Casey McQuillen’s single “Better” arrives not with a bang, but with the quiet, decisive click of a well-made lock securing a door. It’s pop music, certainly, groomed and gleaming, yet beneath the surface bubbles a fierce kind of self-possession that’s less about demanding attention and more about curating who gets past the velvet rope of your own contentment. Coming from someone known for empowerment...

Lou Caimano offers a masterclass in relaxed poise on "Manhattan Twilight", an instrumental showcase where the saxophone operates as an articulate, deeply expressive narrator. For decades, Caimano has anchored the sonic machinery behind the curtain, performing in Broadway pit orchestras for “CATS”, “Evita”, and “A Chorus Line”, while sharing stages with titans like The Temptations, The Four Tops, and Nancy Wilson. As a veteran...