Brother Dolly tunes into a beautifully bizarre frequency on their new synth-pop single, "Transmission Number 5". Working as an enigmatic trio separated by entirely different time zones, Dan Whitehouse, Jason Tarver, and Tom Greenwood piece their music together across oceans. They fold the audio residue of everyday life—the rhythmic rush of a Tokyo subway, the hollow whir of spinning bicycle wheels—into an intensely hypnotic,...

Kent Owens, a name that sounds like it should be on a library card next to “Hemingway,” but instead it's on the digital shelf next to my slightly messy playlist. This Cambridge-based creator of soundscapes – I’m resisting calling them songs, but…well – just released “Fade Away,” a single that feels like an open window after a long winter. It’s a soft rock hum...