On his bracing new single “Jolie,” New York City songwriter and guitarist Owen Steib channels 1990s college-rock bite to reckon with a devastating story of lost innocence. The 18-year-old high school senior constructs a fragmented, out-of-order mystery around an exiled girl caught in the wreckage of an irreversible, violent incident. Instead of spelling out the tragedy cleanly, Steib drops cryptic, evocative breadcrumbs a denim...

Tone Walk's new single, "No Clues," slid into my rotation, and the title, I must admit, feels less like a name and more like a calmly issued challenge to anyone trying to keep pace. This isn't just a sprinkle of confidence; it’s a full-throated declaration of lyrical sovereignty, an artist essentially explaining they've already lapped the field while competitors are still deciphering the starting...