Wednesday, November 28, 2018

New songs for November 28th, 2018

here they are:


"Baby Outlaw" by Elle King: If you can picture what it'd be like for a musician like Lorde to cover "Ghost Riders In the Sky", then you've pretty much got Elle King's "Baby Outlaw" in a nutshell! Just the opening of the song gives off imagery of a showdown in an old Western movie. This song has a similar premise to Elle's song, "Good Girls", which was her contribution to the 2016 version of "Ghostbusters". "Baby Outlaw" and "Good Girls" both revolve around how Elle has never been a "good girl", and how, as a result of this, she's no one to mess with. You'd better watch out, 'cause this song is the "Bad" and the "Ugly" to King's "Good Girls"!! (Cue Ennio Morricone theme here).


"Back On the Chain Gang" by Morrissey: The original "Back On the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders came out about a year before Morrissey's best known hit with The Smiths, "How Soon Is Now?", both in the mid 1980's. So how does this mopey alt-rock king interpret one of the best loved songs of a tough but tender rock and roll queen, you may ask?! Well, as you might have guessed, not as good as the original, but it's still worth hearing, and it's a pretty good attempt at covering the song, too! Moz retains the jangle-pop feel and heartfelt emotion of the original quite well. I never would have thought this cover was going to happen (I would have pictured a band like R.E.M. covering it first), but somehow, I'm glad it has!


"For Me It's You" by Lo Moon: With just a pair of singles ("This Is It" and "Real Love") under their belt so far, I'm a little surprised that Lo Moon are back with a second album after only a year, but "For Me It's You", their first single off of their sophomore record, retains the atmospheric electro-pop vibe of their first two breakthrough songs. "For Me It's You" could be viewed as a parallel to "This Is It", with its mostly melancholic but sweet atmosphere set off by a sudden burst of electric guitar after the chorus, though it does not disrupt the flow of the song overall. With lead singer Matt Lowell's technique of placing whispery, romantic vocals against an ersatz smooth jazz ensemble that briefly turns into a wall of noise, it's not hard to see why Lo Moon have recently toured with bands who use similar techniques, such as The War on Drugs, Phoenix, and Glass Animals, not to mention the band Ride, a legendary group of the "shoegazing" subgenre who have been around since the late '80s that inspired the other bands mentioned here (including Lo Moon themselves).


"Hey! Yeah!" by Deer Tick: Deer Tick have been all over the rock and roll map, primarily dabbling in either folk-rock or Southern rock. "Hey, Yeah!" marks what I believe is the first time that Deer Tick have taken on power pop, albeit with a somewhat Southern flavor to it. Think Big Star meets The Allman Brothers - a combination that sounds like it could just be crazy enough to work, and DOES, in this song! Here's what's even crazier, though. The music video for "Hey! Yeah!" features the band members as DANCING MAYONNAISE JARS!! Who on Earth thought THAT idea up?! I'm pretty sure the band members were ingesting far more than just mayonnaise when they made the music video for this song!! The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdcr5_tcd8


"Movement" by Hozier: Hozier's "Nina Cried Power" seemed unbeatable almost throughout this fall! Like all songs, though, its star eventually faded out on the radio airwaves, so here to take place of the Irish soul-ster's thunderous anthem is a more subtle, quieter song called "Movement". No matter what Hozier does, it always seems to gel well with adult alt radio stations, and it's not hard to see why! Whether he's dramatic or romantic, quiet or loud, he always manages to give soul stirring performances in his songs! "Movement" is not revolutionary like his previous hit, but is instead more fluent and more intimate. Regardless of what kinds of songs he puts out, the "movement" of Hozier's music will last a long time!












Wednesday, November 21, 2018

New songs for November 21st, 2018

here they are:


"Are You Ready to Love Me?" by The War and Treaty: The African-American husband and wife duo of Michael and Tanya Trotter, known together as The War and Treaty, are quite a powerful duo! Combining folk, gospel, and blues, their breakthrough single, "Are You Ready to Love Me?", sounds like a song from another time, albeit with a timeless quality one might find in musicians like Aretha Franklin. The chorus of the song recalls Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man", while the rest of it has a charming magic all its own. Though the message of the song may sound like a simple one, it actually revolves around just what a deep commitment it is to fall in love with someone. Michael was actually a war veteran before he met Tanya, unbeknownst to her, and he genuinely wanted to know if she was ready to fall in love with someone who had been through enough stress to affect him the rest of his life. Love isn't always easy, is it?!


