Listening to Arnold J.’s new single, "Muddy Waters," isn't quite like anything else swirling around right now. It arrives with the gentle insistence of incoming tide, pulling you into its specific gravity. Arnold J., Ghanaian-born and now Canada-based, weaves a sound tagged as alt-country and folk, but those labels feel thin, like trying to contain smoke. There’s earthiness, sure, but his soulful vocal lines...

Some tracks refuse to ask for your attention politely; they kick the door off the hinges instead. That is exactly what happens when you press play on 'Father Time & Mother Nature'. Texas singer-songwriter Clay DuBose is back after a twenty-year break, and he brought the heat with him. This is not a quiet, acoustic reflection on getting older. It is a full-throttle Americana rock record...