Ava Valianti represents something increasingly rare in contemporary music: genuine precocity without artifice. This Massachusetts artist, who is only fifteen years old, handles general themes with a level of emotional depth that is shocking. She shows that youth can bring out the best in complicated human experiences, rather than hiding them. "Distant," her sixth single, functions as a sonic archaeology of friendship's dissolution. The track excavates layers...

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...