The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

SLAPPER’s latest instrumental single, "We Kept The Night," hits the nervous system like a sudden memory of a teenage curfew completely ignored. Created by solo artist Claudiu-Gabriel Tache, the Romanian electronic project weaves an energetic, neon-tinted atmosphere that entirely bypasses the brain and aims straight for your heartbeat. https://open.spotify.com/album/1ViBUUSpof7UkZSeG3yiFA?si=aGe4DzAbRm627r-Gwjhv3Q The melody is intensely bright. Bouncy, rapidly played ascending and descending notes dance relentlessly over a steady,...