Since singer-songwriter Leith Ross introduced the song on TikTok in 2021, I have been excitedly waiting for “Music Box” to be released. I started listening to Ross after their hit single “We’ll Never Have Sex” blew up on TikTok and have been following their work ever since. Ross has this wonderful way of transporting the listener and creating an entire environment within a piece that drew me in. “Music Box” is no different.
This single comes after a recent string of singles and the release of their 2020 album “Motherwell.” The song features a gentle guitar accompaniment as Ross’ lilting voice guides the listener “past the fourth turn by the barn” to the “cottage by the lakeside” that houses the titular music box. As with many of Ross’ songs, “Music Box” has poetry-like lyrics that captivate the audience. The song started to feel like Ross was reading a fairytale story to a child. This is paired with the ambient cricket and frog sounds in the background to create a sense of nostalgia and the sweetness of childhood. Ross ends the song by inviting the listener to lean in the music box and doze off. “Oh, the places in your dreams / Are they fiction or memory? /And if you listen long enough / You’ll fall asleep.”
5/5 Big Oles
