Pop music has been tending towards a breathy, bassy ambiance ever since SFX Entertainment’s stranglehold on the radio abruptly slackened a couple years ago, and EXES has come onto the scene to wrest her share of the pie from the powers that be. “Like You” is what some cantankerous music writers might snarkily dub a “millennial anthem”, detached affection playing out over aqueous vocal sampling snares that hang in the air for ages. It’s passionate in the downcast way of Tove Lo or Kai, an anthem to youth in the frosty way youth are meant to identify with. Hollow, chilly, and full of love, “Like You” fits the pop landscape of 2016 to a T.
“’Like You’ is a very real song about a very real boy I fell quickly and unrealistically for,” says EXES’ Allie McDonald. “Although the subject matter is a bit sad, the bouncy playfulness of the production adds an aspect of teenage naivety. Even in adulthood, relationships can be immature and over-dramatic, and I think ‘Like You’ really showcases that.”