Especially in today's music scene, which is always changing, not many singers can capture the mood as well as Joe Lington. Lington makes music that ties together the complicated lines of American R&B stars like Sisqo and Keith Sweat. He does this from the lively streets of Ireland to the world stage. Lington is not only a singer, but also a link between different countries...

Dylan Forshner's new EP, “Hopeless Optimism,” presents itself not so much as a collection of songs but as a series of candid diary entries set to intricately picked acoustic strings. This five-song journey from the Welland, Canada artist begins in a place of palpable internal wrestling, where the lyrics – and Forshner’s delivery – map out the grim territories of being overwhelmed, using substances...