When I first queued up Leah Sophia and her bold new track "Cocain", I half-expected a gritty, urban cautionary tale or perhaps a frantic club anthem. Instead, the room filled with something that felt like humid air and silk sheets. It’s a brilliant bit of misdirection. While the title suggests something illicit and jagged, the sonic reality is pure, unadulterated oxytocin. https://open.spotify.com/album/0ErORxWDUhOnAtN4pq4Oui?si=RjmK-bmXRWitFKLp1p0Kxw The track operates in...

Listening to “Small Town Syndrome” by thinking silly is an exercise in delightful contradiction. Dylan Morrison’s project, shaped here by the production hand of collaborator Margot Taylor, builds a sleek, propulsive chassis of dark pop and minimal techno, only to house an engine of pure, grinding ache. It’s the sound of someone forcing a smile so wide their face hurts, a dance track for...