Laru’s “Contra el Río” arrives with its shoulders up. The Spanish-language debut single uses a firm dembow groove and intense vocal delivery to meet the feeling of pushing ahead when life keeps adding weight. The companion video gives every pressure a face, object, or physical task. For anyone building a plan while bills, doubts, and other people’s demands crowd the frame, Laru has made a...

Nothing Concrete’s new album, “The Imperfectionist”, is less a collection of songs and more a vessel that’s been around the world a few times, collecting scuffs and stories. It’s a beautifully unsteady thing, this record from the duo of Fergus McKay and Gaia Miato. They’ve crafted a dusty, globetrotting shuffle where bluesy resignation and the dramatic posture of tango are held together by the...