Anton Commissaris. Just the name rolls around in my mouth like a lost piece of candy. "Said, I'm Sorry." A title so straightforward it’s almost a dare. You'd think, wouldn’t you, that saying sorry is easy? But it’s never just a quick dip of the chin, is it? This single plumbs the murkier depths of that little phrase, a confession whispered into the dust...

Olivier Laurent’s new concept album, “Solin Anj”, doesn't so much play for you as it does around you. Listening feels like an act of accidental espionage on a life in progress. We are placed in the sonic womb, hearing the muffled arguments, ambitions, and affections of a world getting ready for our arrival. It’s an album that unfolds with the unhurried, jazzy cadence of...