As the Queen & I, Andrew Ledford channels the electricity of shoegaze, sweeping rock psychedelia, and the grandeur of Oasis’ arena-sized anthems, but on “Everything Hurts”, the opener from the Oakland songwriter’s imminent new album, At Peace, it’s that feeling of electricity from another that equally channels him. Many an artist these days attempt to ascend the stratosphere of euphoria through the grasp of a guitar and piling on layers of feedback, but Ledford understands a better way to get up there is through using a ladder, and that he does in mapping out his lover’s every small move over verse, chorus, bridge, and a path-blazing solo. “There’s a light in the morning, I can see it clearly today / Being with someone this extraordinary / Is walking a wire and I know I won’t fall / The swell of elation’s filling me after all.” If pain is indeed weakness leaving the body, then the Queen & I are putting in the hard work to replace it with a much better feeling.

The Queen & I’s At Peace will be self-released July 11th.