Regarding the modern indie-pop aesthetic, Boston’s Gillian perfects it: classy-creeping piano leads, pumping beats, and the singer-songwriter’s honeyed melodies slowly cascading over them. However, the theme of her latest single “High” goes beyond the standard, it digs a bit deeper, tackling a subject that is scarcely discussed in the youth’s pro-recreational mildew: sobriety. Gillian vents, via infectious hooks and exquisite harmonies, frustrations about a partner struggling to remain sober and how that struggle becomes an illness turning love languid, disappointment vivid. The music video for the track, directed by Nolan Knight, captures the exact atmosphere and heartbreak the song so radiates. Gillian is not only a bright beacon of indie-pop and its current influence on the mainstream but also an artist digging deeper, as artists do. Stream the music video for “High” below. – Rene Cobar
