Janet Devlin’s new single, “Houston,” arrives as a gleeful contradiction, a two-stepping Americana anthem for the sovereign state of one. It has all the upbeat, country-rock fixings for a roadside sing-along, yet its heart is miles away, floating in a self-imposed, wonderfully stubborn vacuum. The track opens, and you’re ready for a communal good time; instead, you find yourself at a party where the...

There are weeks that feel too crowded for seven days. They arrive with glowing screens, quick promises, late replies, private doubt, and the odd little silence that follows a message left sitting too long. By Friday, the heart has already held a full committee meeting. By Sunday, the truth has stopped being polite. That compressed emotional weather is the territory Lana Karlay enters on 'For...