In this episode of Anatomy of a Song, I’m putting RIIZE’s “Honestly” up against LNGSHOT’s “Facetime”, a perfect case of a rookie group that immediately gets it versus a post-rookie group that’s clearly growing into themselves.

I strip both songs back and listen to what’s really carrying them: the melodies, the vocal choices, the pacing, and that smooth R&B influence both tracks are flirting with in very different ways. One feels effortless and locked in from the jump, the other feels like a group starting to understand who they are and where their sound actually shines.