A “lo-fi, West Coast-style hip-hop track about toxic relationships,” Max Swan’s “Filler” is the perfect song if you’re going through a breakup, dealing with toxic loves and/or just wanna tell somebody TF off. It started as a song about a toxic work environment. I can relate, seeing that I wrote “Office Space” after my time in the nonprofit sector. However, “Filler” grew into an all-encompassing “don’t be like these people” sort of song about any toxic situation. I can appreciate that as an artist and a white-collar worker.

I love Swan’s vocals here and I love the live recording with added instrumentation. The song was already good on his album, but hearing it like this? It adds a new dimension to it. Swan is one of those neo-soul-hop-and-blue-eyed-soul artists (and yes, I know he’s not actually blue-eyed; it’s not meant as pejorative) that grabs you with the subject matter, keeps you with the vocals and lets it all wash over you in a way that you didn’t know you needed. Check it all out above and do the SOTB thing the SOTB way: support dope music in all its forms.