Listening to the new EP from Mahto & The Loose Balloons, “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue,” is like opening a wooden box found in an attic. The contents aren't keepsakes, but vows—four jagged promises made to oneself in the quiet aftermath of a great uncoupling. https://open.spotify.com/album/3tCZ38eK4scP2ncv8ga7WM?si=RJGgjZhlQSWNOxxaRbKPZg This is music that breathes the air of the room it was born in. Mahto Addison-Browder’s voice...

Empty Pinata – remember LA Rodriguez? – serves up the single "Bonfire," and honestly, the air changes slightly when you play it. It’s less like passively listening and more like discovering a singed diary page fluttering down a quiet street. The music itself is this curious contradiction, wrapping harrowing emotional shrapnel in the comforting gauze of indie-pop, flecked with soft rock warmth. A strangely...