Mardi Gras, six souls strong – Liina Rätsep, Fabrizio Fontanelli, Alessandro Matilli, Carlo Di Tore Tosti, Valerio Giovanardi, Fabrizio Del Marchesato. A sonic stew of pop, rock, soul, seasoned with pinches of Irish countryside and grunge. Their new album, “Sandcastle,” it's a funny thing. You build it, you know, meticulously. Expecting something sturdy, but then... the tide. https://open.spotify.com/album/4lZvTKocqM3ZASCijsFIwm?si=J47K5t1NRRGY1wJb29sUVw This record feels like exactly that; a gorgeous...

Surviving three brain surgeries and having to relearn how to walk would permanently stall almost any trajectory, but for Suriname-born, Tampa Bay-based Mr.D.Tunes, it was the exact friction needed to spark his contemplative new single, "Y You." The former junior Olympic swimmer turned youth mentor and Christian Hip-Hop artist channels his grim medical odds into an intensely honest rhythmic testimony. https://open.spotify.com/album/7b4Gn3WBmEYjw3p1bmCTiJ?si=HMBMixI6SvenjdfUJ2nIJA The melody operates on a...