Emily Yacina has spent years building up a cult following for her whispery indie-pop. By teaming with Rostam on a pair of new tracks, she’s added some crystalline oomph to an intimate sound, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the resulting songs exponentially inflate the size of the fan club. A-side “Trick Of The Light” reminds me of Rostam’s work with Yacina’s peer Clairo, the way the production made these songs sparkle, like a mumblecore film suddenly snapping into prestige Oscar bait. Of course, it wouldn’t work without vocal melodies that lope so gracefully and tenderly or lyrics that so deftly probe the nuances of romance. “Trick Of The Light” explores the blurry middle — between our internal and external worlds, between fantasy and reality — so it’s a nice bit of synchronicity that the musical aesthetic lands in some undefined space between bedroom-pop and radio bait. —Chris

An awkward, unsolicited conversation can be a real irritation, but it’s usually not the end of the world. Still, bless Cal Graham, lead bellower for London punks the Chisel, for being willing and able to go all the way over the top in his response: “Jesus Christ, you’re a bloodsucker! Pick at me just like a vulture!” It’s a great gift to make a head-stomper anthem out of an everyday annoyance. The Chisel’s feverish riffage is enough to turn aggravation into something transcendent. Leave these guys alone! —Tom

Maybe it’s a cop-out to compare a hardcore band to Turnstile, but Spaced’s “Landslide” has the wonderfully tumultuous yet melodic texture of Turnstile’s 2018 masterpiece Time & Space. The Buffalo crew has been sharing rippers since 2021, and they seem primed for a level-up; they’ve just signed to Revelation Records and are about to hit the road with Militarie Gun. “Landslide” is an invigorating start to their takeover. —Danielle

On last year’s excellent Stage Of Love, Mary Jane Dunphe made hard, heavy pop music with a cold electronic edge. “Fix Me,” from her new Sub Pop single, the poet and musician keeps up the creative momentum. Dunphe calls the song “an internal stutter of feeling that there is something wrong inside, and all you can do is feel it out with a song.” Over a foundation of clattering percussion and angrily snaking distorted bass, you can hear that feeling working its way to the surface in every bellow, sigh, and wail. —Chris

C’mon, it doesn’t get much better than this: “I hope no one had to piss in a bottle at work to get me the thing I ordered on the internet.” Oh, wait, maybe it does: “I know every time you sip from a bottle of piss and remember me the memory degrades.” The verse kickoffs on “All My Exes Live In Vortexes” are just two primo examples of the sharp, bitter songwriting talents of Rosie Tucker. The song sounds like information overload, queasy and stumbling forward with intention. Tucker is woefully underrated but hopefully not for much longer — “All My Exes Live In Vortexes” deserves to be heard far and wide, a perfect infusion of snotty sentimentality. —James