Listening to “Small Town Syndrome” by thinking silly is an exercise in delightful contradiction. Dylan Morrison’s project, shaped here by the production hand of collaborator Margot Taylor, builds a sleek, propulsive chassis of dark pop and minimal techno, only to house an engine of pure, grinding ache. It’s the sound of someone forcing a smile so wide their face hurts, a dance track for...

Ben Gage and "Lookin' For A Devil" arrive at a moment when the American dream feels particularly elusive. The Akron-born songwriter has spent years chronicling the rust belt experience, and his latest single captures something both specific and universal: the peculiar frustration of being too broke even for damnation. Released on July 18, this track emerges from Gage's upcoming album like smoke from a dying campfire....