Natasha, out of K.C., presents her new single, “Life’s Little Tragedies,” and it’s rather like an old, slightly melancholic tune you half-remember, then it snags you. The folk-jazz-pop tapestry, woven with soulful cello and unvarnished acoustic guitar, creates an atmosphere that’s chill, certainly, but with an undercurrent that pulls you in to listen closer. https://open.spotify.com/album/1IZqhutFIL4aVNVMTH4h7m?si=rCWdvIjKSsqWV7ok9_aBzA The song unpacks how present pain—a romantic betrayal, the rotter—can yank...

There’s a curious sort of old-soul gravity to Amelina’s single, “Step by Step,” one that defies the pop-rock sheen and the artist’s young age. The track opens with a resolute, almost stern, string and piano line that feels less like an invitation to a party and more like the sound of someone tying their shoelaces before a long journey. This is the sound of...