Some tracks do not ask for your attention politely; they kick the door off the hinges and demand you listen. That is exactly what happens the moment you hit play on "So Close," the latest alternative rock single from New York City's own Kim McClay. It hits with the same sudden, dizzying clarity as seeing your ex post a hard launch on Instagram. You know...

Dylan Forshner's new EP, “Hopeless Optimism,” presents itself not so much as a collection of songs but as a series of candid diary entries set to intricately picked acoustic strings. This five-song journey from the Welland, Canada artist begins in a place of palpable internal wrestling, where the lyrics – and Forshner’s delivery – map out the grim territories of being overwhelmed, using substances...