Listening to Bloomfield Machine's new seventeen-track instrumental album, “Copium,” feels a bit like stepping into a terrarium during a quiet downpour. The title itself suggests a kind of modern, knowing self-delusion, the balm we apply just to get by. Yet, the music crafted by Huntington Beach’s Brian Kassan is far too sincere for pure cynicism. This isn’t the sound of giving up; it’s the...

Imagine now that there is a voice telling you about this very transformation, one note at a time. Noora Alho, better known simply as Noora, is the artist behind the uplifting new song "Butterfly." Noora was born in Finland to a British mother and a Finnish father. Imagine that you are encased in a feeling that is equal parts vulnerability and eagerness and that you...