Jon Young

Broken hearts and uncomfortable truths tell the story in Bella White’s unsettling A Sign in the Weather. The powerful third album from the Calgary-bred, New Orleans-based singer examines fatally-flawed relationships with brutal honesty, taking no prisoners. Rejecting sunny outcomes, her unsparing insights ensure memorable listening. Co-

Tom Waits, the singer, is not necessarily the best interpreter of Tom Waits, the songwriter. Over the past half-century, the gravelly warbler has created a singular body of work, much of it composed in collaboration with spouse Kathleen Brennan. But his harsh voice, a blend of Howlin’ Wolf, Captain

What is real love? What’s the difference between “good” love and “bad” love? Pondering these and other knotty questions, the Canada-bred, Nashville-based Tenille Townes makes her escape from the major-label scene on The Acrobat, a terrific act of creative transformation. This remarkable album strips her music

Despair and hope do battle on Story’s End, the first solo album in seven years from Maria Taylor. This spellbinding collection of moody vignettes spotlights hearts in their darkest moments, finding enough strength in these difficult episodes to carry on and even thrive. Like the most anguished blues songs,

A diary of hard times, Path of Totality chronicles the lives of people nickel and dimed in America today, bucking the odds to get by. On their third album as The Montvales, the Knoxville-bred, Cincinnati-based Molly Rochelson and Sally Buice explore the desperation and determination that inspire quiet