Happy New Year, everyone! At least I HOPE it'll be a happy one...maybe I should just wish everyone a good New Year instead?! Haha. Anyway, here are the first five songs I've chosen to review in 2021. Enjoy!
"Find My Way" by Paul McCartney: Let's start this year off optimistically, shall we?! Does anything embody the spirit of optimism better than the sunny, melodic music of ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney? Well, I dunno, but I'd say it's hard to top! McCartney, who is now two years shy of 80, continues to make sweet and spirited music well into his later years with "Find My Way." The song is a message of hope with an upbeat sound that comes off, not surprisingly, like what a 21st century Beatles song might have sounded like if they stuck around that long.
"Plastic Beach" by Future Islands: Like "For Sure" from last year, "Plastic Beach" is yet another Future Islands song where the title doesn't appear in the song. The song's energetic yet minor key sound gives "Plastic Beach" an element of mystery that separates it from other Future Islands songs, and it's also the first song I've heard of theirs that isn't in B flat or F, opting instead for C sharp minor. These surprisingly dark elements all seem to fit the lyrics of the song, which is about regret. "I spent a lifetime in the mirror, picking apart what I couldn't change," Sam Herring sings in both the second and third verse of the song. Trying to avoid change when change is inevitable. Yeah...I've been there.
"Redemption" by Nathaniel Rateliff: How Nathaniel Rateliff went from spirited, feisty blue-eyed soul performer to moody country-rocker is anyone's guess, but the latter sound appeared on both of Nathaniel's singles from last year, "And It's Still Alright," and "Time Stands." With "Redemption," Nathaniel goes for the moody country-rock sound yet again (albeit with an electric guitar solo in the middle). As one might infer from the title of the song, "Redemption" is a bittersweet song about wanting to be free from a world that holds you back. This is what we all need from the surprising debacle that was last year! A very timely release, if I do say so myself!
"The Only Thing" by Travis (featuring Susanna Hoffs from The Bangles): After her career with '80s pop sensations, The Bangles, Susanna Hoffs went on to do a few albums of cover songs with '90s power pop master, Matthew Sweet. Fitting to Susanna's (and Matthew's) musical roots, a lot of those cover songs had a jangle-pop vibe similar to groups like The Byrds and Big Star. "The Only Thing" is not a cover song, and its moody, bittersweet flavor seems much closer to the melancholy folk-y Britpop of Travis than it does to the more high-energy vibe of The Bangles. Not a lot of people would probably peg Travis' Fran Healy as being a Bangles fan, but perhaps he was if he enlisted Susanna's help in this song for backing vocals. The song is mostly a typical "love gone lost" song, although the second verse contains memorably quirky lines like, "you are the record in the record shop nobody wants to buy," and a line after that that cleverly makes use of both "metaphor" and "meta for."
"Trick to Happy" by Bahamas: Bahamas previous single, "Own Alone," was the happiest Bahamas song that I'd ever heard! "Trick to Happy"? Well...not as happy...but still mellow, in typical Bahamas fashion. "Trick to Happy" is not about BEING happy, but instead about asking if there's a "trick" to being happy. What does that even mean? Is Afie trying to imply that happiness doesn't just come naturally, and that you have to work for it to get it?! Bahamas have always been a fun and catchy band to listen to, but in "Trick to Happy," they show lyrical prowess as well!
