SHAB channels survival itself on her new single, "Skin & Bones". The Persian American artist, a former refugee who rebuilt her life to become a prominent advocate for displaced persons globally, delivers something completely fascinating here. Born in the terrifying aftermath of her partner’s severe car crash, you might anticipate a heavy, mourning dirge. Instead, she weaponizes euphoria. https://open.spotify.com/track/6hdR6RTBE4SaYeg0sMg6Q7?si=72acc5770cc14863 The song hits you with an unabashedly...

The most arresting thing about Laura M.’s “Fly Away” arrives before any attempt to overstate it: the single is the 15-year-old singer-songwriter’s first song written completely on her own. It takes the tender, melancholy pull of first love and gives it the perspective of someone meeting those feelings in real time. “Fly Away” makes room for a young writer’s first independent statement. Laura was born in...