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...

Patrick Costello doesn’t knock politely on “Heart Like a Hurricane”; he kicks the screen door off its hinges and drags you onto the dance floor. The San Francisco multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer, and drummer, who also leads The KnabokovCollective, usually roams from political blues rock to bluegrass to rock-jazz-Latin-reggae instrumentals. Here he plants both boots in rockabilly, surf rock, and classic rock and roll. https://open.spotify.com/album/6WzXS5qbr4JBj9ffbsr9TD The...