Before a guitar chord can become an argument, it usually begins as a private disturbance. A television flickers in a locked-down room. A former sailor sees an old enemy image placed beside a strange public gesture of peace. That is the uneasy ground beneath "War Killer," the Reetoxa and it gives the track its charge: not polish for its own sake, but a human reaction...

The songs of Stephanie Phillips' music have a clear sense of connection to her. There is a sense of affinity in these songs as she talks about the ups and downs of life. Her style of music, which she calls "progressive folk," Stephanie writes songs that stay with you and make you feel intense emotions long after the last tune is played. Andrew Bird, Cat Stevens, and...