Listening to Shotgun Driver’s new EP, “Jester Privileges”, is like finding a glitter bomb in a padded cell. The four songs present a disorienting, strangely compelling contradiction. On the surface, the alt-pop framework pulses with an upbeat, almost defiant energy; this is the slick, rock-tinged anxiety of a Machine Gun Kelly track built for open-road brooding. But beneath it, the narrative, carried by those...

Rising New England songwriter Ava Valianti transforms personal anxiety into sharp indie pop commentary "Laugh Track". Few artists in the crowded field of indie pop are able to capture the strange nervousness of modern life as well as Ava Valianti does in her latest song, "Laugh Track." This song is a truly honest reflection on how we see ourselves and how hard it is to go...