Starlight Fantasy invites us into a very specific kind of neon-drenched solitude with "The Fire." Listening to this single feels like finding a warm spot in an otherwise cold, metallic room. This solo artist from Easley has built a dream-pop engine fueled by a driving rhythmic pulse that keeps you moving even when your brain wants to stall. It has a hypnotic, nocturnal weight...

Leon Blanchard, a name perhaps faintly echoing from the mid-noughties indie surge, returns not with fanfare, but with a solitary signal flare titled "Astronaut". Hailing from Grimsby, a town known more for its fishing heritage than its celestial aspirations, Blanchard's new song does not really feel like a return, but more like a personal gearbox picked up after years of chatter. In 2007, his old band,...