Before listening to a single note of Suris’ new album, “Pertinax”, I spent a few minutes just looking at the word. Pertinax. It has the distinct ring of a Stoic philosopher’s last defiant utterance or maybe a type of beetle known for its unusually stubborn shell. What a curious flag to fly for a collection of songs in an age of fleeting distraction. But...

There are so many internal wrestling fights that they would make experienced boxers wince. Gospel singer Gerren Lavey from Texas knows this better than most, and his new song "Soul War" is both an admission and a call to arms. Lavey, who used to go by the name J The Producer, has been making music for over twenty years and brings that knowledge to this very...