There's a curious jolt in hearing a title like "Us Against The World" from an act called The Cockney Cowboy. The name itself is a glorious contradiction, a pairing of gritty East London reality with the wide-open romance of Nashville. You half expect a joke, but what Justin Vella delivers is a dead-serious, straight-shooting country ballad that smells less of hay bales and more...

My Glass World and their new album, “Stranded Assets,” have barged into my ear-space, rather like that one uncle at a wedding who insists on telling you about his model train collection, but then, confoundingly, reveals a profound truth about the human condition just as you’re reaching for another vol-au-vent. This isn't background music; it’s foreground chaos, beautifully arranged. https://open.spotify.com/album/3gpEQRokHZeUiqcVowd6ie?si=SsoiuiuwSvmQSWcX2K06_Q The British duo, Jamie Telford and...