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...

Plu2. The name sounds like a forgotten mathematical formula, doesn't it? Or maybe the sequel to a beloved, animated robot. But no, it's a 17-year-old Swede – because of course Sweden is exporting brilliantly crafted pop-infused EDM now – named Plu2, who has dropped a single called "Want Me." And, get this: it's not about wanting; it’s about knowing. https://open.spotify.com/album/2rpQgoxq1bQgKRPl5Wh3Cb?si=iMFR4P8wRq-_jrB_voxZeA The track pulses, it throbs, it...