Matilda Mann – "After The Love"

Halfway through dinner and you're already wondering whether this person will still be around six months from now. They say "I like you" and you're immediately searching for the expiration date. "After The Love" lives in that exact headspace. Before the night's even over, Matilda Mann is already asking what happens after the butterflies settle, after the first kiss, after the excitement wears off. It's a song about borrowing tomorrow's anxiety before today has even finished.

That tension shouldn't sound this inviting. Breezy '70s pop touches and soft guitars give "After The Love" an ease that barely acknowledges how far ahead Mann's mind has wandered. The song is the latest preview of her sophomore album, Kismet, arriving September 4. Mann calls it a "flirty / fun" way of asking a much more serious question: was this just one night, or is this person actually going to stick around?

Mann's voice is perfectly suited to all this overthinking. She delivers every anxious thought with the ease of someone casually asking about dessert while mentally planning the next six months. The melodies carry those questions lightly, leaving the chorus to stick around long after the panic has passed.

The lyrics are already catastrophizing, and Kismet offers a useful clue about where all that worry might be headed. The album's title revolves around fate and trusting where life leads. "After The Love" catches Mann somewhere in between, wanting to surrender to uncertainty while still sneaking a look at tomorrow.

There's a reason "After The Love" found its way onto both Condensed and Dinner Party. It can live comfortably in the middle of a pop playlist or hang around long enough to make you wonder why you're already planning date number six before date number one has asked for the check.

- YouTube youtu.be