Right then, Livvy Lauren. “Felt Love”. A single, a dispatch from the heart’s erratic GPS, apparently. This isn’t a slow burn; it’s a sun-flare. That first thrum of a connection, bottled, shaken, and sprayed all over the dance floor. Kent, huh? Always seemed like a place where secret drum and bass anthems might be brewing. I picture it now: rolling hills meeting synth waves,...

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...