Every week, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries live on 88Nine at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
Chicago-based singer-songwriter Gia Margaret uses electronics to bolster the piano-centric “Everyone Around Me Dancing,” painting a portrait of wallflower life while easing into the “equilibrium” she sings of, fortifying herself in recovery mode. Margaret shares of the song:
“Everyone Around Me Dancing” is a reflection on the comfort found in isolation. It’s for taking a pause, for being in observation of a very scary and loud world, and it is for finding stillness in our own inner worlds, too. … There was a time when I really didn’t know if I would sing again, so once I healed, there was a lot of internal pressure to come back strong; I didn’t know who I was anymore. So it felt like beginning again and reconnecting with these very old, old parts of myself.
And although the lead peek into upcoming album Singing is about isolation, it doesn’t dwell in despair. The sonic terrain plays on pop structures colored in with ambiance provided by the tactile sounds of reed instruments to create a gauzy, cerebral appeal.
The album as a whole was recorded in London, Eau Claire and Chicago in 2024 and 2025, and features contributions from Frou Frou’s Guy Sigsworth, David Bazan, Amy Millan, Deb Talan, Kurt Vile and Sean “S.” Carey. It arrives to Jagjaguwar on April 24.
Hear “Everyone Around Me Dancing” from Gia Margaret on the latest episode of What’s All This, which you can check out using the player at the top of the page. Then be sure to tune into 88Nine for a fresh batch of tunes at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.
Best new indie music this week
- Mitski, “I’ll Change for You”
- Perfume Genius, “Undercurrent (Clean Heart)”
- Gia Margaret, “Everyone Around Me Dancing”
- Dua Saleh, “Flood (ft. Bon Iver)”
- Alexis Taylor, “Out Of Phase (ft. Lola Kirke)”
- Arlo Parks, “Heaven”
- King Krule, “Rock Bottom”
- Sorry, “Billy Elliot”
- Friko, “Seven Degrees”
- Weird Nightmare, “Might See You There”
- Jesca Hoop, “Designer Citizen”
- Broken Social Scene, “Not Around Anymore”
