Maraad’s new album, “BUFF”, is a strange and beautiful paradox, an object forged in the very fire it’s meant to protect you from. Each track is presented as a "buff," a bit of protective magic for the spirit, but the energy humming underneath feels less like a polished shield and more like the faint, determined glow around a figure in a centuries-old altarpiece—somehow both...

Ada Johanna’s "Better" hits like the second after you decide not to send that long paragraph. The phone is still sitting face down, the emotion is still loud, but something has shifted, and the shift has a beat. Her debut single turns blocked-number energy into bright alternative electronic pop with breakbeat drums, airy synths, and a huge final lift. The Norwegian artist uses her debut single...