You know that exact second when everyone is staring at you, waiting for you to blow out the candles, and all you want to do is disappear? Ava Valianti has captured that highly specific, deeply uncomfortable feeling and turned it into an absolute indie pop gem. Her latest single, "Birthday Cake," drops you right into the middle of a party you never wanted to attend....

There is a peculiar friction to the digital textures of Skylarka and her new album, "Somnorine". It’s supposed to be chiptune-influenced synthwave, but listening to it feels less like browsing the internet and more like chewing on aluminum foil while watching Blade Runner on a CRT monitor that’s slowly degaussing. It’s a sensory contradiction bright, crystalline pop hooks wrestling with the deep, existential dread...