Songs Written Like Letters: Inside Chloe Mayse’s Tender Debut EP "Dear Love".

Some records don’t feel like releases at all, they feel like you stumbled into someone’s bedroom, sat at the edge of the bed, and listened while they read pages from a journal they weren’t sure they’d ever share.

That’s exactly how Chloe Mayse’s debut EP Dear Love… lands. It’s soft, brave, a little messy, and painfully honest in the best way.

Chloe Mayse is a queer indie-pop/alt-pop artist from Toronto, but her story stretches far beyond geography. Music has been part of her life since before she could fully articulate it, singing at two, learning guitar by ten, writing songs by fifteen, and eventually standing on the JUNO Awards stage backing up Tegan and Sara after winning a singing competition. That moment didn’t just mark a milestone; it helped Chloe envision a future where queerness, vulnerability, and pop songwriting could all live in the same space.

A true multi-instrumentalist, Chloe plays guitar, piano, and ukulele, but songwriting is clearly her heartbeat. It’s how she learned who she was, how she processed her mental health, and how she found her voice as a queer community advocate in Toronto. Dear Love… feels like the culmination of that journey, not polished to perfection, but intentionally human.

Recorded between Los Angeles and Toronto and made possible through a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Dear Love… unfolds like a series of handwritten letters addressed to love in all its forms: romantic love, self-love, family love, and the kind of love that hurts because it’s unfinished. Chloe describes her songwriting like journaling, and that intimacy is impossible to miss.

The EP opens with “High School,” easing listeners in gently. Soft instrumentals and tender vocals set the tone, immediately pulling you into Chloe’s emotional world. It’s reflective, nostalgic, and vulnerable, like replaying old memories you’re not sure you’re ready to let go of.

“Come Here With Me” shifts gears slightly, bringing in brighter pop energy and guitar-driven momentum. It’s catchy without losing its emotional weight, capturing that yearning pull of wanting closeness while knowing nothing is ever guaranteed.

On “Mad In Love,” Chloe leans fully into devotion. The track flows effortlessly, balancing softness with conviction, and makes its message clear without ever shouting it. Every lyric feels deliberate, carried by vocals that know exactly where they’re headed.

Then comes “Two Weeks,” one of the EP’s most quietly devastating moments. Built around falsetto melodies and a cadence that lingers long after the song ends, it captures the ache of missing someone who’s no longer there, the kind of absence that follows you into empty rooms and late nights.

“Dear Dad” is the emotional core of the project. It doesn’t hide behind metaphor or abstraction. Instead, Chloe lays everything out, the what, the when, the why - with heartbreaking clarity. It’s raw, deeply personal, and likely to hit especially hard for anyone carrying complicated feelings about family. This track doesn’t ask for sympathy; it simply tells the truth.

The EP closes with “Horoscopes,” a fitting ending that sits in uncertainty. Questions hang in the air with no clear answers, dreams clash gently with reality, and the longing to believe in something bigger remains unresolved. It’s hopeful, confused, and honest, exactly how life often feels.

Dear Love… isn’t flashy, and it doesn’t try to be. It’s real. It brings tears to the surface, stirs fears, invites reflection, and reminds you that feeling deeply is not a weakness. Chloe Mayse doesn’t just sing these songs - she lives inside them, and for a brief moment, she invites you to do the same.