While Melanie Valera's debut The Soft and the Hardcore folded all the nervous butterflies of courtship into infectious pop songs, Wider goes even deeper. Melanie's voice soars and dips, catching you off guard with the conviction of a woman who knows her own strength. Each song moves you deeper into that warm, dimly lit place we all want to be: the eloquent, blunt, fantastic tragedy where big harmonies, insanely contagious hooks, and a turn of phrase can make you feel that the world is good; that those calluses can yield; that the soft focus of the future feels clear and present.