Geoff Westen’s album, “Music For My Friends”, thumps onto the scene like a dropped box of heavy disco balls – all shiny potential energy and the slight threat of chaos. It aims for that classic pop song euphoria, the kind designed to rattle car speakers and fuel late-night dance floors, an "aural assault" as Westen puts it. And it does pulse with energy, a...

She gives off an air of seriousness and composure when singing, but her performance belies the depth of feeling she channels. A new song by the French singer and songwriter Naya, named "Vaguémo," has been released recently. The song is about melancholy and being on one's alone. She has a distinctive style—dream pop—and a voice like velvet, so smooth and alluring it captivates as she expertly...