There is a peculiar friction to the digital textures of Skylarka and her new album, "Somnorine". It’s supposed to be chiptune-influenced synthwave, but listening to it feels less like browsing the internet and more like chewing on aluminum foil while watching Blade Runner on a CRT monitor that’s slowly degaussing. It’s a sensory contradiction bright, crystalline pop hooks wrestling with the deep, existential dread...

You know that exact moment when you realize the people clapping the loudest are the ones hoping you trip? That is the exact energy Mista Crook captures in his latest single, "Dream Big". 'Dream Big' does not waste time pretending the road to success is all champagne and confetti. It gets straight to the gritty reality of what happens when your ambition outgrows your current...