Robin James Hurt’s “A Song, A Story Told” arrives with a sound you can almost run a thumb over, like worn corduroy. In an age of sterile, diamond-polished productions, this album is a defiantly handmade thing, tracked onto vintage cassette machines. The result is not a flaw, but an ingredient. A faint, persistent hiss breathes alongside the instruments, a ghost in the machine who...

Listening to Marie Chain’s new single, “Holy Water,” is like turning a corner to find yourself in the midst of a sacred ritual already unfolding. It’s a gathering by a riverbank, but the river is made of sound—a compelling, moving current of Global Soul that tugs you in before you’ve even had a chance to decide if you want to get wet. https://open.spotify.com/track/2cvoVVph7OUL2iUNs1KPJB?si=7eceaad2ae824ed6 The beat has...