Ditch the self-help books and give this song a spin next time you need some unabashed confidence. Brooklyn performer Ellen Winter bottles infectious enthusiasm in three and a half minutes or less, creating a pump-up anthem driven by snaps, claps, and thumping piano chords. The lyrics spill out like a stream of consciousness while steering clear of clichés. You feel the weight of her words as she recounts wasting “days, months, years letting insecurities pair up with fears,” though her inner cyclical monologue of “confidence is crucial” feels airy. Still, it’s the chorus that’s truly transcendent, culminating in an echoing assertion that she will “leave the bar raised high.” With a song this good, she does just that. —Carson Mlnarik
