One such game-changer is Livi Jacobs, a diamond in the rough from Vienna, Austria. We sometimes experience a musical extravaganza that gently changes our view on music and its intrinsic potential, going beyond the bounds of sound and emotion. Jacobs is ready to set the music world ablaze with his unique blend of country's endearing authenticity, rock's edgy rebellion, and folk pop's endearing openness. Vienna, Austria-born Jacobs...

Robin James Hurt’s “A Song, A Story Told” arrives with a sound you can almost run a thumb over, like worn corduroy. In an age of sterile, diamond-polished productions, this album is a defiantly handmade thing, tracked onto vintage cassette machines. The result is not a flaw, but an ingredient. A faint, persistent hiss breathes alongside the instruments, a ghost in the machine who...