Patrick Hynes’ new single, "Baby’s High Again," doesn't so much arrive as materialize, like a half-remembered scent of bourbon and regret clinging to a velvet curtain. This “Midnight Country” he’s cultivating, it’s less dusty plains, more the blue, flickering light of a motel television at 3 AM, illuminating a room where decisions have been made, then unmade, then made again. Hynes, a Scot with...

Miedjia emerges not only as a star but more as a supernova in the expansive musical universe. Miedjia is one of those rare individuals who not only writes, composes, and performs, but also dabbles in sound engineering. Other people may wear one or more of these hats. Because he is the creative director behind his trade, each note and phrase is infused with a purposeful goal,...