Robin James Hurt’s “A Song, A Story Told” arrives with a sound you can almost run a thumb over, like worn corduroy. In an age of sterile, diamond-polished productions, this album is a defiantly handmade thing, tracked onto vintage cassette machines. The result is not a flaw, but an ingredient. A faint, persistent hiss breathes alongside the instruments, a ghost in the machine who...

Today, Josh Hicks and "Eyes On You" come at a time when truthfulness in music seems to be getting harder to find. With this single, the Welsh singer-songwriter has made something truly moving, one that feels both close and wide. It is been three years since Hicks last worked with his long-time partner ShatterJack, and this change in tone is very interesting. Teaming up with rising producer...