With the release of the single "Play Me A Christmas Song", Stephen Dowd manages to bottle the very specific, blue-hued silence that falls over a living room once the wrapping paper has been cleared away. It is a curious thing, really, how a melody can act less like a sound wave and more like the smell of a candle that was blown out five...

Audra Watt’s new single, “Livin’ It Up,” arrived sounding like a car stereo blasting down a highway you’ve never driven before, fueled by a full tank and a spectacular disregard for the GPS. This isn’t a polite suggestion to change your life; it's a three-minute rock-and-roll sermon on the glory of ripping up the map entirely, delivered with a voice that balances Nashville honesty...