A Project Called Love just dropped the new single "Chance Encounter," and I’ve been letting its surprisingly anxious rhythm bounce around my skull all afternoon. Jay Hope, the musician handling songwriting, vocals, guitar, and bass for this solo venture, splits his life between the sun-bleached shores of Venice, California, and the concrete lines of Cologne, Germany. Usually deeply rooted in the punk and grunge...

Vie Jester’s new EP, ‘Masquerade’, presents itself like a costume box found in an attic that smells faintly of ozone and old, ambitious blueprints. This Los Angeles trio, typically weavers of their own heavy, harmonious rock tapestries laced with esoteric concerns, have opted for a different kind of unveiling: they’re trying on other people's clothes. https://open.spotify.com/album/0grUBCwpcgdKF29lBxWmLR?si=RTUUi7H3SC2oUUHu0TdHig A covers EP can be a curious beast. Here, Vie...