Terra Renae’s latest single, “In My Dreams,” is a dazzling exception. Grief and groove are not generally synonymous. The Louisville-born, Los Angeles-based artist twists an infectiously upbeat rhythm with the most raw emotions of yearning and loss. It’s a song that pops as hard on the dancefloor as it does in the chest.
Renae’s voice is hypnotic from the first note, warm, rich, achey with a wistfulness that does not leave once the song fades out. “In My Dreams” interrogates the bittersweet balm of seeing a departed loved one in your sleep, that ephemeral moment when reality and memory congeal into something almost tangible. The production is light and driving, and the contrast enhances “In My Dreams” strength because it is not how mourning goes. One moment, it’s weightless nostalgia. The next, it’s crushing.
Her journey into music is as cinematic as her sound. And she is a former model turned academic with a doctorate who stumbled into the industry through a chance encounter with Macy Gray in Los Angeles. Now, with “In My Dreams,” she is not just wandering into the music world. She’s creating a space for herself within it, a place where vulnerability meets an undeniable groove.