (FEAT. GLNNA) – SOMEBODY ELSE

Now, this is how you conclude a column. Flux Pavilion returns in nothing short of shimmering style this Friday morning with “Somebody Else.” The follow-up to “Room to Fall,” his recent collaboration with Marshmello and Elohim, genuinely made me feel like I was going to lift off from the ground and head skywards, with feature artist GLNNA's soaring vocals riding high on Flux's gleaming future-bass production.

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Photo by Nathan Dumlao 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.