Kevin Bronson on February 24th, 2021

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At 22, Wallice is a bit young for an attack of existential dread, but the L.A. singer-songwriter turns her worries into gold on her new single “23.”

It’s the second single of this phase of her career; the songwriter, born Wallice Watanabe, first released the woozy single “Rx” in 2018 and also earned a shout-out from NPR for last year’s Tiny Desk Concert entry “Seabound.” “23” is the second single you’ll find on streaming services, following last year’s “Punching Bag.”

Both of those sparkle with lo-fi charm, with this week’s new single offering plenty of self-deprecating bite. She does, after all, identify as “jazz school dropout.” Her singles have been made with producer David Marinelli, known for his work with lightweight popster Spill Tab.

On “23,” Wallice frets her future with sing-songy insouciance: “Maybe I’ll get married soon / and buy a house with three bedrooms / and settle down and get a dog / and make my partner get a job.”

“It’s hard not to compare your own professional success to that of your similarly aged peers,” Wallice says of the track. “I dropped out of university in New York after studying Jazz Voice for a year, and my dad was very disappointed to say the least, so it was hard not to feel like a loser in that sense. When I was younger, my best friend and I would always talk about the cute apartment we would get after high school, but I found myself at 22 still living with my mom and wanting to move out but not able to quite yet.

“The specific age 23 doesn’t have any milestones associated with it, but it’s more the idea of just looking forward to the future. Much like how people ‘reset’ every new year, it’s comparable to be ‘older and wiser’ with each birthday, but instead of constantly looking to the future, it is important to be happy with where you are.”

Both new videos are directed by Taylor Fitzgerald.

||| Stream: “23”

||| Watch: The videos for “23” and “Punching Bag”