The first listen of Haus of Sound’s new single, “Mirage,” is like walking into a room where a beautifully ornate vase has just been shattered against a wall. There's a jagged, crystalline energy here, a collision of theatrical drama and raw, modern discontent. Evolving from their 2000s tribute roots, the Everett band has synthesized the best of that era’s angst—the coiled tension of early...

Listening to the new album from The Bateleurs, "A Light In The Darkness", is like finding a perfectly worn leather jacket in a forgotten wardrobe. Not one from London or Los Angeles, mind you, but one discovered in a dusty Lisbon alley, smelling faintly of sea salt and old cigarettes. It fits perfectly, but it carries the shape and the stories of someone else's...