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...

“Lavender” hits like a velvet curtain being pulled back at the exact second everyone stops pretending. Jay Saint James does not chase a basic pop moment here. The Ayr, Scotland singer-songwriter, walks into old Hollywood’s private corridors and comes out with a record that feels glossy, bruised, and strangely intimate. “Lavender” is an original single with a 3:16 runtime on Spotify as part of “Lavender/ Under...