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...

Right, so, Reinis Jaunais. Latvian, guitar-slinger, world-wanderer… makes sense that his new album, "Nest," feels like opening a suitcase overflowing with… things. Not junk, mind you. More like… carefully curated curiosities. Eleven songs, eleven postcards from somewhere just beyond the familiar. https://open.spotify.com/album/5mbemTIWhAYV7fHe5V9562 It's world music, yes, but not in the dusty, anthropological sense. Think more… progressive fusion. A touch of the acoustic guitar played in that...