As a teenage girl, there is only so much that I can control in my life. Luckily for me, my music taste is one of them. 

I have a wide variety of song selections from many genres that somehow manage to appeal to my—once picky—music palate. 

In fact, I was listening to a playlist I had concocted that has astonishing music dating back as far as the 1920s when I came across an advertisement for one of my favorite current artists. 

As it so happens, Sloan Struble—more commonly known as Dayglow in the music industry—has recently released a new single in January. 

Like most of the artists that I have grown to love, I stumbled upon Dayglow by accident. I was creating my first ever playlist on Spotify when I clicked on his song “False Direction”; I fell in love right away. 

Somehow, his old album Fuzzybrain can never seem to become boring for me. 

Each note leaves the essence of summer in its wake. 

Each bar paints pictures of rolling sand dunes and fluffy, white clouds drifting across the sky. 

It unrolls memories of miniature cans of Coca-Cola sweating in the summer sun and a lake that resembles the water in the Caribbean. 

It re-surfaces images of the magnificent sunsets that I have encountered that manage to extinguish as they are dipped into the lake, the bright oranges subdued by deep hues of blue. 

I am able to see bright, green hills and green leaves rushing past in the car, long locks of hair streaming out through the opened windows. 

His album transports me to a time in the year where I don’t need to worry about any homework—other than the book and paper I had to write but set aside for the end of summer—and the only stress I received was caused by needing to get to certain places on time. 

I had high expectations when it came to his new single and he surprised me with how much higher he exceeded them. 

The song gives off vibes that many 80’s songs also emulate and immediately forces me to dance in some way. 

Not only that, but it makes me feel like the main character rather than the main character’s best friend. It seems like something that would play during a road trip in a coming-of-age movie. Perhaps they are on their way to a summer camp or going camping with their family. 

I strive to become the main character for the sole reason of Dayglow’s music being the soundtrack for my life. I long to be the person that the world revolves around and everyone secretly wants to be. 

Dayglow’s music is sunlight that manages to squeeze its way through whatever speakers it’s playing through.  A tongue of fire crackling in a fireplace after hours of being whipped by strong arctic winds. 

Whenever I want to ward off the dark clouds or push the rain away, Dayglow’s new song, “Close to You” is a perfect remedy for any bad vibes in life.