Okay, let's pretend the universe coughed up "All the Christmas Lights." Not literally, of course, though I did find a sparkly rock in my pocket this morning – probably unrelated. This single by Eric Harmsen, straight outta Alpine, manages to feel both like a familiar, cozy sweater and a strangely uncharted territory. https://open.spotify.com/album/422cieMEcXDGkGRXvKa058 The music… it’s less jingle bell rock and more like a snow globe...

With their third single, "The Gods That You Pray To," Lee Feather and The Night Movers have crafted a song that doesn’t knock; it just walks into the room, sits you down, and stares into your soul. The track is built on a contradiction that absolutely works: a hypnotic, circling synth hook that feels like watching a coin spin on a bar top, endlessly...