Most emotional music hits its listeners in only one of two ways: Either lyrically, through ethos and storytelling and raw sentimentality, or melodically, by hitting the right chords in the right order in a way that scrunches hearts. Of course, some bands employ both, but only a talented few intertwine every note with every word so that the emotion is as complex as it is palpable. This includes songwriter Jacob Lawter, who, on In Time We Belong—his first full-length as Slow and Steady—twists his poetry around maudlin melodies, the result of which is the sort of sad pop that evades melodrama in favor of authenticity. Much of the album’s honesty comes from Lawter’s lyrics, which are literate, relatable, and clever despite their despondence. “35mm” finds him regretting his regret amid guitars that grumble around him, backbiting the drumbeat as it tries in vain to encourage the track. During the second verse, Lawter adds to the regret as he sings, “I cried ‘love’ so many times that I don't believe myself when I say ‘I found the wolf.’ I let her rip the flesh from my bones.” Side-A ends with “Disinterested,” a song seemingly sung from the perspective of the rejector; Lawter reveals in the later verse, though, the song’s true perspective: “Wouldn’t it be easier to just tell me, ‘I’m not interested in you, I’m not interested in this, you should just forget my name, forget that I exist.’” “Disinterested” is made sadder by its sparseness—the subtly distorted organ and shy piano tha