There is a certain kind of song that seems to exist outside of time. It is a song that could have been a hit in any decade, a song that speaks to a fundamental human experience. Ferdinand Rennie’s “Unbelieving Eyes” is one of those songs. A sweeping pop ballad with a heart of gold, it is a song that is both instantly familiar and refreshingly...

Silja Rós sends us “Letters from my past,” and it’s as if one has been handed a velvet pouch of smoothed sea glass, each piece a shard of memory polished by time. Listening feels like sorting through them, the Icelandic musician’s neo-soul and pop songwriting unfurling narratives from what must be deeply personal old diaries. There’s an intimacy here akin to deciphering faded ink...