LISTEN: Toria Rainey’s “Glenn” Is A Refreshing Pop Ballad With Captivating Storytelling

Brooklyn-based indie pop artist Toria Rainey creates tender and unexpected music. With a soothing yet quietly powerful voice, her songs blend introspection with playful moments. Each track feels like a conversation with a friend you didn’t know you needed—honest, sometimes a little messy, but always relatable and leaving you feeling better than before. 

Pop music can quickly become stale after its current trends have successfully saturated the market, producing watered-down, meaningless music. Thankfully, the genre seems to be going in a new, shiny direction, and artists like Rainey aid in this sonic shift. Her latest single, “Glenn,” spins a tale of heartbreak and acceptance while the artist’s mesmerizing vocals cascade around off-kilter pop melodies. The nuanced experimentation shines a bright light on Rainey’s individuality while balancing the infectious familiarity of her pop tendencies. While “Glenn” stays in the pop pocket, there is some hidden fusion work within the single. Rainey’s vocals swing like jazz, while her storytelling abilities lean to the folk side. Either way you slice it, “Glenn” is a moving piece of music that introduces Rainey as a forward-thinking, heartfelt musician unafraid of pushing the boundaries of her abilities, making the artist a welcomed addition to the modern pop renaissance. 

“‘Glenn’ is about those relationships that never quite take off but somehow keep popping up when you least expect it. It’s cheeky, a little raw, and messy in the best way,” explains Rainey. “I wrote it after a situationship said he doesn’t think about people unless they’re right in front of him, so this song is my silly way of calling his bluff on that one because there’s something oddly thrilling about not knowing exactly where you stand with someone but still kind of understanding each other — maybe more than you’d like to admit.”