The first few bars of HZPROD’s new single, “War Within (Radio Edit),” don’t so much start a song as they do raise a curtain on a scene already in grim, perpetual motion. There’s a cinematic weight here, a feeling of vastness and confinement all at once. The beat hits with the grim finality of a heavy vault door swinging shut, trapping you inside the...

Some comeback albums arrive wearing a suit. Block’s "Love Crash" kicks the shoes off at the door, laughs at the mess, then starts telling the truth before anyone has found a chair. Released on Meridian, ECR Music Group, the album is Block’s sixth full-length and his first new record in 13 years. That gap matters, but the record does not beg for sympathy. It feels awake,...