Faye Webster’s particular strain of sad-girl loneliness hits a little differently in the pandemic era. The formula she established on last year’s Atlanta Millionaires Club hasn’t changed: Her songs tend to revolve around seemingly simple one-liners that reveal their true poignancy only after they are repeated over and over, her lovelorn coos joined by wistful slide guitar and loping drums. Webster’s latest single “Better Distractions” sticks to that playbook even more so than her first song of 2020, “In a Good Way.” It grooves with the laidback acceptance of an artist like Bruce Hornsby, filling the gaps between her lilting phrases with gentle peals of piano.

“Better Distractions” is about the overwhelming malaise of our current moment as much as it is about unrequited love. In the verses, Webster is lethargic, unable to get excited about anything, and pained by the realization that even the few friends in her bubble have their own priorities, their own lives to lead. Even when the world is going mad—or perhaps, especially then—Webster knows that our minds turn to more fundamental questions: “Will you be with me?”