“Fly to LA” hits the awkward part of falling hard: the grand gesture has happened, but your brain is replaying the fine print. Natalia James makes that conflict the fuel of her new dream-pop single. She places fluttery romantic scale face to face with a self-protective pulse, then lets the pressure build. James is a Mexican American artist based in Los Angeles, and her public profile...

I saw a pigeon wearing a tiny top hat yesterday. It has absolutely nothing to do with Rich Allen's new single, "No Pinks", but, honestly, what does? The song unravels like a worn photograph, the edges blurry with regret, a silent conversation shouted in the spaces between plucked guitar strings. Allen, known around Tampa for his poignant songwriting, digs deep, like a fossil hunter...