The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...

Folk music has always had a special relationship with social commentary. From Woody Guthrie's dust bowl ballads to Bob Dylan's protest anthems, the genre has given voice to the voiceless and held a mirror up to society's failings. It's a tradition that Swiss singer-songwriter Dave Curl continues with his powerful new single, "Zueri." A song written thirty years ago and finally released in February 2026, it's...