When I first queued up Leah Sophia and her bold new track "Cocain", I half-expected a gritty, urban cautionary tale or perhaps a frantic club anthem. Instead, the room filled with something that felt like humid air and silk sheets. It’s a brilliant bit of misdirection. While the title suggests something illicit and jagged, the sonic reality is pure, unadulterated oxytocin. https://open.spotify.com/album/0ErORxWDUhOnAtN4pq4Oui?si=RjmK-bmXRWitFKLp1p0Kxw The track operates in...

Janet Devlin’s new single, “Houston,” arrives as a gleeful contradiction, a two-stepping Americana anthem for the sovereign state of one. It has all the upbeat, country-rock fixings for a roadside sing-along, yet its heart is miles away, floating in a self-imposed, wonderfully stubborn vacuum. The track opens, and you’re ready for a communal good time; instead, you find yourself at a party where the...