here they are:
"Glow" by Big Head Todd and The Monsters: Colorado jam band quartet, Big Head Todd and The Monsters, have been around for almost 3 decades. 2017 looks like it's gonna be their biggest year since 1997, during which they had a few alternative and adult alternative radio hits with songs like "Boom Boom", "Please Don't Tell Her", and "Resignation Superman". They've been in and out ever since then, but usually only one song from each subsequent album has become successful. During summer of this year, the rocking, joyous, "Damaged One" was already a big adult alt radio hit, and with "Glow", it looks like they'll be dominating fall of this year on adult alt radio as well. "Glow" is a rocker, like most of their material, but it has a bit more of an anthemic, somewhat U2-ish flavor, giving it a marked contrast to the rest of BHTATM's material. "Why don't you glow?" urges lead singer "Big Head" Todd Park Mohr. He certainly glows in this song, along with the rest of the band!
"On And On" by Curtis Harding: The last few years have not been good for post-millennial soul musicians who sound like they're from the '60s and early '70s. We lost Sharon Jones last November, and we lost Charles Bradley this summer. Thankfully, people like Curtis Harding have been working to keep the spirit of neo-soul alive and well! Harding is one of the most eclectic neo-soul musicians of the 2010's, having also dabbled in neo-psychedelia, punk, blues, and even spoken word on occasion. "On And On" is not Harding's first song, but it does appear to be his breakthrough, and what a breakthrough it is! It's a catchy, relentless song about never giving up. Groove on, bro!
"Rorschach" by Typhoon: You know from the title alone this is gonna be kind of a weird one! (Rorschach was the name of the guy who had those inkblot paintings that were supposed to look like different things to different people). It kind of is. It's a song that manages to be both sad and adventurous, and it comes off sounding like an unlikely cross between Death Cab for Cutie and The Pixies, with some odd, distorted vocals in between parts of the song. The song appears to be about uncertainty, and it gets its title from the lead singer mentioning how what he was looking at was really "blood spilled on the canvas (he) admired just like some Rorschach painting".
"Sea of Clouds" by Deer Tick: Roots-y indie-rockers, Deer Tick, seem to take a lot of inspiration from Neil Young, ranging from their veering between raging electric songs and sweet acoustic songs to the rather depressing subject matter of most of their songs. The booziness of Deer Tick might also bring to mind groups like The Replacements, who were also known for veering between the hard and the soft. Deer Tick already had a scorching rocker for this summer with "Jumpstarting". As we head into the mellow cool of autumn, Deer Tick now have the softer and more bittersweet, "Sea of Clouds", sounding a great deal like something from Neil Young's "Harvest" album, and a bit like The Replacements' somber but soothing folk-rock song, "Skyway", as well. Clocking in at a total of 5 and a half minutes, there appear to be two distinct halves to "Sea of Clouds". The first half has no percussion, and percussion gets added in during the second half.
