Quiet Light’s Blue Angel Sparkling Silver 2 has emerged as one of this year’s standout releases, even though it arrived promoted as a mixtape. The artist behind Quiet Light, Riya Mahesh, has now cast her quiet, glimmering presence over another musician’s track from the previous year. LA-based alt-pop singer Ms* Gloom’s original recording of “Hi, Society” presents itself as a crystalline, beat-driven electro-pop tune that evokes early Purity Ring. Mahesh has pared it down to a gentle, sparse ballad. The chorus evokes the mood of “New Americana,” if you ask me: “I don’t smoke marijuana/ Drop the bass, Harry Potter/ Kurt Cobain, Nirvana/ Bless the shrimp, tap water.” Hear both versions below.
Clara Weiss
I write about music as a cultural signal, following the artists, scenes, releases, and movements that shape how people listen today. My work focuses on discovery, context, and the stories behind the sounds that travel beyond borders.