algorithm-driven pop often feels emotionally hollow, optimized for visibility rather than depth. this piece reflects on why warmth, restraint, and quiet intention now feel radical, and how Olivia Dean’s 'Man I Need' stands slightly out of alignment with the systems shaping modern music.

Sometimes it’s not the lyrics or the artist, it’s something about the sound itself. For a few minutes, you just feel alive again. That rush is called frisson, the moment music slips past all your reasoning and just makes you feel. It’s not just sound, it’s connection. A reminder that your capacity to feel deeply is still there, even when it hides.