Phoebe Huisman and the release "Inside" arrived in my speakers like the sudden, sharp scent of rain hitting hot asphalt familiar, grounding, and weirdly emotional. There is something unnerving about how accurately this collection of songs maps the topographical mess of being a teenager. Huisman, a singer-songwriter with the technical chops of a Distinction-grade vocalist and the heart of a poet, has essentially constructed...

Caitlin Mae's single "House Sitting" slid into earshot less like a shiny Nashville calling card and more like finding a faded letter tucked inside a secondhand book. It’s labelled country, and the soft rock structure gives it shape, but the atmosphere? That’s pure, unadulterated heartache, distilled. Mae possesses one of those voices – technically brilliant, sure, but more importantly, emotionally transparent. You hear the...