DBsock, the artistic moniker of Mingwei Gao, arrives not with a gentle announcement, but with a complex, shifting statement in her debut EP, "The Journey". The songs on this album do not really feel like easy music. Instead, they feel more like a complicated guide that shows the way through internal territories. Gao is a singer, musician, producer, and creator who works in Los Angeles and...

Laru’s “Contra el Río” arrives with its shoulders up. The Spanish-language debut single uses a firm dembow groove and intense vocal delivery to meet the feeling of pushing ahead when life keeps adding weight. The companion video gives every pressure a face, object, or physical task. For anyone building a plan while bills, doubts, and other people’s demands crowd the frame, Laru has made a...