Seema Farswani’s new single, “Under A Blazing Sun,” shimmers in much like that first blast of heat when you step off a plane somewhere thrillingly unfamiliar – a bright, almost disorienting welcome. The songwriter and producer immediately sets out a clear map of intent: a pop-rock engine chugging with determination, quickly threaded through with the intricate, evocative embroidery of Arabian strings and Middle Eastern...

Adam Brice's "Never Is Too Late" landed on my desk – or, rather, materialized in my digital ether – and I've been wrestling with its echoes ever since. It's a curious beast, this album. Part rock anthem, part campfire confessional, with a splash of country twang that somehow doesn't feel out of place, which has themes running circles like wild horses, settling down around...