French-Tunisian multidisciplinary artist Haifa Melliti channels raw intuition into breathtaking piano architecture on her stunning neoclassical album, "Mélodie de la Déesse". I find her approach fascinating. In an era where so many ambient instrumental records lean heavily into cautious, sparse minimalism, Melliti offers a deluge. Her music serves as a spiritual sanctuary honoring the sacred feminine, yet she completely refuses to equate tranquility with...

Rick Cassman serves up "JENNIFER JANGLE," and immediately you’re paddling in the bright, optimistic shallows of 1960s British Pop. You can almost taste the sherbet lemon fizz. Yet, knowing Cassman’s packing four decades of musical mileage – playing all the guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, and handling vocals here himself, mind you – suggests we shouldn't just skim the surface. This isn't merely throwback fun;...