here they are:
"A Ghost" by Travis: Though Travis are actually Scottish, they have often been lumped under the "Britpop" category that also includes groups like The Verve and Radiohead, and (early on), Coldplay. Travis are typically on the melancholy side of the Britpop spectrum, like Radiohead are, but the eerily titled "A Ghost", ironically, is one of the happiest songs I've ever heard by them! The song is bouncy and jangly enough that I could picture it being done by some of British rock's founding fathers, like The Beatles or The Kinks. The titular "ghost" in the song is one that Fran Healy claims to "see in the mirror", according to the lyrics. More than likely, "ghost" is being used as a metaphor for confronting one's past self here. In "A Ghost", Fran gives a kiss-off to his past by unexpectedly embracing his happiness. Go figure!
"Didn't Want to Be This Lonely" by The Pretenders: Here is yet another song whose sound reaches back to the past. The Pretenders have already become "classic" in and of themselves, but here, they reach for influences that came along before their 40-plus-year career even began! There is a clear influence from proto-classic rockers like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley here. After the melancholy folk-rock/power pop of The Pretenders' "The Buzz" from earlier this year, it's nice to see Chrissie and the gang pick themselves back up again! Like our previous entry, this song also seems like an upbeat tune that masks more negative emotions, and could also be viewed as being somewhat therapeutic in that regard.
"I Do" by Wild Rivers: Have we finally reached a point where neo-folk-rock has hit saturation point? This song from Canadian quartet, Wild Rivers, is one of the few songs of said genre to give me mixed reactions. On the one hand, the guy/girl harmonies of folk-rock that have been essential to the sub-genre since the days of The Mamas and The Papas are present here, which I like. On the other hand, though, the girl's vocals here remind me too much of Colbie Caillat, whom I've never liked, and the production of the music seems squeaky clean in comparison to the more rustic and ragged sound of most folk-rock. The jury's out on this song, but I've reviewed it here just in case I someday grow to like it more than I do now.
"My Own Soul's Warning" by The Killers: Brandon Flowers and co lived up to their name once again in spring and early summer of this year by burning up the alt and adult alt radio charts with the anthemic song, "Caution". The song seemed to evoke the new-wave-meets-Heartland-rock sound that groups like The War on Drugs have cultivated recently. The Killers' latest song, "My Own Soul's Warning", seems to head in this direction as well. Like many Killers songs from 2006 and onward, "My Own Soul's Warning" seems to have somewhat Springsteen-ian instrumentation, which meshes well with its cryptic yet soul searching lyrics. The opening lyrics of the song, "I tried going against my own soul's warning, but in the end something just didn't feel right", kind of sum up what the song is about. In other words, it seems as though during the course of the song, Brandon Flowers tries to find his own purpose in life without listening to the guidance of others, but he veers off course and ultimately decides that such advice might have been worth listening to after all. Flowers might not be near as good a lyricist as his idol, Bruce, but he certainly does try sometimes, and it really shows, too!
"No Time For Love Like Now" by Michael Stipe and Big Red Machine: Sometimes music from two different eras can share a common aesthetic. Such is the case with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and The National's Aaron Dessner (with a little help from members of Bon Iver), all of whom have collaborated with one another on the song, "No Time For Love Like Now". Though Stipe takes on the vocal parts here, it is Dessner who heads the musical composition of this number, filled more with the icy electronics of The National than the bittersweet, autumnal jangle of R.E.M. I'm not sure how they found out about one another, perhaps it is because both have proven to be influential in the world of alternative rock at some point in time, but the combo seems to work here. The song seems at least in part to be about the negative and surprising changes our world has experienced this year so far. The title of the song tells of love, but it's more a sense of sadness that permeates through this track.
"Proxima B" by Benjamin Gibbard: Death Cab's lead singer released what could have been his most depressing song ever with "Life in Quarantine" earlier this year around spring. The lyrics to his latest song, "Proxima B", though still somewhat sad, aim to subvert the sadness a bit. Unlike the stark folk-rock of "...Quarantine", "Proxima B" has a more bouncy, power pop/jangle pop sound, not uncommon in Death Cab's own material, such as "Crooked Teeth". The subject of "Proxima B" is basically Ben's desire to have somewhere to escape from the chaos and imminent danger the world is currently facing. With Planet Earth on the wane, Ben suggests Proxima B, the name of a distant planet in another galaxy (a real one, not a fictional one), as a place to be "careless and free", away from all the troubles of our current biological home.
