Listening to Marie Chain’s new single, “Holy Water,” is like turning a corner to find yourself in the midst of a sacred ritual already unfolding. It’s a gathering by a riverbank, but the river is made of sound—a compelling, moving current of Global Soul that tugs you in before you’ve even had a chance to decide if you want to get wet. https://open.spotify.com/track/2cvoVVph7OUL2iUNs1KPJB?si=7eceaad2ae824ed6 The beat has...

Listening to Creative Vibrations’ new album, “Sunday Bummer”, feels a lot like the ailment it’s named for. It’s not an abrupt sadness, but a slow, creeping realization that the weekend’s flimsy sanctuary is dissolving. It’s the color of the sky turning from blue to a kind of industrial grey, the feeling of putting on work shoes that have spent two days forgetting the shape...