Where R&B Meets Cinéma Vérité: Rising Artist Trav Torch Crafts a Steamy Director's Cut of Modern Romance In "Sex Scene" There's something deliciously meta about recording a song about recording a scene about sex. It's the kind of recursive romance that could easily spiral into self-parody, like pointing two mirrors at each other and watching infinity fragment into meaninglessness. But Trav Torch, with his latest single...

Maverick Smith’s “We Make Fire, They Make Smoke” lands not with a thud, but with the distinct, satisfying crackle of something catching alight. It’s a title that carries the grit of the Ohio Valley in its consonants, a resolute statement from a band – Paige Bosic on commanding vocals and rhythm guitar, Sean Boynes sculpting soundscapes on guitar, Jim Courtney’s intricate drumming, Charlie Kovach’s...