There is a distinctive friction when you listen to Pimpin Change and his upcoming album, “Luxury Pimpin”, something like the satisfying drag of a high-quality fountain pen across textured paper. You expect the ink to bleed, but the lines remain sharp. Jeremy Hill, the man behind the moniker and the Country Dreams Ent. label, operates in a space that feels surprisingly vacant in modern...

Ken Woods and the Old Blue Gang kick up some serious dust with their single "Ride the Rails," and listening feels less like tapping your foot and more like watching the ground crack open nearby. It’s got that Bakersfield twang alright, bright and wiry, but tangled up with a nervous psychobilly heartbeat and the kind of scuffed-boot roots rock energy that sounds like it’s...