Right, so, Reinis Jaunais. Latvian, guitar-slinger, world-wanderer… makes sense that his new album, "Nest," feels like opening a suitcase overflowing with… things. Not junk, mind you. More like… carefully curated curiosities. Eleven songs, eleven postcards from somewhere just beyond the familiar. https://open.spotify.com/album/5mbemTIWhAYV7fHe5V9562 It's world music, yes, but not in the dusty, anthropological sense. Think more… progressive fusion. A touch of the acoustic guitar played in that...

When I pressed play on the latest release from Shelita, titled "Sailors", I wasn't expecting the floor to drop out from under me. You see, "pop" is often a safe word, a designation for the palatable. But this? This is something else entirely. It’s as if someone took a tender ballad and threw it into a particle accelerator to see what sub-atomic emotions would...