Charlotte Cardin – “Memories”

Charlotte Cardin makes the kind of chic pop that could convince you to make a spectacularly bad decision and still feel incredibly well dressed while doing it. “Memories” is all after-hours sophistication, with a saxophone that knows exactly how to command a room. The melody moves with the ease of a perfectly tailored silk dress, while Charlotte's vocals make every lingering note feel like an invitation to stay a little longer.

Memory is a wonderfully unreliable narrator, especially after midnight. Charlotte is revisiting a night that clearly didn't end the way she'd hoped. There was dancing, tequila, a confession that may or may not have been intentional, and an exit without so much as a goodbye. Now she's lying awake trying to distinguish what actually happened from what she'd like to remember. She's even admitted that the song is about replaying memories until they begin to resemble the version we wish were true. It's a fascinating premise for a record that makes revisiting the past sound so appealing.

She delivers the whole account with the composure of a Miu Miu runway veteran, even as the emotional seams threaten to come undone. The chorus glides, the saxophone keeps offering questionable advice, and we're beginning to wonder whether anyone involved should be allowed near a cocktail bar. The relationship may have fallen apart, but the music is having a fabulous time.