Earworm. It’s an ugly word, isn’t it? An ugly word that speaks to the magical moment a fragment of music loops in your brain-space for days on end. Maybe it’s a catchy hook or even just three or four bars that occupy your mind even when the song is no longer being played. 

First up is Cornelia Murr’s “Different This Time” – a song that’s been haunting me since it came on my Discover Weekly some months ago. It’s the first track off her 2018 release Lake Tear of the Clouds. Moody, wavy, and dream-like in it’s sequence, she’s vibing with a stripped-down Beach House energy. It’s really quite a simple song. But something about its simplicity really sinks into you.

Light electric keys and lighter drums are paired with the singer’s murmured vocals as she builds up to the declaration – and here-in lies the earworm – “I stand by my reasons for wanting you/It may sound simple but for me it’s new.” 

With around 100k monthly listeners on Spotify, Cornelia flies much more under the radar than Victoria Legrand’s chilling vocals, but I promise (at least I think) she’s worth your time for some easy listening. 

Listening activity: Put on this track as you’re washing dishes and sway a little.

It is sweet, yet despondent – “this spot, this spot, it’s all for you/ And even if you don’t come tonight it’s still for you” AND full of passive acceptance – “However long we shall be listen to me/ I won’t make a fool of you darling.”

We love a classic tune about a woman’s reverie! Ending with a nice little chunk of words from the middle of the song, Cornelia gives us a warning call about this budding love, leaving us waiting for the (perhaps inevitable) fallout as she whistles between verses:

I wanna do right by you

I wanna tend to your wounds

I am interested in a love that soothes

‘Cause I been through some rounds before

When my heart was hungering for

Love I couldn’t let through

Baby, baby, baby, I want it to be different with you.

Maybe it’s the eternal pessimist in me, but something about this sweet plea sounds like it won’t be very different this time.