Gus Defelice. The name itself feels like a well-oiled machine – intricate, precise, and humming with a purpose I'm not entirely sure I grasp. “Starlight,” a lone single in a world of albums and playlists, pulses like a freshly discovered constellation. You know, the kind where they announce the official findings and then all the maps start printing with the new location…except this constellation...

Sam Ostler’s new single, “Lights,” then. It unfolds less like a sudden, intrusive glare and more like the slow, determined burn of a really good stage light finally finding its mark after a prolonged blackout. It’s pop, yes, vibrant and undeniably contemporary as advertised – clean lines, clear intentions. Yet, there’s a certain satisfying heft beneath the melodic uplift, a feeling that these notes...