Sometimes you just need a track that gives you permission to stop being nice. There is a specific kind of freedom in realizing you do not actually have to pretend to like everyone on your feed, and that realization hits like a physical shockwave the second this beat drops. It is loud, it is funny, and it completely refuses to apologize for taking up space....

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...