Fire's Chill Pick - May 2026

 Hey everyone, it’s Fire back with the monthly Chill Pick article!! And I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the May weather. The sunshine is finally poking through the clouds and illuminating the beautiful fields and flowers—perfect late spring/early summer weather! So what I’m saying is that...it’s butterfly season, and I got the perfect song for it!!

Ella Langley f/Miranda Lambert - Butterfly Season

Release: April 10, 2026

Genres: Country Pop, Contemporary Country, Soft Rock, Urban Cowboy, Singer-Songwriter

Ella Langley’s ascendancy in 2026 has been insane. As I’m writing this, her big hit “Choosin’ Texas” is on track to be the biggest song of the year (at least on the January-December YE aka the only YE I have any faith in anymore). She also dropped her album Dandelion back in April. The album is absolutely great, and this was easily my favorite song on it on first listen. And It’s only gotten better for me over time. This song sounds fantastic, from the bells to the shuffling percussion to the pedal steel touches, it radiates spring vibes. Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert also have terrific chemistry—I really love their harmonizing here. On a musical level, this honestly sounds a lot like Same Trailer, Different Park-era Kacey Musgraves, which is very high praise for me. Lyrically, the song is about Langley and Lambert leaving behind their old selves and finding a new path in life. Like a caterpillar coming out of its cocoon as a beautiful butterfly and flying off as a new version of itself. And I really won’t lie, that sentiment means a lot to me personally.

I deleted my Pulse account in March. I had been on that forum for nearly 8 years across 2 different accounts, and just like that, all that time was gone. I knew rationally that it was best for me. There were many reasons I came to that decision, but the biggest one was that it was making me unhappy and I no longer saw it as an escape like I had back in high school.

I found myself lashing out at other members more, which always made me feel awful. I have no clue if any Pulse members are reading this, but if I hurt you with my words in any way, please know that I’m genuinely so sorry and if I could take any of those words back, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But that was the point I realized that it was time for me to move on.

I’ve spent much of April and May in a really bad place mentally, and I honestly questioned whether I made the right decision. I knew that leaving Pulse wouldn’t magically solve my problems overnight, but it felt like I was going weeks without any real progress being made. But a few weeks ago, I got approved to do a research study at my college and it instantly elevated my mood. I feel like I finally found a path I wanna take in life. Around the same time, I also found a great singing coach who I think I’m set to work with. I still don’t know where I’m headed and not all my problems have been solved, but I just know how it feels—and it’s great. Through all these big positive changes, this song has been the soundtrack. I’m not mincing words here: this is very likely gonna go down as one of my favorite songs of the year. This feels like such an obvious single choice, come on, let’s push this and make it a hit!! In the meantime, if it wasn’t clear by now, I give this a 10/10, absolutely fantastic and so very highly recommended if you like songs that sound like spring!!