Kent Owens, a name that sounds like it should be on a library card next to “Hemingway,” but instead it's on the digital shelf next to my slightly messy playlist. This Cambridge-based creator of soundscapes – I’m resisting calling them songs, but…well – just released “Fade Away,” a single that feels like an open window after a long winter. It’s a soft rock hum...

A strange and wonderful thing happens when you listen to Kelly Glow’s “Black Girl Magic” DJ Nervex Remix. The sound itself is pure nostalgia, a sun-drenched boom bap that feels genetically engineered to be played with the windows down, circa 1995. But something else is going on beneath that familiar West Coast shimmer. This isn’t just a throwback; it's a lecture hall where the...