The French singer Maeva Fischer is, as the headline promises, a bright star, and her collaboration with rapper T Mike on the song "Supernova" is proof positive of that. You can hear distinct influences from French chanson, jazz, pop, and soul in this song. It represents all that is free, pleasant, and warm in our souls. Her dedication to the song's subject matter is constant throughout...

Listening to Brandon White’s new single, “BiG FiSH”, is to understand a very specific, architectural kind of pressure. It’s the feeling of having shoulders too broad for the doorway, a voice too resonant for the room. White articulates not just the frustration of being a large talent in a small scene, but the creeping paranoia that comes when the pond life starts to nibble,...