here they are:
"Charming Mess" by The Black Crowes: "Charming Mess" IS a charming mess! It's a sloppily played blues-rock song that manages to charm those who latched onto The Black Crowes in the early '90s for their perfect imitation of '70s rock. This song, in particular, is hugely influenced by the sleazy, sloppy blues-y sound of Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs," to the point of sharing the D, C, G chord progression that song does during its intro. Although the melody of the song isn't that original, it does seem to be winning back a lot of the original Black Crowes fanbase of classic rock fanatics, so that counts for something, right?
"Free As We Wanna Be" by Dawes: With its sweet-sounding hippie-esque title and its sincere, Springsteen-ian sound, "Free As We Wanna Be" might seem at first like a sigh of relief. However, upon closer listen, it's actually anything but. Los Angelean indie-folk-rock faves, Dawes, are criticizing the internet during the verses of the song, with each verse becoming darker than the last. The first verse decries TV advertisers, while the second goes after people who pitch ads on websites, and finally, the third gets rather specific, attacking internet advertisers for exploiting their users. Free As We Wanna Be?! Ummm...yeah...think again. You never are, and you know it!
"Sanctuary" by Hiss Golden Messenger: North Carolina country-rock group, Hiss Golden Messenger, give us what could be their saddest song yet with "Sanctuary." Frontman M.C. Taylor has had a lot on his mind for the past year or so, and he puts it all into HGM's latest tune. The song laments the state of distraught democracy the United States has gone through, which arguably apexed last year. He attempts for this song to shed a truthful light on the lies we have been fed through the media, following in the footsteps of his hero, John Prine (the fact he died last year, which Taylor is painfully aware of here, only adds to the grief of this song). This song arrived just in time, didn't it?!
