Right, so, Reinis Jaunais. Latvian, guitar-slinger, world-wanderer… makes sense that his new album, "Nest," feels like opening a suitcase overflowing with… things. Not junk, mind you. More like… carefully curated curiosities. Eleven songs, eleven postcards from somewhere just beyond the familiar. https://open.spotify.com/album/5mbemTIWhAYV7fHe5V9562 It's world music, yes, but not in the dusty, anthropological sense. Think more… progressive fusion. A touch of the acoustic guitar played in that...

There is a peculiar alchemy happening with Jimmy Eff and the Sundogs on their new single, "Better Like Before". It sits in the air like the smell of ozone right after a lightning strike charged, crisp, and signifying a sudden shift in the atmosphere. You listen to it, and you sort of expect the industrial gray of their Birmingham home base, yet the sound...