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....

Okay, so, you’ve got music hitting your eardrums. Sometimes it's like a rogue pigeon landing right outside your window – startling, unexpected, but maybe interesting? Ozzient's “Peace, Not War” single feels a little like that pigeon, only this one’s carrying a tiny, insistent megaphone yelling about, well, peace and not war. Obvious, sure, but when was the last time obvious actually soaked in? https://open.spotify.com/album/4mb3AYjTpp2SN5lzOqy5e0?si=cJzQ6WgVTkWdiKTkvgN1uw This track...