Press play and Spinors come in like someone has kicked open a factory door during a power cut. "Choose to Believe" has grease on its hands, bright lights in its eyes, and a hook that knows exactly how to get a crowd moving. This is alternative rock with a steampunk coat, but the engine underneath is very current: post-truth panic, social media loops, shiny consumer...

Lost Lot’s new single, “Waiting,” does a funny thing to the air in the room. It settles it. For three-and-a-half minutes, everything seems to hold its breath, letting a story of profound and stubborn love fill the space. On the surface, it’s a gorgeous slice of widescreen Americana—guitars shimmering with the texture of sun-bleached highway signs, a rhythm section that provides a steady, relentless...