Audren, the French multidisciplinary artist and self-described “good witch,” has released her new funk-pop single, "Smile, People Smile." The track arrives as the fifth preview from her upcoming full-length album, "Think Freedom." Instead of letting us stew in the mess of a disrupted world, she delivers a bright, highly syncopated remedy meant to shake off our passive waiting. https://open.spotify.com/album/1hLUUln8LHiAnIGBYdy9rM?si=utgL1M6VQpK4KxkFWDs7iw Audren rejects standard commercial formulas here, opting...

With the arrival of Archers New Rival and their single "Direction", I found myself tracing the jagged line of a crack in my ceiling, letting the melody dictate exactly how much that imperfection bothered me. The track initiates with a deception a clean, resonant melancholy that feels safe before suddenly mushrooming into a thick, distorted wall of heavy texture. It reminds me, oddly enough,...