This is being compared to an array of titles (Daisy Jones/Tomorrow x3/Normal People) and it's as every bit as good as all of those titles. It's also a unique and elevated reflection on the power of music.

Joe and Percy are college students. He's a wannabe musician and she's a music obsessive. They complement each other: he plays and writes while she's a talented lyricist who's willing to keep him grounded with ascerbic takedowns if he dares to be trite or clichéd. The book cycles through a decade of early 2000s college/post college life and time on the Indie music scene in the US.

This is a forensic examination of music obsession with frequent dissections of a range of music from Hall and Oates to PJ Harvey. It does for music what Tomorrow x3 did for video games. I thought that the discussions about artists and songs might start to grate but they never did. There's something beautiful about the way music is depicted here. You may need to keep referring to the Spotify playlist (I did).

It's also a layered story of friendship and unrequited love. It's a compelling story that deeply moved me. One of those books where you need a notebook to write down choice sections (or a highlighter pen if you're a vandal).

Just beautiful and so fresh and resonant.