New Jersey punk and hardcore veterans I.D.K. have ripped the lid off their latest project, unleashing "Nark 5" with enough tension to start a fire in a damp room. Since 1991, they have specialized in uncompromising energy, but this track twists their aesthetic into an urgent, dystopian industrial metal cage. https://open.spotify.com/track/1qejwC2K0adWHyNazz3fxm?si=15c38208b43148a7 Do not look for a gentle tune. The band members Anthony “Red” Paladino, Tom Conti,...

There is a peculiar friction to the digital textures of Skylarka and her new album, "Somnorine". It’s supposed to be chiptune-influenced synthwave, but listening to it feels less like browsing the internet and more like chewing on aluminum foil while watching Blade Runner on a CRT monitor that’s slowly degaussing. It’s a sensory contradiction bright, crystalline pop hooks wrestling with the deep, existential dread...