Shyfrin Alliance’s single "Buddha Blues" drifts in like smoke under a door, carrying a peculiar scent – maybe old books and roadside diners? Founded by the rather polymathic Eduard Shyfrin (whose credentials span authorship, science, and classical piano), the project tackles big ideas, and this track is no exception. It sets up shop right at the crossroads of fleeting intimacy and determined solitude. https://open.spotify.com/album/4P9DJeygqxYfBxUIrC1gwZ?si=zhE5YvnCTma5rOKP0z7y1g There’s a...

The algorithm gets a stare-down on Arabella Lucia’s ‘Unpretty’. Her alt-rock take on TLC’s 1999 classic comes with crashing drums, thumping bass, burning guitar work and a vocal edge that turns self-doubt into a live wire. The subject remains painfully recognisable: beauty standards, internalised judgement and pressure to resemble somebody else’s preferred image. For anyone who has watched a filter make a familiar face feel insufficient,...