If you’re a musician, you probably get asked whether you do original songs or covers. And as unassuming as that question sounds, it’s actually a hornet’s nest buzzing with speculation on your intent, ambition, and talent. Do you have your own thoughts? Do you have something engaging and identifiable to say? Or do you just...

If a hurricane strikes the office of your record label on the day of your album’s release, what do you call the album? The Sun Decays Them. The new album from Aux. 78, a.k.a. Nicholas Matta, is a beam of muted sunshine, as light as a snowflake and weighty as a gale-force wind. While...