Idolator

When I first wrote about Spanish musician Xoel López back in February, he was just about to release a new album, and this song (from the DVD) was not yet on my YouTube search radar. I'm always skeptical toward the dude-with-acoustic-guitar-format, so "Ver en la oscuridad" was a pleasant surprise: It's nothing more than a lovely melody and a few aphoristic verses ("If you look up, be careful, you could trip and fall / The sun comes out for everyone, it comes out for everyone, and it sets for everyone, too," "Dying is learning to wait / Living is learning to see in the dark"), but López's dulcet vocals pack an emotional heft that Chris Carrabba could only dream of. [YouTube]