Listening to “Small Town Syndrome” by thinking silly is an exercise in delightful contradiction. Dylan Morrison’s project, shaped here by the production hand of collaborator Margot Taylor, builds a sleek, propulsive chassis of dark pop and minimal techno, only to house an engine of pure, grinding ache. It’s the sound of someone forcing a smile so wide their face hurts, a dance track for...

Okay, here we go. Buckle up, buttercups, because Yksopretty's "IT IS WHAT IT IS" just body-slammed my expectations. This Detroit native, apparently a herald of Michigan's new wave (whatever that sonic sorcery is), dropped an album that’s… well, it is what it is. Six tracks of futuristic trap colliding head-on with… the existential dread of having too many gold chains? Seriously, that's the vibe. https://open.spotify.com/album/1bka60jvXUj0dK5BGDSP9K This isn't...