Lessons in Crime’s new single, "Reply ASAP," bounces along with the kind of infectious energy you’d want for a summer road trip, but it’s a smokescreen for a uniquely modern state of inertia. It feels less like a rock song and more like one of those old pneumatic message tubes from a 1940s department store—all zip and kinetic energy on the outside, but inside,...

There is a specific weight to Chellcy Reitsma’s "Carpe Diem," one that feels less like a motivational poster and more like a heavy coin you’ve carried in your pocket for years, its edges worn smooth by worry. It announces its intention with a title we think we know, a bright promise of seizing the day, but the music itself doesn't offer easy platitudes. Instead,...