Exploring the Evocative Sonic Landscape of the German Group Affentanz. German band Affentanz, influenced by Boards of Canada, has emerged from the underground of the electronic music industry and is progressively carving out a unique sound. The quartet, consisting of Martin W. Hillebrand, André Hartmann, Moritz Zielke, and Mike Schneider, brings to the stage an amalgamation of talent, diversity, and an unyielding passion for music. The origins...

There's a curious jolt in hearing a title like "Us Against The World" from an act called The Cockney Cowboy. The name itself is a glorious contradiction, a pairing of gritty East London reality with the wide-open romance of Nashville. You half expect a joke, but what Justin Vella delivers is a dead-serious, straight-shooting country ballad that smells less of hay bales and more...