With Deptford Sound Collective dropping "Give Me . Give Me . Give Me, I want it all", I found myself suspended somewhere between a Studio 54 dancefloor and a gritty picket line. It’s a jarring, delightful confusion. You expect the somber acoustic strumming of 1960s activism given the collective’s mission but instead, you are slapped awake by a wall of 1980s synth-pop. https://open.spotify.com/album/6ULaYdVEhxN7eK0w9AmHtL?si=qiJmIM0oR2GlZ7uC8idmyw The track hits...

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...