Maraad’s new album, “BUFF”, is a strange and beautiful paradox, an object forged in the very fire it’s meant to protect you from. Each track is presented as a "buff," a bit of protective magic for the spirit, but the energy humming underneath feels less like a polished shield and more like the faint, determined glow around a figure in a centuries-old altarpiece—somehow both...

"Country Dreams," the new album from Soul Provider, arrived... and, well, it didn't arrive on a golden chariot pulled by unicorns. It just showed up. Sixteen tracks of pure, unadulterated country – or, at least, that's what they're calling it. There is a lot of Americana in it. There's a definite flavor, a sort of sonic stew of love, loss, hope, and resilience. Think...