The Norwegian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tonje Gravningsmyhr turns loss, self-love, identity and imposter syndrome into a thoughtful pop album 'Maze' shaped by horns, patient craft and grown-up honesty. In the old stories of labyrinths, the monster is rarely the only danger. The greater fear is the corridor that looks familiar, the turn that repeats itself, the small panic of trying to remember who you were...

With the arrival of Archers New Rival and their single "Direction", I found myself tracing the jagged line of a crack in my ceiling, letting the melody dictate exactly how much that imperfection bothered me. The track initiates with a deception a clean, resonant melancholy that feels safe before suddenly mushrooming into a thick, distorted wall of heavy texture. It reminds me, oddly enough,...