The Madrid-based singer-songwriter Elif Coskun turns a soft, cinematic alt-pop single into a clear-eyed hit of memory, forgiveness, and emotional honesty. Some songs hit because they say the messy thing before you are ready to admit it. Elif Coskun's "The Hardest Part" does exactly that, then lets the feeling hang there. This cinematic single from the Madrid-based singer-songwriter, shocks through care, not anger. That may sound...

Bracknell outfit The Mustard tackle the dizzying friction of grief and endurance on their sweeping new single, "Where We're Goin". There is an immediate, nervous propulsion at work: a nimble, rapidly plucked motif snaps forward against a persistent low-end thrum, generating kinetic tension before detonating into a chorus soaked in soaring synths and wide-open sky. It taps into the stadium-sized earnestness of Simple Minds...