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....

Peter Spacey's "All I Want Is You To Stay" has materialised, not so much as a song, but as an intricate emotional schematic set to a rather compelling pulse. It’s always a peculiar kind of revelation when a producer, traditionally a sonic puppeteer hidden behind the grand curtain of the mixing desk, steps into their own vocal spotlight. Spacey, known for shaping soundscapes for...