If you ask around, you will discover that the new single "Christmas Angel" by German vocalist Nadine Stockmann is outstanding by any standard. The new song invites everyone who hears it and engages with it to experience happiness in its purest form. It doesn't matter what it is; the song is significantly superior. Since it is so relatable and all-encompassing, you can practically give the impression...

A rubber band ball, meticulously constructed and then unceremoniously dropped, that's what Outside Pedestrian's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" feels like. Not the ball itself, mind you, but the brief, elastic snap of unexpected order being momentarily... let go. We know the Bach tune. It’s a holiday staple, often served up with a side of polite reverence. But here, Anthony Fesmire’s guitar, David Lockeretz’s...