At 16, Marling was precocious. Now 23, it is still tempting to describe her as such.

Rickie Jacobs' inflections sound familiar, if you've ever listened to, say, Big Sean or XV, but his lyrics ooze with abstractions and sentiments brought about by struggle—perhaps because he hasn't been subject to the dotted line yet. He is a quintessentially American rapper—so much so that his new EP, set to be released June 15, is called Beautiful America.

With help from the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, the Cali rocker gets semiotic-sexy on his eclectic sophomore album.

With infinite unsolicited mashups of dubious merit floating around cyberspace, deliberate collaborations are a welcome change.

Talking vibes, zones, and tapping into the "soulful haze" with indie rock's most obsessed-over singer-songwriter.