B-Side Guys

The dulcet musings of the bedroom pop auteur have re-emerged, this time cloaked in an angsty, ethereal haze. On her latest single “In My Dreams,” Strawja dives headfirst into the disassociated headspace that comes with heartbreak’s restless nights.

Ethereal indie pop with flecks of punk’s snarlingly unhinged spirit – it’s a signature brew that Strawja has been distilling to intriguing results. “In My Dreams” is the latest addicting concoction, an effervescent journey into the subconscious’s deepest rabbit holes. Strawja’s use of featherlight female vocals flutter atop a beguiling bed of fuzzy guitars and skittish rhythms, exuding a sort of hypnagogic tranquility amidst the underlying vulnerability.

The lyrics plumb the twisted recesses of insomnia and feverish romantic fantasies (“Shutting my eyes/Opening the doors to fantasy”). There’s a palpable unease amidst the airy melodies as the vocalist gets entrapped in an endless cycle of intrusive thoughts (“Dreaming about you/Gives me a type/Of suffering”). It’s enough to send one tumbling into an Alice In Wonderland-esque rabbit hole (“Come on along/Into the rabbit hole”).

Yet the songwriting remains self-aware and darkly playful, grounding the unraveling mindscapes with flashes of wry, self-deprecating humor (“You’ll be oh oh oh alright/Just a dream that will blow away”). This track fully leans into the madcap whimsy and uncanny valley creepiness of the unconscious mind’s phantasmagorias. It’s a fever dream you simultaneously want to wake up from yet let consume you whole.

By blurring the lines between reverie and torment, reality and fantasy, Strawja has contoured the unshakable hold heartbreak can have. “In My Dreams” is a subtly disorienting lullaby that will bore itself into your psyche’s deepest crevices. Don’t say we didn’t warn you about rentering this waking dream state.