Farbod Biglari’s new single, "Waltz for Baran (The Rain Waltz)," arrived like a polite invitation to a forgotten ballroom, where the chandeliers are lit but the guests are all pleasingly melancholic figments of memory. It doesn't swagger; it glides, a full orchestral sway that clearly tips its hat to the spirit of composers like Stelvio Cipriani, not by mimicry, but by sharing a certain...

The fiercely independent, Idaho-raised rapper nick! channels a deeply overstimulated, restless frequency on his new EP, "GEEKED!". Born in 2006 and building a fervent following entirely without industry co-signs, he occupies an interesting lane in new-wave underground hip-hop. His music sounds precisely like the brain chemistry of an internet-raised creative processing the blinding speed of newfound success. He writes and produces melodic, hard-hitting rap...