Flavor Wave’s single, “The Optimist,” arrived less like a declaration and more like someone tentatively drawing back a dusty curtain on a grey afternoon. From West Chester, PA, these five lifelong friends – Kyle Loedel (vocals, lyrics), Matthew Stretch (lead guitar), Patrick Blair (rhythm guitar), Noah Montgomery (bass), and Joshua Speaker (performer/drums) – typically tread alternative rock paths nodding to influences like The Strokes....

Alright, buckle up, because Nissu's Memories just teleported me… somewhere. Nissu, a Brazilian-born, Dublin-based pop artist, has dropped this six-track EP, and it's like opening a particularly well-organized, yet emotionally chaotic, scrapbook. https://open.spotify.com/album/6Kbr8PFQrTu0J2GmK8o5uz?si=AwyU0he-RWWnjgcxHeMQDw The EP, Memories, supposedly functions as an “open diary,” they say. He tackles love, friendship, that whole pandemic thing, and the general rollercoaster of being a person. But does it achieve being truly...