Maeri Ferguson

There can be plenty of skepticism around joy, like it’s too pure, too earnest a feeling to be real. But when you give yourself over to it, as Detroit trio Bonny Doon seem to on their new album, the reward is worth it. Let There Be Music is the

Jess Williamson has always flirted with spiritualism in her songwriting, but also in the way she sings, her voice often vaporizing into the breathy whisper of a mystic about to divulge your destiny. The songs on her latest album, Time Ain’t Accidental, are, quite literally, tailormade for that voice

Kassi Valazza is moving at her own pace, singing in her own time. The Portland, Oregon-based songwriter has an especially unhurried way about her vocals, which mostly float but occasionally curl at the ends like sun-kissed tendrils. These unexpected little sunbursts are what make her latest outing, Kassi Valazza Knows

Dean Johnson’s music comes with a bit of lore. While known for years as a member of Seattle band The Sons of Rainier, his own songs have scarcely been heard outside a few rare live performances. But once you hear him sing one of his hauntingly beautiful love songs

Esther Rose is a songwriter for trying times. Be it the too frequent extremes of climate change or the loneliest moments of a co-dependent relationship, she articulates that dizzying mix of melancholy and anxiety with astounding empathy. Listening to each of Rose’s records chronologically is like hearing her grow

“We all want a home / metaphorical or real / some place to make us feel whole,” Eric D. Johnson sings on the latest record — his tenth — under his Fruit Bats moniker, A River Running to Your Heart. As has always been the case in his more than 20-year career, Johnson is