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...

Listening to Shadow Person’s new album, "Chronic Disappointment", feels like staring into one of those fun-house mirrors, only to realize with a slow, creeping dread that the glass isn't distorted at all. This is the new normal, a warped reality we’ve simply adjusted to. The project, the thoughtful and unnerving musical identity of Will Chatham, doesn’t just hold this mirror up to the world;...