The first few bars of HZPROD’s new single, “War Within (Radio Edit),” don’t so much start a song as they do raise a curtain on a scene already in grim, perpetual motion. There’s a cinematic weight here, a feeling of vastness and confinement all at once. The beat hits with the grim finality of a heavy vault door swinging shut, trapping you inside the...

Trick Shooter Social Club's "Television," isn't some shiny, manufactured anthem. It's a scratched-up record, the kind you pull out after a long day where everything tasted like cardboard and feels the same kind of worn in and comfortable. This Chicago outfit, led by Larry Liss and Steve Simoncic, they’ve bottled that feeling into a song about quiet corners and the kind of love that...