"Come For Me" by Sunflower Bean: With "Come For Me", indie-pop trio Sunflower Bean have made the unlikely leap from Fleetwood Mac comparisons to Prince comparisons. "Come For Me" reflects the Purple One's ability to seamlessly combine funk and rock with a power pop flavor. Perhaps the Prince influence here was intentional since, like Prince's music, "Come For Me" is a song that celebrates sexual freedom. "Do you really wanna come for me? Do you really wanna waste my time?" lead singer Julia Cummings pleads earnestly yet powerfully during the chorus. What she's asking, essentially, is if the listener of the song is willing to take her as she is. You go, girl!


"Everything You Need" by Doyle Bramhall II (featuring Eric Clapton): Our entries for this week are bookended by soulful songs! Blues-rock newbie Doyle Bramhall II and blues-rock legend Eric Clapton combine forces in this song to produce a funky, spirited, passionate slice of funk-rock with "Everything You Need". Unlike the previous two songs, there is no "deep" message hidden within this one. It's just an earnest plea for love. Nothin' wrong with that, though. Plus, Clapton is featured on this song, albeit not until the last few seconds of it.

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

New songs for November 14th 2018

here they are:


"Change" by The Revivalists: "Change" is an apt title for this song, since it is a change from the boastful pop flourish of The Revivalists' previous hit, "All My Friends". Here, the New Orleans octet goes back to the blues-rock they were originally known for before they hit the big time. Not only is the song catchy, but it is clever as well, making more than one use of the word "change" in its lyrics. The chorus uses the word twice: "You've got some CHANGE inside your pocket, but it doesn't CHANGE a thing". This is The Revivalists the way they were meant to sound!


"Dark Dark Dark" by Gregory Alan Isakov: Gregory Alan Isakov has been around for a while now, but this marks the first time I've really heard his music. Mixing the intimate folk-rock of Damien Rice with the down home-y country-rock of The Avett Brothers, Gregory weaves an enchanting, wistful tale in "Dark Dark Dark". The song is an ode to the narrator's girlfriend, presumably named Maria (is the same Maria who showed up in countless Counting Crows songs?!), with reflective, nature laden imagery that wouldn't sound out of place in an Iron & Wine tune. The peaceful calm of songs like this make life worth living to me!


"Elastic Days" by J. Mascis: And now, here comes some more charmingly esoteric folk-rock from the formerly noisy Dinosaur Jr. frontman, J. Mascis. Just a few weeks ago, I was reviewing Mascis' "See You At the Movies", and he's already come out with another new song for the year that adult alt radio stations are gravitating towards! How about that?! Anyway, although both this song and "See You At the Movies" are essentially folk-rock tunes, "Elastic Days" leans even more towards folk-rock than "See You At the Movies" did. "Elastic Days" has a softer backing electric guitar than "See You At the Movies" did. So what does J mean by "the sky is back to all elastic days?" Perhaps only J himself knows the answer to that one. However, the song is not meant for lyrical analyzation as much as it is meant for people to take a breather from an otherwise hectic day, so let's go with the flow here, as Mascis has probably intended for us to do!


"Last of Your Rock 'N' Roll Heroes" by Iron & Wine: There's not a whole lot of rock 'n' roll in this song. It's more just folk music with a catchy drumbeat. The song hearkens back to the simple but weighty lyricism of early R.E.M. tunes, with its title repeated many times throughout the song, and its short, simple verses coming off as oblique but still somewhat meaningful. Sam Beam's music may be rooted in folk, but he is still a rock and roll fan, and with rock heroes leaving the planet by the thousands these days (if not the millions), perhaps that's where he was coming from with the song's title and idea.


"When Bad Does Good" by Chris Cornell: And speaking of fallen rock and roll heroes, here's one who made his exit in the summer of last year. "When Bad Does Good" is a posthumous release in the Chris Cornell catalog. The sweet but powerful "Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart" seemed to be an apt swan song for Chris, but the beginning of "When Bad Does Good" almost sounds like an ascent into heaven, as though he KNEW how he was going to decide his own fate back when he came up with the idea for this song! Why he chose not to release this beautiful song during his lifetime is anyone's guess, but perhaps he wanted listeners to feel like he was calling to them from heaven when he did this song. Life and death are curious phenomena in the human lifespan, and Cornell captures them both here perfectly!










