Arn-Identified Flying Objects Alien Friend caught me entirely off guard with his single, "John in Roses' Deep". Since setting off on his own in 2020, the Swedish solo artist and former REDMOON singer and guitarist has frequently stirred acoustic Americana and electric power pop together. Here, though, he unearths a pitch-black, traditional murder ballad. https://open.spotify.com/track/0t1vuoXfweiH62utynIwEt?si=aIBBxd2ESI-DrcivYHMIrg The track revolves around a rhythmic, stubbornly cyclical melody that sets...

Five songs. Seventeen minutes. A decade’s worth of emotional receipts. Vanessa Moussa’s self-titled debut EP finds the Sydney vocalist placing her own name on the cover after years of work alongside other artists. This compact indie folk and alternative blues release traces new love, heartbreak, hope, regret, then the choice to move on. Moussa enters this chapter with experience. ABC’s triple j Unearthed identifies her as...