There is a strangely magnetic pull to Paper Mountains’ released debut album, "An Olive Tree and a Warm Breeze." Toby Lloyd, the music producer, songwriter, and frontman steering this solo project, has stepped away from the background of crafting sounds for others to finally map out his own mind. Leaning into the soul and folk-pop sensibilities of Iron and Wine and Sam Cooke, Lloyd...

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...