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...

Resilience doesn’t sound like thunder – it crackles like dry leaves underfoot or hums over wires in the dead of night, waiting. In "Lightning In A Bottle," Eli Annina reaches out to this elusive voltage, siphoning its essence into three minutes and some change of atmospheric perfection. The Finnish-born, UK-based songwriter doesn't plead or break; she breathes, swims, and leaps, turning a migration into...