Listening to the new DownTown Mystic EP, "Mystic Highway", is a bit like finding an old, perfectly worn-in roadmap in the glovebox of a brand new car. It has the feel of something essential, something foundational, yet it’s being used to navigate a landscape of blindingly modern anxieties. Robert Allen, the architect behind this project, isn’t just playing classic rock; he's conducting a seance...

Lessons in Crime’s new single, "Reply ASAP," bounces along with the kind of infectious energy you’d want for a summer road trip, but it’s a smokescreen for a uniquely modern state of inertia. It feels less like a rock song and more like one of those old pneumatic message tubes from a 1940s department store—all zip and kinetic energy on the outside, but inside,...