Listening to Arnold J.’s new single, "Muddy Waters," isn't quite like anything else swirling around right now. It arrives with the gentle insistence of incoming tide, pulling you into its specific gravity. Arnold J., Ghanaian-born and now Canada-based, weaves a sound tagged as alt-country and folk, but those labels feel thin, like trying to contain smoke. There’s earthiness, sure, but his soulful vocal lines...

After a lengthy career of working with others, Grey Tower Heights was created as a solo effort. Melancholy permeates the tracks, which deal with the loss of love, fragility, and our frail sense of self. https://soundcloud.com/grey-tower-heights Songs with haunting voices and rich harmonies boost the piano-driven, lyrically sombre, and narratively oriented compositions. In Grey Tower Heights, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, and Nick Cave are among the...