There is something deliciously conspiratorial about Hidden Shores and the release of the "Neon Silence" EP. I find myself picturing the artist wiping chalk dust off their hands after a day of teaching elementary schoolers, only to go home, dim the lights, and converse with algorithms. It’s not your typical moonlighting gig; while most are decompressing with reality TV, Hidden Shores is out there...

There is a peculiar kind of engine at the heart of "Half Evil" by Tomato Soup, and it runs not on gasoline but on disorientation. The Denver six-piece calls their sound "Motor-Folk," and it fits. The track has the chugging, forward-moving momentum of a vehicle, yet it seems to be driving through a landscape seen in a fever dream, where the signposts are all...