The single from Syracuse’s ORWAX, “Everything's Addictive,” doesn’t so much ask a question as it does state a grim, unblinking diagnosis for the modern soul. From its first notes, the track establishes itself not as a party anthem for self-destruction, but as the sound of the machine humming underneath our choices. The trio—a self-contained unit of Ryan and Jim Moran, with Jason Randall on...

With Paul Gehl and his latest single "Train to Nowhere", we are invited into a sonic space that feels suspiciously like the inside of a pressurized cabin just before the oxygen masks drop. It is fascinating to consider that Gehl, an artist hailing from Luxembourg City, has roots in the disciplined worlds of classical and flamenco guitar. You might expect delicate fingering or warm...