Some tracks grab your attention by screaming, but the best ones pull you in by speaking softly about the things we usually hide. That is exactly what happens the second you hit play on "Heroin Blue Light." The latest release from Angel of the Evening, an independent music project created by New Zealand artist Isis-Joy, is a masterclass in emotional gravity. It is a six-minute descent...

There is a peculiar kind of engine at the heart of "Half Evil" by Tomato Soup, and it runs not on gasoline but on disorientation. The Denver six-piece calls their sound "Motor-Folk," and it fits. The track has the chugging, forward-moving momentum of a vehicle, yet it seems to be driving through a landscape seen in a fever dream, where the signposts are all...