Flavor Wave’s single, “The Optimist,” arrived less like a declaration and more like someone tentatively drawing back a dusty curtain on a grey afternoon. From West Chester, PA, these five lifelong friends – Kyle Loedel (vocals, lyrics), Matthew Stretch (lead guitar), Patrick Blair (rhythm guitar), Noah Montgomery (bass), and Joshua Speaker (performer/drums) – typically tread alternative rock paths nodding to influences like The Strokes....

THE HYBRIS, a masked virtual trio—Ringo Rabbit, Beanie Bison, and Malcolm Mandrill—posing as superhero wannabes, drop their new album "t h r e e." They claim a mission to save the world with tunes. It's alt-rock, doused with punk sneer, a splash of 80s neon, and enough stadium-rock ambition to make Bono blush. But does it soar? https://open.spotify.com/album/77fXBjseRJRoWbGrHSGAwB?si=HVX0tqQlRTCswO0HaDxAgQ Well. This record digs its claws deep, like...