Audra Watt’s new single, “Livin’ It Up,” arrived sounding like a car stereo blasting down a highway you’ve never driven before, fueled by a full tank and a spectacular disregard for the GPS. This isn’t a polite suggestion to change your life; it's a three-minute rock-and-roll sermon on the glory of ripping up the map entirely, delivered with a voice that balances Nashville honesty...

Geoff Westen’s album, “Music For My Friends”, thumps onto the scene like a dropped box of heavy disco balls – all shiny potential energy and the slight threat of chaos. It aims for that classic pop song euphoria, the kind designed to rattle car speakers and fuel late-night dance floors, an "aural assault" as Westen puts it. And it does pulse with energy, a...