Robin James Hurt’s “A Song, A Story Told” arrives with a sound you can almost run a thumb over, like worn corduroy. In an age of sterile, diamond-polished productions, this album is a defiantly handmade thing, tracked onto vintage cassette machines. The result is not a flaw, but an ingredient. A faint, persistent hiss breathes alongside the instruments, a ghost in the machine who...

There is no need to look any further than Shannon Hawley if you are looking for a singer-songwriter who can provide music that satisfies your innermost needs. Not only is her music easy on the ears, but it can also be used as a therapeutic tool for the person who is listening to it. Songwriting has served as Hawley's primary form of therapeutic treatment for many...