Listening to Arnold J.’s new single, "Muddy Waters," isn't quite like anything else swirling around right now. It arrives with the gentle insistence of incoming tide, pulling you into its specific gravity. Arnold J., Ghanaian-born and now Canada-based, weaves a sound tagged as alt-country and folk, but those labels feel thin, like trying to contain smoke. There’s earthiness, sure, but his soulful vocal lines...

Sloe Honey's "A Cup of Joe" album is an ephemeral love chronicle that is a resonating ode to raw emotions and the healing journey. Sloe Honey, better known as an intimate look into the soul of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Melissa Stickley, presents a riveting journey of love, grief, and regeneration on her most recent extended play (EP), titled "A Cup of Joe." It's a sound story...