Brandon Watson just released an absolute battering ram of a single with "Watch Me Work". The Franklin-based, Texas-born songwriter and producer tackles the age-old theme of ambition, but entirely ditches the usual glossy inspirational clichés for pure, combat-ready swagger. https://open.spotify.com/track/0za6E6IEIjs4B02OfuzuIz?si=7b1cb992bcec4632 The arrangement roots itself in the dirt. A heavy, stomping percussion sets a marching cadence from the jump, acting as the spine for jagged, distorted electric...

Leon Blanchard, a name perhaps faintly echoing from the mid-noughties indie surge, returns not with fanfare, but with a solitary signal flare titled "Astronaut". Hailing from Grimsby, a town known more for its fishing heritage than its celestial aspirations, Blanchard's new song does not really feel like a return, but more like a personal gearbox picked up after years of chatter. In 2007, his old band,...