Audra Watt’s new single, “Livin’ It Up,” arrived sounding like a car stereo blasting down a highway you’ve never driven before, fueled by a full tank and a spectacular disregard for the GPS. This isn’t a polite suggestion to change your life; it's a three-minute rock-and-roll sermon on the glory of ripping up the map entirely, delivered with a voice that balances Nashville honesty...

Maraad’s new album, “BUFF”, is a strange and beautiful paradox, an object forged in the very fire it’s meant to protect you from. Each track is presented as a "buff," a bit of protective magic for the spirit, but the energy humming underneath feels less like a polished shield and more like the faint, determined glow around a figure in a centuries-old altarpiece—somehow both...