KAYTIE’s new single "Evil Person" arrives with the pristine, deliberate clarity of a single ice cube cracking in a silent room. For a piano-driven ballad, there is a surprising amount of sharp edges here. Kaytie Kear, the 20-year-old singer and songwriter behind the name, doesn’t just perform a song of heartbreak; she presents evidence. This is the autopsy of a connection so personal and...

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...