New songs for June 22nd, 2022

 here they are:


"Anything But Me" by Muna: All-female indie-pop trio Muna combines the Fleetwood Mac-ish harmonies that dominated the 1970's with the shiny, plastic synth-pop sound of the 1980's. Their latest song, "Anything But Me," utilizes both of these factors to great effect as lead singer Katie Gavin weaves a tale about a relationship gone wrong. More specifically, "Anything But Me" is about a relationship Katie opted out of simply because it didn't feel right for her. 

"Free" by Florence and The Machine: After the atmospheric, moody pop of Flo's latest song, "My Love," her summer 2022 hit, "Free," seems poised to be one that is more suited to the upbeat vibes people typically associate with summer. The song is one of Flo's more spirited numbers. Just as "Shake it Out" shook off her inner demons in 2011, "Free" seems to be doing the same thing in 2022. The main difference, of course, is that Flo was not suffering through a pandemic in 2011. "Shake It Out" was more about trying to relieve stress after a hangover (which her 2015 song, "Ship to Wreck," seemed to be about as well). There's no tipsiness that I can tell in "Free." Instead, this is a song where Flo releases her tension the way that pretty much anyone else has these past two years, whether sober or drunk. Everyone has been feeling anxiety lately, and Flo puts those frazzled feelings to the forefront on "Free"! 

"McKenzie" by Houndmouth: With Houndmouth's tendency to sing about life on the road, I thought "McKenzie" might have been the name of a person OR place. As it turns out, it's the name of a person (I personally prefer the spelling "Mackenzie," but I digress). The song, whose sound is a welcome return to the folks-y roots-rock Houndmouth started out with, is ostensibly a love song, but not one that declares Matt Myers' love for another person, but rather one that vents frustration about how he wants to love the titular McKenzie but can't. Matt reminisces about how they first met over the course of the song's two verses, but it's more of a bittersweet reminiscing than it is nostalgic.

"Run Away" by Jocelyn and Chris: Brother-and-sister blues-rock duo, Jocelyn and Chris, sing of hope gone lost on their latest song, the fiery, Melissa Etheridge-esque song, "Run Away." The song seems to attempt more of a mainstream rock sound that is vaguely "alt" inspired than the blues-y flavor most of their songs have, and the song's rather urgent theme is probably one reason why it sounds like it does. The title, "Run Away," seems to hint at just escaping from having to hold out hope during seemingly hopeless times. Indeed, stress has been hitting many of us quite hard lately, including those with more neurologically stable mindsets. This flame-fueled folk-rock-ish tune might be just what some of us need. 

"Want Want" by Maggie Rogers: Maggie Rogers has been around for a few years now, but "Want Want" marks the first time in her career that both alt and adult alt radio stations have paid attention to her. Perhaps it's the song's propulsive, driving bass line, or maybe it's equally throbbing, synthetic percussion. The song's dynamic performance at the most recent Coachella concert might be yet another reason that "regular" alt stations are finally starting to pay attention to her music. Whatever the reason, though, there's no denying that "Want Want" might just be the catchiest song she's put out yet! Her material is typically more low-key than "Want Want" is. This might earn Maggie a whole new audience, but I'm sure she has no regrets about that!

New songs for November 10th, 2021

 here they are:


"Billy Goodbye" by Franz Ferdinand: There's hardly a Franz Ferdinand song in existence that doesn't sound energetic in some way, but "Billy Goodbye" has a special kind of energy! The kind of energy and sound you would typically find in a David Bowie song from the early 1970's! Franz have taken on the post-punk sound plenty of times, but this time they go more for proto-punk, or more specifically, the glam rock sound. The titular Billy, by the way, is really a hodgepodge of different people in the band's lives that they've had to end friendships with, although not necessarily in a bad way. Most of these people have just come and gone throughout their lives. "Billy Goodbye" is not about resenting past friendships, but rather about celebrating them for what they were. Friendship IS magic, after all!

"Heading West" by Neil Young: Legendary rocker Neil Young (whose birthday is coming up shortly), offers us yet another way to reminisce about the past with his latest song, "Heading West." The song, which evokes a distinctly early 1970's sound that only Young and Crazy Horse could come up with, is about Neil Young's memories of traveling across the countryside with his mom and how that influenced his life growing up. Beneath the crunchy, blazing guitars of this song lie peaceful memories, and the song never gets too out of control, using a quaint piano sound and mellow beat to cushion an otherwise edgy sounding tune.

"Record Player" by Daisy the Great (featuring AJR): This one's an interesting one, for sure! It doesn't sound that different from most post-millennial mainstream pop, yet there's something "quirky" about this one all the same! Though Daisy the Great take the lead vocals on this track, it was actually AJR's idea when they came across an earlier version of the song (then called "The Record Player Song") and decided to duet with DTG on it. The result is the auditory equivalent of eating a sour lollipop: sweet and delicious, yet also something that perks up your taste buds (or ear buds, in this case). And the video for the song is also worth checking out with its surreal, cartoony look! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyuIHyOBFsU)

"Silk Chiffon" by Muna (featuring Phoebe Bridgers): Two of the most interesting and sweet-voiced women of the indie-pop/folk/rock world come together to create a song that sounds more pop-y than most of the material either of them have done before in "Silk Chiffon." The song brightly mixes acoustic guitars with electronic beats with a sound that wouldn't be out of place in your local mall or grocery store. It's possible that the song's topic could be about a woman falling in love with another woman given both the lyrical content and the fact that Phoebe Bridgers is bisexual. You know you're living in more progressive times when a soft, fluffy pop song is willing to explore modes of sexuality that go beyond what people might expect otherwise from such a song.

