There's an intimacy to the new FREE/MAN release, "The Reconnection EP," that borders on a welcome invasion of personal space. It is the sonic equivalent of someone leaning in, not to share a secret, but to create the silence where your own might finally surface. Charlie Freeman hasn't built a grand cathedral of sound here; he's simply furnished a quiet room with stark, necessary...

Right then, let’s talk about Sean Kennedy and his latest single, "Insane." It arrived, not so much announced, as simply appearing in the sonic landscape, like finding a misplaced chess piece on a park bench. Kennedy, who’s apparently been putting pen to paper since he was ten (good lord, what angst were you channeling at ten?), crafts this slice of indie pop that digs...