Lessons in Crime’s new single, "Reply ASAP," bounces along with the kind of infectious energy you’d want for a summer road trip, but it’s a smokescreen for a uniquely modern state of inertia. It feels less like a rock song and more like one of those old pneumatic message tubes from a 1940s department store—all zip and kinetic energy on the outside, but inside,...

Sometimes the heaviest thing you can carry is the art you stopped making. Brendan Ranney knows exactly how that feels, having traded his guitar for the demands of daily life almost two decades ago. Now, the Southern California indie singer-songwriter is back with his debut solo album, "Slightly Out of Focus". Sparked by finding his late father's poetry, this record is a raw, guitar-driven reflection on...