The fastest pop songs arrive like a notification. Ben Lester’s self-titled debut does something more interesting: it lets the listener wait for the message to finish forming. Across 13 tracks for Mayfield Records, the London singer, songwriter, performer and producer turns patience into part of the pleasure. The result is indie pop with an arranger’s discipline, a record built for people who like a chorus but...

Fish And Scale has surfaced from the quiet margins with a massive new pop-rock ballad, dropping the cinematic single "Letter from Paulus" today. The German storyteller and independent folk artist operates with a peculiar mystical touch, one seemingly forged by a childhood near-death experience and years spent tucked away in silent retreats. https://open.spotify.com/track/1tfeCiQX5gSMwbMMdjCfWv?si=8a724fa2787f41b8 All that introspective isolation pours directly into this track. It begins terribly exposed....