I spent a solid hour this morning watching dust motes suspended in a single shaft of sunlight, my entire nervous system held absolutely captive by Magdi Aboul-Kheir and his devastatingly immersive new album, "Slow Heat". The Germany-based journalist and classically trained pianist usually writes across a massive spectrum of genres, pivoting wildly from trance to late romanticism. Today, he has dropped an ambient, contemporary...

Right then, let’s talk about Sean Kennedy and his latest single, "Insane." It arrived, not so much announced, as simply appearing in the sonic landscape, like finding a misplaced chess piece on a park bench. Kennedy, who’s apparently been putting pen to paper since he was ten (good lord, what angst were you channeling at ten?), crafts this slice of indie pop that digs...