Ultan’s single, "The Tempest," erupts not so much into the room as it does through the floorboards, dragging with it the scent of wet wool and imminent confrontation. This Dublin solo musician, a cartographer of past agonies, presents an energetic rock piece that feels less like a song about history and more like a fragment of it, throbbing and urgent. The main riff careers...

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...