Okay, let's pretend the universe coughed up "All the Christmas Lights." Not literally, of course, though I did find a sparkly rock in my pocket this morning – probably unrelated. This single by Eric Harmsen, straight outta Alpine, manages to feel both like a familiar, cozy sweater and a strangely uncharted territory. https://open.spotify.com/album/422cieMEcXDGkGRXvKa058 The music… it’s less jingle bell rock and more like a snow globe...

The first notes of "Paralysed" sound like they came from another world. The Melbourne-based indie rock group Satellite Train has always been at the centre of raw feeling and sound discovery. With their newest song, they have found a frequency that speaks to something very human: the feeling of being mentally stuck while the world spins out of control. This isn't just another rock ballad. The...