Matt Nation drops "April’s Fool," and I am instantly struck by the sheer exhaustion of loving a hologram. The Brooklyn-born, LA-based artist has a knack for dissolving the borders between alt-pop, R&B, and nu-disco, but here, he channels a soul-stirring pop-punk urgency through a laid-back, indie-pop filter. https://open.spotify.com/track/7rPHpg1lXMiQFFuuIX9ZT5 It is a strange, brilliant contrast. A melancholic chord loop cycles endlessly, creating a flowing foundation for Nation's...

Samantha Mora’s “Luto” arrived like a half-remembered dream, a wisp of smoke curling from a candle just extinguished. It's not a song to shout from rooftops; it's something you feel in the space between your breaths. Her voice is so smooth, a rich velvet you could lose yourself in. You'd almost think it could just glide across the cumbia rhythms like a hummingbird over...