There is a strangely magnetic pull to Paper Mountains’ released debut album, "An Olive Tree and a Warm Breeze." Toby Lloyd, the music producer, songwriter, and frontman steering this solo project, has stepped away from the background of crafting sounds for others to finally map out his own mind. Leaning into the soul and folk-pop sensibilities of Iron and Wine and Sam Cooke, Lloyd...

Katie Noir drops a wildly entertaining dose of affectionate satire on her new single, "I Prefer Jason". The 21-year-old student, songwriter, and producer constructs an excessively glamorous, fictionalized celebrity wedding here. Our narrator ignores the glossy, high-profile mega-star groom completely. Her attention drifts sideways instead, locking onto the best man: the groom’s relaxed, beautifully unpretentious brother, Jason. https://open.spotify.com/track/4UT6n18SpY9I0e1xPFprVY?si=b879f9126c574414 The sheer absurdity of this misdirected crush dictates...