Ettie, who was born and raised in London, is a phenomenon in the music industry because of her lyrical alchemy, which transforms cultural touchstones and personal histories into pure alt-pop gold. She is able to compose alternative pop songs that speak to the anxiety that is felt by millennials because of the gift of being able to play with words. Ettie, who has a degree in...

There's a specific kind of bleak bartering that happens at 2 AM, and Rusty Reid’s single “Piece of the Action” builds a whole four-minute economy around it. This isn't a song about the sweeping grandeur of romance; it’s a clinical look at turning “dissatisfaction” into “a transaction of love.” The language is deliberate, almost like a contract being signed on a napkin under a...