Wednesday, November 7, 2018

New songs for November 7th 2018

here they are:


"Power Over Me" by Dermot Kennedy: In spring of this year, Irish folk-rocker Dermot Kennedy graced the adult alt charts with a powerful, heartfelt song called "Glory". His second hit, "Power Over Me", isn't quite as poignant or strong, but it still carries a heavy amount of emotion, much like "Glory" did. The lyrics to "Power Over Me" are similar to "Glory" as well, but where "Glory" was probably a love song, "Power Over Me" could be about an entity, perhaps God, whom Dermot feels has "power over him", as he expresses in his song. The rippling, rapid waltz pace of the song hooks listeners in as they listen to the power within the lyrics of the song.


"Sunshine Rock" by Bob Mould: Punk rock legends, Husker Du, have been Husker Done ever since the unfortunate passing of Grant Hart last year. Thankfully, Husker lead singer Bob Mould is still alive and still rockin'! Bob has surprised us a few times this decade, most notably in 2014 with the angst-ridden rocker, "I Don't Know You Anymore". "Sunshine Rock", true to its name, really rocks! Bob has tried his hand at folk-rock in tunes like "See A Little Light". "Sunshine Rock" isn't one of 'em. It is also a sunshiny song, unlike the usual output Mould has been known for doing. This is the sort of thing bands like Green Day have probably wanted to sound like, but never quite achieved. Thankfully, Mould is doing both punk and power pop a huge favor with "Sunshine Rock", and is doing both subgenres the right way!


"This Too Shall Last" by Anderson East: Until this point, I've always preferred Anderson East's faster, grittier material to his slower stuff. A lot of the slower Anderson songs seem like milquetoast attempts at country-rock. Not this one. "This Too Shall Last" sounds like the sort of passionate soulful ballad Otis Redding might have been fond of. "This Too Shall Last" has both plenty of grit AND plenty of pathos, a rare combination, but a good one! The song seems to be a ballad of reassurance, something I'm sure a lot of us are in need of right now, whether in love or just in life in general. Also, be sure to stick around at the end of the song for a sweet blues-y guitar solo!


"What's the Deal With David?" by Oh Pep!: The title of this song sounds more like a "Seinfeld" setup (if they had a character named David) than it does like a song title, but it is indeed a song, not a standup routine. The song is a unique combination of indie, folk, and pop. For anyone who wished that First Aid Kit would sound more like a new wave band (which is probably none of you, but I digress), "What's the Deal With David?" might just be the song for you! But just who IS David?! Well, "Who's David?" are actually the first two words of this song! Therefore, the listener is likely to find out. He seems like a guy who isn't exactly favored by the lead singer(s) of Oh Pep!, but how are we to know for sure 'till we actually listen to it a few times?! If you're wondering about what the deal is with David, or WHO David is, give this song a listen. You won't be sorry...I think?!








Thursday, November 1, 2018

New songs for the day after Halloween, 2018

...because I couldn't do a blog ON Halloween...could I?! Yeah, I could have, but I chose not to. So here, one day later than usual, are your latest new batch of tunes:


"Head Held High" by Kodaline: Let's see...folk-rock with a pop twist sung by a guy with an Irish sounding accent. New Mumford and Sons?! Nope! This is a new song by the similar but vastly more underrated band, Kodaline. Unlike the Mumfords, Kodaline actually do come from Ireland, as opposed to simply sounding like they do. This song is actually pretty sunny compared to most of what Kodaline does, which is already pretty high spirited. Though the message of the song and the incessant "la la la"s that dominate it might seem a little on the syrupy side to some, it still makes for a nice li'l sing-along, dont'cha think?!


"See You At the Movies" by J. Mascis: Our only other song of the week comes from ex-Dinosaur Jr. frontman, J. Mascis. On his latest song, "See You At the Movies", he tries to replicate the formula that made "Every Morning" a hit on adult alt stations back in the summer of 2014. Acoustic guitar? Check. G major key? Check. Weary vocals? Check. Piercing but somewhat restrained electric guitar solos? Check. It's pretty sedate in comparison to the wildness and unpredictability that J became known for in Dinosaur Jr., but still worth a listen nonetheless. Also, the song's saving grace might be in its chorus, during which J states, "See you at the movies, the movies in my head". This is enough to make me wonder what kind of movies he plays in his head! I bet they're mighty interesting ones.