Four songs, seventeen minutes, and a fortieth birthday. Zora Kirin’s "The Bones Are Beautiful" has a clean premise, but it refuses an easy emotional shortcut. The Berlin artist calls her debut solo EP hopecore, and the label fits because these songs make room for hard feelings before they reach for light. It is a focused indie folk listen that moves from early wonder to adult desire,...

Violet Love has a bright idea for the end of summer: make the feeling of finally fitting in feel big enough for a playlist. "Airport Road," her forthcoming original single, comes from a personal place, her proposal to her fiancé and her welcome into his family, but its appeal is built around a feeling lots of listeners recognise. You can spend years looking for the right...