NYRE, a name that might conjure up images of a misplaced Scrabble tile, delivers something far more resonant than random letters with their new EP, "Avoidant." It’s a four-track dive into the deep end of heartbreak, the kind that leaves you feeling like you’ve accidentally swallowed a handful of gravel and regret. I can’t help but think of those old grainy black and white...

Dylan Forshner's new EP, “Hopeless Optimism,” presents itself not so much as a collection of songs but as a series of candid diary entries set to intricately picked acoustic strings. This five-song journey from the Welland, Canada artist begins in a place of palpable internal wrestling, where the lyrics – and Forshner’s delivery – map out the grim territories of being overwhelmed, using substances...