"Wake Me Up" by Foals: Are you wondering why indie-popsters Foals are sounding more disco-y than ever? Well, the answer is because they figure that ultra-catchy dance-pop is the antidote to the pandemic blues! The song was originally thought up while people were in fuller lockdown mode than they are today. Instead of relying on pessimism, they chose to rely on hope, and as a result, they have made what could just be their catchiest song since "My Number," which came out 8 years ago. So what are you waiting for? Get down on the dance floor and join us!

Holidays Rule Volume 2 songs!!

The sequel to 2012's indie holiday extravaganza, "Holidays Rule", has arrived! And I've got 6 songs to review from it, so here goes!


"Baby It's Cold Outside" by Barns Courtney: There's a certain roots-y, earthy, soulful quality to pretty much all the songs Barns Courtney has put out so far (especially his first and biggest hit, "Fire"). His rendition of the lyrically questionable but musically fun Christmas tune, "Baby It's Cold Outside", attempts to inject some soulfulness, but ends up sounding more like a 2010's alt-pop song with a hip-hop beat. It starts off sounding like an old jazz standard, but as soon as the percussion comes in, it becomes a whole different song. And yes, as with all versions of this oddly charming holiday song, there is a female vocalist in here as well, and her name is Lennon Stella, best known as one half of the country-pop internet sensations, Lennon and Maisy.


"I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas" by Lake Street Dive: Undoubtedly one of the goofiest Christmas songs of all time, soul/blues-rock combo, Lake Street Dive, add a Latin twist to this song, making it stand out even more among holiday songs than it already did! This is the first time Lake Street Dive have sounded more like rhumba than R & B, but they do a good job at it! With a "shaka-laka" percussion section and sultry horn section, I can guarantee that a song about hoping for hippos on the holidays has never sounded more unique than this one! Make no mistake. Rachael Price does NOT want crocodiles or rhinoceroses, she only wants hippopotamuses. Nothing wrong with that, right?!


"Jesus Christ" by The Decemberists: Unless you're a big fan of Big Star, who are probably the only "proto-alternative" band besides The Velvet Underground to gain a large cult following among alternative rock fans despite having zero chart success, you might not know the original version of this song, an unusually reverent song for a somewhat irreverent and quirky band. It only makes sense, then, that The Decemberists, who are quirky, irreverent, and have a huge cult following themselves, would cover Big Star's "Jesus Christ", the only Christmas song that Big Star ever did. Like Joni Mitchell's "River", "Jesus Christ" might not have been intended to be a Christmas song, but has been viewed as one anyway ever since its release. This version stays faithful (no pun intended) to the original until its solo, which uses guitars in place of the sax solo on the original. As a side note, "Jesus Christ" might have also been the only Big Star song to use a saxophone. Most of the others I've heard by them don't use that instrument.


"Pipes of Peace" by Muna: Yet another cover of a modern Christmas song, as opposed to a "traditional" one. Many people know (and are sometimes somewhat averse to) Paul McCartney's uber-happy "Wonderful Christmastime". They might not know that Sir Paul also released a quieter, more reflective Christmas song in 1983 called "Pipes of Peace". This is that song, performed by indie-pop group, Muna. Muna seem to have a thing for middle-of-the-road classic rock, as they have also covered Stevie Nicks' "Edge of Seventeen" and U2's "With Or Without You" in concert, which is interesting considering how Muna sound more influenced by electronica than they do rock. Muna maintain the quietness and reflectiveness of the original, molding a bittersweet holiday rock song into an equally bittersweet holiday indie song.


"The Christmas Song" by Judah and The Lion: Not since Mumford and Sons has there been an indie-pop band known for playing banjo. Judah and The Lion typically take it one step further than Mumford and Sons by using a pop music framework to showcase their mad banjo skills, as opposed to a more folky one. Here, Judah and The Lion use the same technique on "The Christmas Song", a song first made popular by Nat King Cole in 1945 and covered many times since. JATL's rendition of this Christmas classic is a fun one, to be sure, but the banjo solos might just be the best part of this whole song!


"What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" by Andrew McMahon: This song was already covered by The Head and The Heart on the original 2012 edition of "Holidays Rule". I think their version is much better. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to just ignore Andrew McMahon's version of a holiday song originally recorded by jazz musician Ella Fitzgerald in the mid 1940's. Andrew does a decent job, but his version comes off too...well...keyboard-y for my taste. The song is supposed to have piano, which this version does, but he layers it with a synth sound that doesn't exactly sound fitting for this song. Head and The Heart extend the length of this song and add in some guitar in the background. This version has no guitar and is relatively short in comparison. Stick with the original "Holidays Rule" rendition of this song (or the original Ella version) if you want a quality version of this post-Christmas tune. It's not a bad version, though, by any means.