LOS ANGELES, CA- If you’ve been keeping tabs on the indie pop underground, Tessa Rae should already be on your radar. A few years back, I caught her performing at a We Found New Music showcase, and something about her soft-soprano delivery and shapeshifting genre approach stood out immediately. I called her out then for her ability to bounce from folk to alt-pop with ease — and her latest single, “Sugar Coated Love,” is further proof that she’s found a sweet spot.
Out now as the lead single from her upcoming debut album Elsewhere (due this fall), “Sugar Coated Love” is a slow-burn dream. Backed by airy, lo-fi instrumentals and a subdued, hypnotic beat, the track drips with longing and emotional haze. “That sugar coated love is so sweet / It hits me like a drug when you leave,” she sings, the kind of line that lingers long after the track ends. The whole thing feels like it’s suspended in a post-midnight fog — romantic, nostalgic, and ever-so-slightly woozy.
Tessa has always described her music as “universally intimate,” and this track sits comfortably in that space. It’s not overwrought or dressed up in big pop production — it’s tender, textural, and addictive in the way the best late-night thoughts are. “It captures that quiet kind of longing that feels both universal and deeply personal,” she says. And she’s not wrong — the song’s emotional resonance is direct and disarming.
Produced with longtime collaborator Joey Francis, “Sugar Coated Love” continues Tessa’s shift into a more folk-infused, indie-pop lane — a move she hinted at during our 2022 interview when she told me she was finally ready to focus and “sound like some centering in a world.” At the time, she was still sorting through her eclectic influences — Sade, Fiona Apple, Men I Trust, and of course, Mazzy Star — and beginning to let her songwriting do the talking.
Back then, I described her tone as reminiscent of Hope Sandoval, and that comparison still holds. There’s a velvety restraint in how she sings, but also a clarity — a presence that demands attention. Even when she’s whispering, she’s cutting straight to the nerve.
What’s most impressive about Tessa Rae isn’t just her sound, though — it’s her songwriting. A former poet, her lyrics strike with emotional precision. The repetition of the phrase “About you” in the song’s second verse hits like a mantra — or a looped thought you can’t shake… a drug. It’s the kind of internal monologue that becomes its own kind of melody. And when she sings, “Let’s leave it all behind,” there’s just enough ache in her voice to make you believe she means it… and knows she won’t.
This is music meant for spinning alone with your thoughts, or walking through city streets under dim streetlights. It’s immersive, but never overwhelming — the kind of track that meets you exactly where you are.
“Songwriting has always felt like a second language to me—something intuitive and essential,” she told her publicist. “It’s how I process the world and make sense of my ever-changing emotions.” That emotional intelligence comes through in every line of “Sugar Coated Love.”
And she’s just getting started. With Elsewhere on the horizon, there’s a lot more of Tessa Rae’s story left to unfold. If this is the lead single, the rest of the album promises to pull listeners deeper into her mosaic-like world: textured, personal, and emotionally honest.
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