Kent Owens, a name that sounds like it should be on a library card next to “Hemingway,” but instead it's on the digital shelf next to my slightly messy playlist. This Cambridge-based creator of soundscapes – I’m resisting calling them songs, but…well – just released “Fade Away,” a single that feels like an open window after a long winter. It’s a soft rock hum...

When d'Z & Bernadette Dengler (featuring Chris Korzec) unleashed "Shout!", it hit me less like a typical single and more like a sudden, necessary nervous system reset. The track, a collaboration spanning the Netherlands and Austria, carries the dense, sophisticated DNA of Steely Dan but decides to wear it to a raucous block party hosted by The Brand New Heavies. https://open.spotify.com/album/58VJ9SBgyY7Mr1vHP69juG?si=gnsjycqTRkKz57cAMDwRwg d'Z anchors the vessel with...