A bright pop hook and a bad text arriving in the same minute can ruin an entire afternoon. Analiese understands that collision. Her debut EP, "Miss Melancholy", turns high-school heartbreak, shaky friendships, body-image worry, and prom-night drama into a seven-song pop release built for the car ride home. For a pre-release project, the idea lands fast: this is coming-of-age pop with mascara-smudged nerves and an appetite...

You can practically smell the stale beer and sweat radiating off the opening chords. Some records ask politely for your time, but 'Talon Dance' kicks the door off its hinges and demands you listen. Decay Chain has arrived with a debut single that captures the exact feeling of being young, angry, and entirely fed up with the polished state of modern alternative music. It is a...