Dylan Forshner's new EP, “Hopeless Optimism,” presents itself not so much as a collection of songs but as a series of candid diary entries set to intricately picked acoustic strings. This five-song journey from the Welland, Canada artist begins in a place of palpable internal wrestling, where the lyrics – and Forshner’s delivery – map out the grim territories of being overwhelmed, using substances...

With a name like that, you expect a certain solitary drift, so when Earth-o-Naut’s “Bring The Light” kicks in, the effect is disarming. Here is a vessel, piloted by a single Liverpudlian architect of sound, that feels impossibly full. This isn't the cold echo of the void; it's a warm, inhabited space, anchored by the legendary propulsion of Steve White on drums. His groove...