Casey McQuillen’s single “Better” arrives not with a bang, but with the quiet, decisive click of a well-made lock securing a door. It’s pop music, certainly, groomed and gleaming, yet beneath the surface bubbles a fierce kind of self-possession that’s less about demanding attention and more about curating who gets past the velvet rope of your own contentment. Coming from someone known for empowerment...

That is the intended emotional response to music. When people relate to you on a deeper level, they are more likely to stick around for the trip. Rapper G4ZZA of the United Kingdom is back with another rap tune titled "On Reflection" that speaks to the universal truths and emotions that many people experience daily but find difficult to articulate. The intensity of this song, which...