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!
