Brandon Watson just released an absolute battering ram of a single with "Watch Me Work". The Franklin-based, Texas-born songwriter and producer tackles the age-old theme of ambition, but entirely ditches the usual glossy inspirational clichés for pure, combat-ready swagger. https://open.spotify.com/track/0za6E6IEIjs4B02OfuzuIz?si=7b1cb992bcec4632 The arrangement roots itself in the dirt. A heavy, stomping percussion sets a marching cadence from the jump, acting as the spine for jagged, distorted electric...

There is a peculiar kind of engine at the heart of "Half Evil" by Tomato Soup, and it runs not on gasoline but on disorientation. The Denver six-piece calls their sound "Motor-Folk," and it fits. The track has the chugging, forward-moving momentum of a vehicle, yet it seems to be driving through a landscape seen in a fever dream, where the signposts are all...