I confess, my first encounter with MAAME’s new single, “Daydreaming,” was one of deceptive serenity. Here is a track that slides into your awareness with such poise, a self-assured piece of modern R&B that knows its way around a groove. It’s only on the second pass that you realize the serene space it creates is filled with a low, anxious hum—the sound of a mind trying to claw its way out of the present moment.
MAAME has crafted a song about the deep, disquieting ache of being stuck, wrapping it in a package so lovely you almost miss the desperation inside. Have you ever sat on a stationary train and the one on the adjacent track begins to pull away? For a dizzying second, you’re convinced you’re moving backward. That specific, lurching disorientation is the core of this track. The “same boat same times” reality is the stationary carriage, while the mind, frantic and overwhelmed, hurtles off into reverie just to cope.
This is where the song’s genius lies. Sonically, MAAME paints with those “cotton-candy clouds” and soaring harmonies that melt at the edges. But the lyrical core is dense, a lead weight dropped into the confection. The admission, “Wanna dream bigger wanna have babies / drive myself crazy / wanna change my life,” isn’t a whimsical wish; it’s a gut-punch of raw aspiration against a backdrop of psychic exhaustion. Her expressive vocal holds both the listless glaze of the present and the fierce, almost painful yearning for the future, often in the same breath.
It’s the perfect soundtrack for staring out of a window, utterly and completely lost in thought. But it leaves you with an urgent question: when the song fades, which train are you actually on?
