"Summer Rain" by Kristen Castro comes out at just the right time, like when the storm clouds part and the sun shines through, bathing everything in a soft yellow light. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter has really moved me with this song. It is both highly personal and easily understandable to everyone, like finding an old diary entry that applies to your present situation in some way. Five...

Twenty years into their tenure, The Plastic Pals have returned with "Keep it Burning", a record that feels less like a studio product and more like finding a pristine, forgotten leather jacket in a thrift store scuffed, smelling faintly of clove cigarettes, and fitting perfectly. Hailing from Stockholm, this group has managed a strange bit of sonic teleportation. They are Swedish, yes, but the...