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...

Janet Devlin releases "Candy", and she sounds like she’s wearing a smirk that could stop traffic. This track doesn't tiptoe; it struts. From the jump, we are met with a rhythmic, plucking string vibration a gritty, staccato backbone that acts like the nervous system of the song. It’s propelled by a heavy, stomping beat that feels authoritative, the kind of pulse that makes you...