In Rotation: CIL

Not many Colorado kids in their early twenties can say they cut their teeth opening for Stevie Nicks on a national tour. CIL took that massive stage in 2023 and figured out exactly how to fill the room. Now signed to Warner Records, the California-based singer is making pop-R&B that feels genuinely huge. On her May EP, "don't hold me accountable," she tackles the exhaustion of toxic relationships head-on. The production on the standout track "pretty years" stays entirely out of her way. A sparse beat taps in the background while her voice does the heavy lifting. When she hits the hook to ask, "Why am I wasting my pretty years f***ing with someone like you?" she belts it from the diaphragm. She has the chest-clearing vocal power you'd expect from a nineties R&B staple like Deborah Cox, but she applies it to the messy, hyper-analyzed reality of a modern twenty-something. We've all wasted time on a scrub. If you doubt the vocal chops, her October release "Live from the Laundromat" clears the air. The live rendition of "bloodsucker" proves there are no studio tricks masking her tone. She just flat-out sings. Pop radio is currently saturated with whisper vocals and manufactured apathy. Hearing someone actually sing like the rent is due feels like a revelation. The data shows I'm not the only one hitting repeat. Her Shazam metrics are bubbling, and she's already locking in major stages for next year, including a slot at the Up In The Sky festival at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen next August. The wave is building. Check it out below.