Have you ever felt a strange sense of nostalgia for a time you never lived in? Like a phantom limb for a past that isn’t yours. It’s a peculiar sensation, that anachronistic ache. Listening to “Lost,” the debut album from Dallas artist Jake Vera, evokes a similar feeling. It’s a record built with the tools of the 21st century, a collaboration forged in the crucible of...

Alli Brown's "Undeniable"… Hmm, where to even begin with this kaleidoscope of sound from Salt Lake City? It's like someone took the earnestness of a diary entry, crumpled it up, threw it at a dartboard of genres – pop, folk, country, rock – and then decided to set the whole thing to music. Did the dartboard land on "genius" or "glorious mess"? I'm still...