Listening to Arnold J.’s new single, "Muddy Waters," isn't quite like anything else swirling around right now. It arrives with the gentle insistence of incoming tide, pulling you into its specific gravity. Arnold J., Ghanaian-born and now Canada-based, weaves a sound tagged as alt-country and folk, but those labels feel thin, like trying to contain smoke. There’s earthiness, sure, but his soulful vocal lines...

There is a specific, humid type of danger lurking in Eshan Agarwal’s new single, "The Siren", primarily because it sounds so deceptively inviting. Most warning signs are neon red; this one comes wrapped in the sonic equivalent of a warm breeze. https://open.spotify.com/track/7BDTX2cjPkN89bVjxSbcfe?si=CPTE1wRiR6G7rNUGNH-XcA The track begins with a rhythmic plucking pattern, organic and tactile, almost like someone fidgeting with the hem of a shirt while trying to...