The French singer Maeva Fischer is, as the headline promises, a bright star, and her collaboration with rapper T Mike on the song "Supernova" is proof positive of that. You can hear distinct influences from French chanson, jazz, pop, and soul in this song. It represents all that is free, pleasant, and warm in our souls. Her dedication to the song's subject matter is constant throughout...

Shawn Brown’s EP, "Into the Furious Light," doesn’t slip quietly into the stream of modern indie-folk releases; it instead cups its hands around your soul like you’re a candle in danger of flickering out. The Portland troubadour crafts songs that feel like fragments of conversations—maybe ones you walked in on too late or letters unsent to someone dear but no longer near. You’re never...