Earl Patrick pivots sharply away from his usual indie-folk and guitar-driven comfort zones for his newest release, the wildly inventive album "Conditioned By Machines". The Portland, Oregon-based composer, singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist has spent over two decades building a dense, eight-album catalog. Here, however, he entirely flips the script. Feeling that classical flute music too often prioritizes gesture over pure melody, he set out...

Seattle's Josh Jensen has returned with his third album, "This Is Where We Landed," a 40-minute, 10-song exploration into the wonderfully absurd circus we call life. Did you know that the collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament? Anyway, back to the music. https://open.spotify.com/album/5r3iizLCsAEgwbGpEF6pKK?si=e4Nkxn-8THOk4XOQKtUabg This collection of Americana-infused acoustic tracks navigates the bewildering journey of existence. It feels, at times, like trying to...