The Canadian-born, Ireland-based artist Ndidi O pulls us by the collar into a staggering emotional space on her new album, "It’s About Time". You might recognize her commanding vocals drifting through high-stakes television moments on Netflix or HBO Max, but here, she strips away the glossy screen to sit right beside you. This is her most intensely personal and politically fierce work to date...

When the Malaga-based duo My State unleashed "Its Whatever", I half-expected my speakers to start smoking—or at least demand an apology for the sudden surge in voltage. It is rare to hear a track that captures the precise auditory frequency of snapping a pencil in half out of sheer frustration, but here we are. This isn't polite radio fodder. It is high-octane pop-rock that forgot...