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Jul 29, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Abbey Mackay

Rising New York indie pop trio ALMA combines the carefully crafted vocal harmonies of The Staves with the freewheeling indie pop experimentation of Tune Yards and Dirty Projectors, creating a uniquely alluring sonic alchemy on their upcoming debut record, Mosaic. Their debut has been described as a personal letter to NYC, tracing the experiences, places, and characters who’ve shaped the band’s relationship to their home.

The band has already shared a handful of singles from the record, most recently returning last month with “Mornight,” and have now debuted their final taste of the record with their new single, “Sips of Oxygen,” premiering early with Under the Radar.

“Sips of Oxygen” is a vulnerable dive into grief and loss, examining the final moments when all of life comes down to simply “sips of oxygen.” The poignant narrative opens on ambient conversational sound design, before being pulled slowly and inexorably into the cold grip of loss as the warm din of conversation fades and icy synths come to the fore. All the while, the song gives the stage to the trio’s gorgeous harmonies, flying high above the song’s filmic soundscapes as they narrate the tragedy of loss. The result is stark, raw, and powerfully moving, an understated yet heartbreaking work of cinematic beauty.

The band says of the track, “Sips of Oxygen” is about the moment before you lose someone, when the vibrancy of a life collapses into the act of breathing in and out. We tried to deliver a cinematic journey through our lyrics and sound design that pulls the listener into each scene. First in the memory of a family fourth of July party (taken from real life) and then a hospital before the song’s final words ask, “how in the hell does it come down to sips of oxygen?””

Check out the song a day early below and watch for Mosaic, out September 7th.