Listening to the new EP from Mahto & The Loose Balloons, “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue,” is like opening a wooden box found in an attic. The contents aren't keepsakes, but vows—four jagged promises made to oneself in the quiet aftermath of a great uncoupling. https://open.spotify.com/album/3tCZ38eK4scP2ncv8ga7WM?si=RJGgjZhlQSWNOxxaRbKPZg This is music that breathes the air of the room it was born in. Mahto Addison-Browder’s voice...

Anacy's “Frosty” just landed, and honestly, it's like finding a lone, slightly melted candy cane in the back of the cupboard – a bit melancholic, oddly sweet, and intensely…there. This isn’t your standard jingle-bell affair. Anacy, who carves out these sonic spaces somewhere between indie-pop and, what? Festive electronica? It’s like wrapping Christmas lights around a synthesizer, I guess. They’re South African, too, which...