Amara-Fe has definitively shifted from the messy business of becoming into the absolute certainty of claiming with her new album, "A Queen’s Ambition". The rising solo artist, tethered to deep musical roots extending through Mission and Dallas, Texas, arrives fully formed here. There is a palpable weight to her cinematic R&B and electropop arrangements. You can almost feel her surveying her territory, setting borders,...

Hamilton Hound's "Graves" isn't something you just hear, it sort of happens to you, like finding a forgotten photograph in an old book. Ian Hamilton, this voice navigating the echoes of a working-class upbringing, doesn't sing so much as share secrets whispered over a chipped mug of tea. Liz Arcane’s voice weaves in like a contrasting thread, adding a subtle but important texture. It’s...