Audren, the French multidisciplinary artist and self-described “good witch,” has released her new funk-pop single, "Smile, People Smile." The track arrives as the fifth preview from her upcoming full-length album, "Think Freedom." Instead of letting us stew in the mess of a disrupted world, she delivers a bright, highly syncopated remedy meant to shake off our passive waiting. https://open.spotify.com/album/1hLUUln8LHiAnIGBYdy9rM?si=utgL1M6VQpK4KxkFWDs7iw Audren rejects standard commercial formulas here, opting...

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...