The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

Robbie Rapids drops "Class 2 Rapids" onto the table like a heavy set of keys to houses you used to live in, but can’t quite remember the address of. This Atlanta-based Gen X rocker has assembled a collection that feels less like a polished studio product and more like a glove compartment mixtape that has survived three car wrecks and a cross-country move. It...