Shawn Brown’s EP, "Into the Furious Light," doesn’t slip quietly into the stream of modern indie-folk releases; it instead cups its hands around your soul like you’re a candle in danger of flickering out. The Portland troubadour crafts songs that feel like fragments of conversations—maybe ones you walked in on too late or letters unsent to someone dear but no longer near. You’re never...

Sometimes you just need to hear guitars that sound like they are trying to break through the speakers. 'Rise', the new single from Australian alternative rock four-piece The Broken Rich, is exactly that kind of track. It grabs you by the collar immediately and refuses to let go until the final note rings out. There is no slow build or gentle introduction here. The band kicks...