Mariah Jayne, "Crescent". This single... it's a chipped teacup holding a storm. Not a tempest in a teapot, mind you, something far more contained, yet infinitely more volatile. "Crescent," the new single from rising indie-pop artist Mariah Jayne, isn't something you just listen to. You inhabit it. https://open.spotify.com/track/2mLMCz0d31Q0emQqOMBUOY?si=d70ef1311a1b4019 The genre label says indie-pop. Fine. Accurate, I suppose, if you're cataloging butterflies by pinning them to a...

Casey McQuillen’s single “Better” arrives not with a bang, but with the quiet, decisive click of a well-made lock securing a door. It’s pop music, certainly, groomed and gleaming, yet beneath the surface bubbles a fierce kind of self-possession that’s less about demanding attention and more about curating who gets past the velvet rope of your own contentment. Coming from someone known for empowerment...