Kent Owens, a name that sounds like it should be on a library card next to “Hemingway,” but instead it's on the digital shelf next to my slightly messy playlist. This Cambridge-based creator of soundscapes – I’m resisting calling them songs, but…well – just released “Fade Away,” a single that feels like an open window after a long winter. It’s a soft rock hum...

This is the kind of breakup track that checks your pulse before you have time to act fine. Drew Swords comes in hot on "Better Without Me?", a 3:32 indie rock single that turns one ugly little question into a full-body rush: what if someone really did get happier after you left? That thought can ruin a perfectly good afternoon. It can also make a chorus...