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...

It is clear that Gal Musette poured her entire essence into this song and sang from the very depths of her existence when she performed it. The American singer's follow-up single to the smash hit "Into the Blue" is now available digitally under the title "Pendulum," and it was released only recently off her 11-track album. The song examines a broad spectrum of human feelings and...