The first few bars of HZPROD’s new single, “War Within (Radio Edit),” don’t so much start a song as they do raise a curtain on a scene already in grim, perpetual motion. There’s a cinematic weight here, a feeling of vastness and confinement all at once. The beat hits with the grim finality of a heavy vault door swinging shut, trapping you inside the...

Listening to Loup Miracle’s new EP, “Back To You”, feels a bit like trying to navigate by stars through a suddenly unfamiliar city. The French outfit, steered by Vincent Leservoisier alongside Paul Douvier and Miguel Romero Sulbaran (with input here from Pierre Szabo and Issara), crafts art rock that’s simultaneously groovy and deeply unsettling. These three songs thrum with the push-and-pull of modern existence...