Mia Mormino's music has an immediate impact and a power that is unlike anything else in the pop scene. You can find the tenacious spirit that sings songs of self-empowerment at the core of this beating heart. That's also where the ability is. On her way to loving herself, Mia has had both hard times and happy times, which gives her a truly captivating sincerity....

Adam Brice's "Never Is Too Late" landed on my desk – or, rather, materialized in my digital ether – and I've been wrestling with its echoes ever since. It's a curious beast, this album. Part rock anthem, part campfire confessional, with a splash of country twang that somehow doesn't feel out of place, which has themes running circles like wild horses, settling down around...