Not all wars are fought with guns. Some battles are waged in traffic jams, in empty kitchens, or in the hollow space between a scream and a whisper at 2 a.m. Dax's latest single "Soldier" featuring Tom MacDonald doesn’t march with a drumbeat of victory; it crawls, it scratches, it survives. Written for anyone wrestling with life’s demons—the internal kind, the ones that don't...

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...