Mortez – “Down With the Devil”. Straight into the furnace, then. This single from Brett Daniels and Rachele Royale doesn’t politely knock; it kicks the door down with steel-toed boots covered in… brimstone? The grit is immediate, a tangible layer of sonic soot settling over everything, thick and almost chewy. https://open.spotify.com/album/6NltuAK7Iev2PQjXwdU2Mo?si=2H3TJFSaT6GjnEZdCVqtGA Rachele Royale’s voice isn’t just strong; it’s the sound of someone refusing to burn quietly....

Some songs are like a time machine. You press play, and suddenly you’re somewhere else, some other time. Maybe it’s a smoky bar in the 1970s, a sweaty punk club in the 80s, or, in the case of “Oh Denise,” the new single from Ken Woods and The Old Blue Gang, a dusty dancehall on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, sometime in the not-too-distant past. The...