There is a peculiar kind of engine at the heart of "Half Evil" by Tomato Soup, and it runs not on gasoline but on disorientation. The Denver six-piece calls their sound "Motor-Folk," and it fits. The track has the chugging, forward-moving momentum of a vehicle, yet it seems to be driving through a landscape seen in a fever dream, where the signposts are all...

Okay, buckle up, because Track Dogs just dropped a Christmas card. Not the kind with a sparkly snowman, though. This "A Christmas Card" album feels more like a rambling, joyous postcard sent from a slightly tipsy, globe-trotting relative. They've taken the usual folk/Americana framework and tossed in some maracas and maybe a sneaky jazz trombone. It's the sort of unexpected musical mashup that makes...