Liana Flores offers mystical storytelling and transporting jazz-folk on “I wish for the rain”

Sometimes the world around you doesn’t match the vibes you feel inside. Have you ever tried to be sad when the sun’s shining? It’s pretty hard. Almost like the sun is taunting you for feeling any sort of sadness when the world outside is as bright and beautiful as it is. It’s easier to wallow when your external surroundings match your gloom, and on “I wish for the rain”, British-Brazilian artist Liana Flores longs for the comfort of the rain to complement her feelings of summer heartbreak.

On “I wish for the rain”, the jazz-pop artist hones her sound into something completely unique and transportive. The single sees an artist stepping into her own, with a fuller sound than previous releases that adds a transcendent element to the track. Taking lessons from touring buddy Laufey (Flores was her opener on her 2022 European tour), Flores magically bridges the gaps between genres, worlds, and generations with an enticing story and comforting instrumentals.

“I wish for the rain” sounds as if Joni Mitchell had found the jazzy textures that show up in later works like Turbulent Indigo (1994) or Taming the Tiger (1998) in her early Clouds (1969) days. It sounds just as much like a track from 2024 as it does like an unearthed recording from the 1950s. Rhythmically, Flores leans into triplet patterns against an even 4/4 beat, adding to that old-timey feel. With turning acoustic guitars, the lightest touches of percussion, and bits of electric guitar and xylophone here and there, “I wish for the rain” is a song you’d hear walking past a jazz bar at 2am that entices you enough to go inside. Flores shows off her range with her cascading vocals front and center, shining brightly against the captivating instrumentals.

Flores says “I wish for the rain” “arose from a walk home one night in the height of summer; it was a time of heartbreak and I couldn't help but think of how welcoming a little rain can be for rumination.” That sense of comfort Flores says she gets from the rain shines clear in the lyric “When I cry the rain knows why / She knows” complemented by her smooth vocal delivery.

Flores’ songwriting is unique in that she provides uber-specific details in a way that doesn’t come across as wordy or cramped, taking a line like “Drifting away under street lamps drowning out all of the stars that might have been guiding my way back home” and giving it enough space to breathe against the brief acoustic guitar hits. Flores has found a perfect middle ground between too much and not enough. Every aspect of “I wish for the rain”—from the sweeping vocals, to the slinky acoustic, to the glimpses of electric guitar—adds a warmth and lushness that helps listeners step further into Flores’ world.

On what’s to come, Flores says this single “is the torch song of my upcoming record: dramatic, but gentle and a little aloof.”