Brother Dolly tunes into a beautifully bizarre frequency on their new synth-pop single, "Transmission Number 5". Working as an enigmatic trio separated by entirely different time zones, Dan Whitehouse, Jason Tarver, and Tom Greenwood piece their music together across oceans. They fold the audio residue of everyday life—the rhythmic rush of a Tokyo subway, the hollow whir of spinning bicycle wheels—into an intensely hypnotic,...

Right, so, Manchester's own Robert McGinty is back. "Reflections," they call it. Twelve classical instrumentals. Twelve! Like the apostles, but...less preachy, more piano-y. It's supposed to be uplifting and joyful, this album, a sequel of sorts, tracking his growth since the debut. Did you know the collective noun for owls is a parliament? Completely unrelated, I know, but owls are wise, and there's a...