Listening to the new DownTown Mystic EP, "Mystic Highway", is a bit like finding an old, perfectly worn-in roadmap in the glovebox of a brand new car. It has the feel of something essential, something foundational, yet it’s being used to navigate a landscape of blindingly modern anxieties. Robert Allen, the architect behind this project, isn’t just playing classic rock; he's conducting a seance...

Farbod Biglari’s new single, "Waltz for Baran (The Rain Waltz)," arrived like a polite invitation to a forgotten ballroom, where the chandeliers are lit but the guests are all pleasingly melancholic figments of memory. It doesn't swagger; it glides, a full orchestral sway that clearly tips its hat to the spirit of composers like Stelvio Cipriani, not by mimicry, but by sharing a certain...