Jon Young

Tired of feeling menaced by reality? Sick of fretting over the fate of the world? Sometimes the best antidote to the stresses of modern life is a blast of purifying electric noise. If that seems inviting, take a shot of Marcus King’s blazing Young Blood. Blending bluesy turbocharged guitar,

One highlight of The Very Best of Fantastic Cat — a debut album, not a compilation — is “Amigo,” a sweet, toe-tapping ode to friendship that proclaims, “I don’t care if we ain’t blood, oh we’re brothers, don’t you know.” Such gentle positivity would suit an uplifting

Soul-wrenching sorrow can be a heavy load to bear for the most resilient heart, but Arlo McKinley is up to the challenge on This Mess We’re In. An unsparing account of his struggle to stare down the demons of a life lived on the edge, this riveting self-

Faded love and the struggle to move on after a relationship dies take center stage on Nicki Bluhm’s powerful Avondale Drive. Balancing self-help pep talks and laments about an ex, the Nashville-based singer-songwriter crafts a vivid, unsparing portrait of a heart in flux. The tug-of-

Grant-Lee Phillips seems a bit torn and frayed on All That You Can Dream, which comes as no surprise. Along with so many others, the Nashville-based troubadour has been juggling a host of challenges, from the pandemic to toxic politics to family matters, in the process trying to