Ultan’s single, "The Tempest," erupts not so much into the room as it does through the floorboards, dragging with it the scent of wet wool and imminent confrontation. This Dublin solo musician, a cartographer of past agonies, presents an energetic rock piece that feels less like a song about history and more like a fragment of it, throbbing and urgent. The main riff careers...

Lost Lot’s new single, “Waiting,” does a funny thing to the air in the room. It settles it. For three-and-a-half minutes, everything seems to hold its breath, letting a story of profound and stubborn love fill the space. On the surface, it’s a gorgeous slice of widescreen Americana—guitars shimmering with the texture of sun-bleached highway signs, a rhythm section that provides a steady, relentless...