Some names behave like locked doors. They sit in a lyric, plain enough to read, yet private enough to resist the curious hand. Emilia, in Yacovelli's new single, carries that strange power. She is named, pursued, teased, and protected, as if the song has placed her under stage light only to turn the bulb toward the crowd. For a band rooted in the scuffed romance...

Some comeback albums arrive wearing a suit. Block’s "Love Crash" kicks the shoes off at the door, laughs at the mess, then starts telling the truth before anyone has found a chair. Released on Meridian, ECR Music Group, the album is Block’s sixth full-length and his first new record in 13 years. That gap matters, but the record does not beg for sympathy. It feels awake,...