Right, so, Reinis Jaunais. Latvian, guitar-slinger, world-wanderer… makes sense that his new album, "Nest," feels like opening a suitcase overflowing with… things. Not junk, mind you. More like… carefully curated curiosities. Eleven songs, eleven postcards from somewhere just beyond the familiar. https://open.spotify.com/album/5mbemTIWhAYV7fHe5V9562 It's world music, yes, but not in the dusty, anthropological sense. Think more… progressive fusion. A touch of the acoustic guitar played in that...

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...