David Alex-Barton has just dropped his new single and music video, "Crush", and the track operates with a deeply frantic, delightful energy. The New England-born, Nashville-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer has a knack for genre collision, carrying the restless pedigree of Boston power pop punk legends The Outlets and the country rock swagger of Tattoo Cowboy. This time around, he’s steering headfirst into...

With the arrival of Archers New Rival and their single "Direction", I found myself tracing the jagged line of a crack in my ceiling, letting the melody dictate exactly how much that imperfection bothered me. The track initiates with a deception a clean, resonant melancholy that feels safe before suddenly mushrooming into a thick, distorted wall of heavy texture. It reminds me, oddly enough,...