It’s a rare and bewildering thrill to encounter something as organically bizarre and entirely transportive as Koradan’s newest album, "Around the World...Music". The Italian duo Alex Baccari and Marzia Di Cicco are dedicated acoustic alchemists. They build the very tools they play. Through their patented centerpiece, the "Koritas," they have physically fused materials harvested from five different continents into a single resonating chamber. You...

Janet Devlin releases "Candy", and she sounds like she’s wearing a smirk that could stop traffic. This track doesn't tiptoe; it struts. From the jump, we are met with a rhythmic, plucking string vibration a gritty, staccato backbone that acts like the nervous system of the song. It’s propelled by a heavy, stomping beat that feels authoritative, the kind of pulse that makes you...