Aleutians’ new single, "Osiris," arrives sounding for all the world like a breezy afternoon on the coast, jangly and familiar. The New Brighton project creates the sort of wistful guitar pop that should be soundtracking a montage of fondly-remembered mistakes. But then you catch the words, and the cheerful tide turns into something much colder, pulling you out from a safe shore. https://open.spotify.com/track/627Ecj7hDLFbdo6keMsoiy?si=e23e5a17cef24947 The whole affair...

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...