Love is a variable experience. Its initial dopamine hit can leave us feeling full of wonder and possibility. Love can also leave us feeling low, and unsure of who we are after it has run its course. Sometimes, love can turn infatuous — even dangerous — before we even realize it.

Whatever the case, love is a journey, and these three Songs You Should Hear take us on that journey — of love for others, love for our vices, and love for ourselves.

Artist: Heather Mall
Song: Games
Genre: Pop
Why You Should Hear It: This modern pop anthem is loaded with sonic hints of the dynamic power balladry of the late 1980s. Thematically, Mall pulled from a tumultuous two-year period marked by loving, losing and, of course, the uncertainty of living through a pandemic.

“It’s about the process of remembering who you are, when you feel you’ve lost yourself when losing someone else,” Mall said. “For me, writing it was like free therapy. I was able to address the uncomfortable feelings and really embrace my self-worth, and recognize that you can be strong on your own.”

Artist: Morgan Bosman & Lawrence D.
Song: Let’s Ride
Genre: R&B
Why You Should Hear It: Produced by Nate Melville, this sultry duet was recorded between Nashville and Atlanta, and is about how love can help two people share in each other’s experiences as their journeys intertwine.

Artist: Pierce Alexander
Song: This Far
Genre: Folk Rock
Why You Should Hear It: Written from a friend’s perspective, this contemplative mid-tempo tune (for fans of artists like Faye Webster, Elliott Smith, and Wilco) dances within the troubling state of limbo that occurs when an addiction is becoming a problem, unbeknownst to the addict themselves.

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What do you think we should hear? You’re always welcome to let us know! And, if you’re an artist (or represent an artist), you can fill out one of these forms to put your music on our radar!