What’s Playing in the Studio: Soft Aesthetics + Cathartic Vibes
Welcome to What’s Playing in the Studio, my playful music check-in (part experiment, part time capsule, and mostly a share of what’s on repeat).
Today’s theme: soft aesthetics + cathartic vibes (pretty-but-weird choices, left turns in the production, lyrics that swerve, and “wait…why is this hitting so hard?” moments).
Full projects (front-to-back)
- Extraordinary Machine (Fiona Apple) (bright-messy comfort)
- The Idler Wheel… (Fiona Apple) (raw + grounding)
- Melodrama (Lorde) (big-feelings theatre)
- Chris (Christine and the Queens) (glitter melancholy)
- MAGDALENE (FKA twigs) (holy-body ache)
Five mini-playlists
1) Haunted, Pretty
Lush songs with a shadow in the corner (velvet, eerie, and quietly cinematic).
- All Is Full of Love — Björk
- Jóga — Björk
- cellophane — FKA twigs
- This Woman’s Work — Kate Bush
- No Ordinary Love — Sade
- Werewolf — Fiona Apple
- Ophiuchus — Bairi
- Sea of Love — Cat Power
2) I Feel So Much
Warm, melodic comfort, plus one odd little sparkle that keeps it from going bland.
- By Your Side — Sade
- Vienna — Billy Joel
- I Feel It All — Feist
- Anything We Want — Fiona Apple
- Paper Bag — Fiona Apple
- Chinese New Year — SALES
- new friends — flowerovlove
- Everybody's trying to figure me out — HAIM
3) Tender, But Sharp
Close-mic confessionals with teeth (sweet lines, sudden turns, and emotional precision).
- Silent All These Years — Tori Amos
- Cornflake Girl — Tori Amos
- Every Single Night — Fiona Apple
- Regret — Fiona Apple
- Jonathan — Fiona Apple
- Writer In The Dark — Lorde
- People, I've been sad — Christine and the Queens
- Eyes of a child — Christine and the Queens
4) Release
Big-feelings theater, delivered in soft lighting (romance, ache, and a little flourish).
- Liability — Lorde
- Supercut — Lorde
- Sober II (Melodrama) — Lorde
- Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) — Kate Bush
- Kiss of Life — Sade
- Tilted — Christine and the Queens
- Smooth Operator — Sade
- Heels — Sir Babygirl
5) (Re)medicated
Low-effort listening for when you want to drift (gentle grooves, minimal friction, still gorgeous).
- alone — WILLOW
- Born Tired — Jhené Aiko
- Palace — Tora-i
- Pale September — Fiona Apple
- Let Me Go — Ogi
- unavailable — Joey LaBeija
- Miss Understood — Monaleo
- Sertraline Gang — Trannieb0i, Shurk
Track stats (because I’m nosy)
- Total recs: 40 songs + 5 full projects
- Artists (songs): 24
- Repeat offenders (top): Fiona (5), Lorde (4), Christine (3), Sade (3)
- Genre swirl (rough): art-pop, indie/SS, pop, R&B/soul, electronic/alt
- Countries/scenes: 6 (US, UK, Iceland, NZ, France, Canada)
Your turn
Drop 1 track that makes you banshee scream (you know the one) and tell me what it does to you: is it the lyric, the production, the bridge, or the memories?
If you want, tell me which lane you’d file it under.
Atila Martin
Blog: atilacore.pckt.blog
Bluesky: atilacore.bsky.social
Contact: [email protected]
