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Maya Hawke's Debut Music Could Calm Even 'Stranger Things''s Mind Flayer

'To Love a Boy' and 'Stay Open' are soft, vulnerable, and strikingly beautiful

It's no strange thing that a large percentage of the cast of Stranger Things are talented musicians, as eager to embrace an instrument as they are a trip to the Upside Down. Maya Hawke, who plays Robin Buckley on the show's third season, is the newest virtuoso and dropped two new singles, "To Love a Boy" and "Stay Open," on Friday that bring her into bold new territory. Her voice is so calm, so angelic, that it could quell the anger of even the mightiest denizen of the Upside Down.

To be fair, we should have seen this coming. In Season 3 of Stranger Things, she sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Joe Keery's Steve Harrington, and the hilarious performance hinted at some soothing vocals that could be expressed in new ways in the future. That future arrived in a rural and sensual fashion with her two beautiful new tunes. "To Love a Boy" is soft and bare and moves like the ocean, which she references in the opening lines. Its use of percussion is fleeting, slow, and inviting.

Following in a similar aesthetic is "Stay Open," which is driven by a gentle guitar and the pitter-patter of the top of snare drums, with her weightless voice floating just above the ground. She sings about a gentle, juvenile love, one of being wholeheartedly immersed in a person's being. Both are strikingly beautiful hymns with heavenly qualities. It's the kind of music you'll hear while you're swaying in a gentle breeze while lounging in a hammock, with large trees covering your face. It's nap time.

With these songs, Maya joins the growing number of talented musicians who are exploring different realms like their show counterparts. Finn Wolfhard (Mike) is the frontman of the alt-rock band Calpurnia. Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) plays in a band called Work In Progress that has collaborated with artists such as Paramore and Kelly Clarkson. And Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), used to play in the psychedelic band Half Loon.

Listen to Maya Hawke's debut singles up above.

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