Ultan’s single, "The Tempest," erupts not so much into the room as it does through the floorboards, dragging with it the scent of wet wool and imminent confrontation. This Dublin solo musician, a cartographer of past agonies, presents an energetic rock piece that feels less like a song about history and more like a fragment of it, throbbing and urgent. The main riff careers...

There is a specific frequency of liberation that Lucia captures in "Take It Off," hitting the ears with the decisive snap of a locked door finally springing open. While the UK artist has a fifteen-year pedigree, spanning stints with Sam Bailey and time behind the piano, this single sidesteps nostalgia for something urgent and strictly present-tense. https://open.spotify.com/track/6NX7Y3Ybp7nESeAr9jTvJm?si=189311ca1af846f1 The track rides on a deep, bouncy rhythmic pulse...