Hotel Mira's new album, "Pity Party," makes an immediate, striking impact. Across twelve tracks, the collection delves into the turbulent world of intense relationships—the kind that feel essential one moment and dangerously volatile the next. Frontman Charlie Kerr, alongside guitarist Clark Grieve, bassist Mike Noble, and drummer Cole George, crafts a dynamic alt-rock soundscape filled with both emotional debris and moments of bright, sharp...

Casey McQuillen’s single “Better” arrives not with a bang, but with the quiet, decisive click of a well-made lock securing a door. It’s pop music, certainly, groomed and gleaming, yet beneath the surface bubbles a fierce kind of self-possession that’s less about demanding attention and more about curating who gets past the velvet rope of your own contentment. Coming from someone known for empowerment...