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...

There’s a certain expectation that comes with a new release from Kim Cameron. For years, the Miami-based artist has been a reliable source of high-energy, deep house anthems, music precision-engineered for the dance floor. Her name is synonymous with movement, with the kind of infectious hooks that have propelled her up the Billboard and iTunes charts. So when a new track of hers begins not...