On 13 Months of Sunshine, Aminé reevaluates what he wanted to say on his songs. He celebrates his success and mourns family members and friends gone from this world. On the album—which was executive produced by Dahi—Aminé adhered to a specific goal: “My whole vision with the album was to write lyrics that I would be proud to read, without music and in front of 30 people. Every line had to pass that test.” It’s this seriousness, passion, and attention that makes 13 Months such a stellar listen. Every line on the 16-song album passes the “small reading room test,” from the Waxahatchee-featuring indie pop beauty of “History” to the psych-synth invocation of Toro y Moi-assisted album closer “Images.” On 13 Months of Sunshine, Aminé presents his most exacting vision to date, full of flowers both fully bloomed and on their last legs. It may not always be sunny, he seems to say, but plants need water from stormy days, too.