There's a curious jolt in hearing a title like "Us Against The World" from an act called The Cockney Cowboy. The name itself is a glorious contradiction, a pairing of gritty East London reality with the wide-open romance of Nashville. You half expect a joke, but what Justin Vella delivers is a dead-serious, straight-shooting country ballad that smells less of hay bales and more...

The experimental electronic music has a new voice emerging from the beach of Iceland’s south shore. Kristrún in her debut EP of “Covet” as an autonomous musician, composer and music maker is biding attention to that world. This release is a darker take on heartbreak, jealousy, and loneliness taking place in an avant-garde soundscape. With parents who were musicians, Kristrún took her first steps into the...