The first encounter with Asta Bria’s new single, “Dragonfly,” is a calculated disorientation. For an artist who once cozied up to funk’s leisurely sway, this is a sharp turn onto a rain-slicked digital highway. The song’s intent for the dance floor is immediately apparent; a commanding, four-to-the-floor beat acts as a gravitational field, pinning you to the present moment. But hovering just above it...

ANGELICA, the Colombian-born, New Yorker— wait, wasn't she a dancer? Yes, was. Now, she's singing, and her latest single, "Lincoln Pl," produced by Marrick Smith and Ian Kimmel, dropped. And my first thought, unbidden, was: Why do pigeons always bob their heads? https://open.spotify.com/album/3O23i4F0TvXtrIp8I6o9jl?si=t1MLgaIyQfWeU1UIobZ1iQ Anyway, "Lincoln Pl." It's a pop/R&B concoction, with a dreamy synth that makes you think you're floating, until ANGELICA's voice, all grounded and...