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“I just wanted to make whatever the truest form of my second album could be and would end up being,” Montgomery concluded. “[Pressure] becomes an exciting opportunity for a creative rubric.”

Over the weekend, the grassy hill and tree-lined stage of Stanford’s Frost Amphitheatre made room for the Re:SET Bay Area Music Festival.

The inaugural This Ain’t No Picnic music festival played host, at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, to a wide array of Los Angeles’ favored indie darlings on Aug. 27 and 28.

At August Hall, they came together and put their guitar troubles on pause for moments of melodic bliss before fading back into obscurity. 

Polo & Pan is all about transporting listeners — onto beaches, into Paris, back to the past and into the future. Their sound is an amalgamation of sounds from around the world, fettered with and distorted until it transforms into World music electronica. 

These are songs for an unprecedented holiday season, whether you’re enjoying your family dinner alone or with your household, or joining in on the celebration over a video call.

This tune isn’t a half-baked effort in bringing back ’80s sounds, nor is it an empty political agenda.

On Monday, make a playlist. Pack it full of songs from Billboard’s hit chart, Spotify’s Discover Weekly and your friends’ list of favorites. Set it to play while you walk to pick up the week’s groceries or to Starbucks for your first holiday drink of the season — my choice is a classic peppermint mocha, with whipped cream, of course.

With a significant other, there was never a moment I was truly alone. But the thing I missed the most wasn’t him — it was being OK with being with myself.

At the Greek Theatre that night, Murphy and his band broke the Berkeley amphitheater away from reality. The audience became entranced by Murphy’s synths.