This is the kind of breakup track that checks your pulse before you have time to act fine. Drew Swords comes in hot on "Better Without Me?", a 3:32 indie rock single that turns one ugly little question into a full-body rush: what if someone really did get happier after you left? That thought can ruin a perfectly good afternoon. It can also make a chorus...

The first listen of Haus of Sound’s new single, “Mirage,” is like walking into a room where a beautifully ornate vase has just been shattered against a wall. There's a jagged, crystalline energy here, a collision of theatrical drama and raw, modern discontent. Evolving from their 2000s tribute roots, the Everett band has synthesized the best of that era’s angst—the coiled tension of early...