Growing up changes the meaning of a late night. The Mack Brothers seize that feeling on “Sleepless in Seattle,” an indie rock single from Philadelphia brothers John and Matthew Mackara. The title comes from John’s own phrase for those anxious, can’t-switch-off hours, and the song’s stated concern is the friction between the past and the present. That premise hits hard because it is familiar without being...

The Austin-based songwriter Alex Winters turns the terrifying act of emotional surrender into a towering alt-rock confession. There is a specific kind of silence that occupies a room right before a heavy truth is spoken aloud. It is thick, suffocating, and entirely self-imposed. We build fortresses out of our past traumas, stacking bricks of deflection and mortar of avoidance to guarantee nothing can ever hurt us...