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...

Brooklyn-based solo artist E.Z.O. captures a mood of quiet, breezy liberation on his new single, "Fiend." Serving as a bridge from his "2000's vibe" EP to his upcoming album, "Suburban urban", the track draws heavily on the smooth, introspective contemporary R&B of early-2000s icons like Donnell Jones and Jagged Edge. https://open.spotify.com/track/43dVAcm5lsHJoNeUACw9ot?si=5X15P35STAa2Mu_xjUx_8A The instrumental relies on a bright, repeating plucked sequence that dances nimbly across the high...