Smalltown Poets are legacy band at this point, releasing their debut album back in 1997 -- the original band, Villanelle, released their album in 1995. While the Poets are no longer a full-time band, split between Washington, Georgia, and Florida respectively, the guys do continue to make music together and play some shows. Their last album, NWxSE (northwest by southeast) released back in 2021, but the Duluth, Georgia boys dropped a teaser for the song "Florida Man" back in April. St. Augustine, an EP-sized self-proclaimed "album," is their newest release and it's so nice to still be getting new music from the Poets in 2025...

Two years ago, Fepeste (A.K.A., Eric Jett) released What You Don't Know, an indie rock album with tinges of surf rock and shoegaze. It was a record focused on the hard things we deal with as adults (i.e., anxiety). For this reviewer, it was a timely God-send and made me an instant fan of Fepeste's work. Now, two years later, he's back-this time on Velvet Blue Music with his anticipated follow-up, This World Ain't Mine To Change. While the distinct "Fepeste sound" remains, Jett leans a little more into his surf rock influences, and having Jason Martin (of Starflyer 59) mastering the record makes this the best Fepeste has sounded yet.

If Fepeste's last album was a struggle with cares and worries, then This World... is a more settled view a little further down the road. To be sure, those troubles still exist and drive songs...

No one carries Rich Mullins' tattered banner quite like Andrew Peterson. Both are poets of the thin place variety, where earth and eternity brush close. Each of them craft songs that ache for transcendence over the glossy churn of CCM. Peterson's 2017 live recording at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium -- A Liturgy, A Legacy, & the Songs of Rich Mullins -- isn't just a tribute to Mullins' 1993 opus; it's a communal revelation. Split into two parts, spanning 31 tracks and over two hours, this album could tempt a critic to ramble as long as its runtime. But, like Mullins' songs, it's better experienced than over-explained, so I'll aim for brevity...