The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

There is a specific, humid type of danger lurking in Eshan Agarwal’s new single, "The Siren", primarily because it sounds so deceptively inviting. Most warning signs are neon red; this one comes wrapped in the sonic equivalent of a warm breeze. https://open.spotify.com/track/7BDTX2cjPkN89bVjxSbcfe?si=CPTE1wRiR6G7rNUGNH-XcA The track begins with a rhythmic plucking pattern, organic and tactile, almost like someone fidgeting with the hem of a shirt while trying to...