Well, this is a bouncy little slice of existential dread, isn’t it? Arn-Identified Flying Objects and Alien Friends, stepping out from his REDMOON duties, wraps up a deep discomfort in the shiniest power-pop paper, adding a jagged punk ribbon and just a dusting of folk’s earnestness. “Sing-Along Songs” struts in with a deceptive grin, all upbeat guitars and a melody that genuinely wants you...

Shawn Brown’s EP, "Into the Furious Light," doesn’t slip quietly into the stream of modern indie-folk releases; it instead cups its hands around your soul like you’re a candle in danger of flickering out. The Portland troubadour crafts songs that feel like fragments of conversations—maybe ones you walked in on too late or letters unsent to someone dear but no longer near. You’re never...