The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

Shane Revers opens the heavy door to "Inside Room 17", and you immediately realize you are stepping into an incredibly private emotional space. This debut EP builds its architecture entirely out of heavy memories and the agonizing passage of time. He notes influences like the Jonas Brothers, John Mayer, and James Bay, yet he manages to spin these stripped-down acoustic pop inspirations into a...