Like the workings of an anxious mind, “Frame” never settles in one spot. The chorus opens with an enormous, cathartic, rafter-rattling communal yell, only to fall silent seconds later and return gentler than ever before. It’s a burst of raw emotion, a count to 10 and finally a sigh. Frontman Noah Weinman sings of total paralysis in the face of anxiety and sadness—“I want to be productive / But I can’t get up off the floor.” Harder still is the constant struggle to appear as upbeat as everyone else, even when the bad outweighs the good, even if they’re pretending too, even if the effort itself is exhausting. “If you ask me how I’m feeling I’ll just lie / I see my best friends every weekend / I’m fucking reading all the time,” sings Weinman. In a brilliant act of subversion, he has gone and done something beautiful with his aimlessness and his existential dread. Runnner has grown sonically since their first album, a collection of charming but spare songs equally inspired by indie-folk and lo-fi electronic production. Now, with a seven-member lineup, the band has taken the opportunity to demonstrate an enormous dynamic range with synthesizers sitting in the background and a horn section stabbing at the melody. Band members span a veritable who’s who of a certain corner of Los Angeles indie-rock—Weinman plays with recent Buzzsession guests Worn-Tin, and bassist Rosie Tucker’s solo shows at SXSW garnered attention from NPR’s spotlight, to name just a few of the associated acts. Runnner’s EP Fan On is due out June 7th, and you can catch the release show on June 11th at the Bootleg in Los Angeles. Photo Credits: Nell Sherman and Silken Weinberg

Los Angeles genre-bending artist Moses Sumney released his gorgeous and ethereal debut album Aromanticism into the world this September. Sumney has made a big impression on artists like Solange and Sufjan Stevens for good reason. His infusion of soul and folk come together on this album in a way that leaves us begging for more. A prime example of this heavenly blend is found on the third song of the album, “Plastic.” A previous version of the song can be heard on the first season of Issa Rae’s HBO series, Insecure. This new version serves as one of the more simplistic songs on the album, featuring just a fingerpicked electric guitar, a synth and Sumney’s captivating voice. The hook of the song repeats the line “my wings are made of plastic,” each time sung in a slightly different way than it was before, continuing to imbue the phrase with new meaning. This song of vulnerability, self-awareness and secret-spilling is the kind that you can leave on repeat and get lost in for hours.