Today, Josh Hicks and "Eyes On You" come at a time when truthfulness in music seems to be getting harder to find. With this single, the Welsh singer-songwriter has made something truly moving, one that feels both close and wide. It is been three years since Hicks last worked with his long-time partner ShatterJack, and this change in tone is very interesting. Teaming up with rising producer...

The moment the jaunty guitar kicks in on John Smyths’ new single, "Now I'm Wiser", you feel a familiar, comfortable warmth. It’s the sound of a good chair in a bar where the floor is sticky with spilled truths. And then the story starts, a classic yarn of a hard-living past yielding to a peaceful present. Smyths, a Dutch ex-metalhead singing country out of...