Violet Love has offered up an EP titled "Destined to Fail," and it arrives less like a prediction and more like a pre-existing condition, a medical chart for a soul that’s been diagnosed with itself. The DIY recording quality doesn’t feel lo-fi for aesthetics; it feels necessary, like these songs could only have been born in a sealed-off room where the air was getting...

Phidippus’ "Prazosin," the album, is a strange little thing. Not like finding a sock in the dryer that never had a match, but more like finding a tiny, perfectly formed city inside an acorn. It's all electronic pulses and hums, built by Eric Salazar, with what feels like very specific, and also wonderfully messy, intention. Jeff Riteman and Alice Indiana pop in as guests,...