When the Malaga-based duo My State unleashed "Its Whatever", I half-expected my speakers to start smoking—or at least demand an apology for the sudden surge in voltage. It is rare to hear a track that captures the precise auditory frequency of snapping a pencil in half out of sheer frustration, but here we are. This isn't polite radio fodder. It is high-octane pop-rock that forgot...

Mark Vennis & Different Place have unleashed "Goodbye to All That", a record that feels less like a standard studio production and more like stumbling across a box of forgotten, mud-stained letters from the front lines, set to a rhythm that refuses to sit still. https://open.spotify.com/album/0uvXq10rlm29SxAdmx8IVQ?si=fai-hk9BQru4curtMTfKIA There is a particular flavor of cynicism that seems to ferment best in the damp air of the British Isles,...