You swipe up. On your algorithmically curated stream of content, you find yourself looking at a trend of slideshow after slideshow of historical images, then and nows of American architecture and society, and a stream of photos and ads that evoke 90s childhood nostalgia You hear the heavy piano: Am7, Bm7, Cmaj7, Bm7.

You think, “That’s kind of familiar, could it be?”

The singer, voice simultaneously bold and feathery, lets out the first line: “Spend some time away” - and yes! This is totally a cover of Mac DeMarco’s “Chamber of Reflection.” I spent many nights as a 20 year old laying in bed listening to the original version of this song which is mellow, synthy, and easy to zone out to. Given a new perspective by Danish artist Your Anxiety Buddy, this cover is dark, brooding, mysterious, and a testament to loneliness and introspection.

Your Anxiety Buddy is intentionally enigmatic. The artist dons a mask symbolizing the “randomness of life” as he puts it, etched with drawn-on cracks colored in gold to emulate the practice of kintsugi, using the power of anonymity to turn anxiety into his own power. His voice parallels this, breathy and fragile one moment while powerful at others, meshing effortlessly as he navigates the ups and downs of the song. This rendition of Chamber of Reflection shies away from the synthy Shigeo Sekito-sampled melody of the original and instead adapts the bass line, which becomes a rich, morose chord progression.

While unclear whether he has signed or is under management, Your Anxiety Buddy continues to write and sing as he pleases. He continues to post covers on TikTok at the request of his comments section, with followers asking for covers of everything from Queen to DeVotchKa. While I find the Freddie Mercury comparisons unfair (who would ever want to be held to that standard?), it’s undeniable that Your Anxiety Buddy pursues a vocal tone that you don’t see too often these days. I say this as least cynically as possible: It’s refreshing to hear depth in music again.

The artist’s viral live cover of Chamber of Reflection continues to be a hit on Spotify and various social media platforms, and a proper recording has been released after the cover’s viral moment. I look forward to his future releases with (or without) a label - a comment on one of his videos asked him about his future plans, to which he replied that he’ll go “wherever the wind takes me.”