Marina's voice, which is strong and unadulterated, ushers in a story that is at once ancient and contemporary. She was born under the great sky of Ukraine. Her early memories are filled with choirs and juvenile competitions; as a result, she is more than simply a singer; she is an image of endurance. Marina's career has taken off like a shooting star because she has been...

There's a curious jolt in hearing a title like "Us Against The World" from an act called The Cockney Cowboy. The name itself is a glorious contradiction, a pairing of gritty East London reality with the wide-open romance of Nashville. You half expect a joke, but what Justin Vella delivers is a dead-serious, straight-shooting country ballad that smells less of hay bales and more...