With his career-spanning album "Blue Without You", Pete Scales steps out of the shadows to offer a mesmerizing look into a mind permanently tuned to the strange frequencies of human connection. For over half a century, the retired psychologist, vocalist, and guitarist has mostly floated through the musical periphery. https://open.spotify.com/album/5c4EPzrnH1GnaKJHI2pPGJ?si=LbrNFPuVRwiuwgaTmkt8_w He played the coffeehouse circuit, brushed past the Grand Ole Opry, and leaned into contemporary Christian...

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...