Mid-January is always an interesting time of year: too early for the bubblegum pink-tinged thrill of Valentine’s Day but too late for the beat-pounding New Year’s club bops. School has just resumed, and with midterm season slowly but surely creeping up on me, I’m not particularly in the mood to discover new music. The cool — by Southern California standards — air is the perfect atmosphere for me to turn back to some nostalgic favorites. The one currently occupying the forefront of my mind is ABBA’s “Andante, Andante.” One of the Swedish band’s most underrated deep cuts, this sensual ballad provides a sense of refuge from life’s daily stressors, a calm before the storm of exams to come. This Winter Quarter, I’m prepared to shut off my brain and let the lilting melody take over, collapsing into the wistful tunes of my youth.

Listen to the rest of this week’s playlist here!