Here they are:
"Break My Baby" by Kaleo: There are two sides to Kaleo's music. There's the sweet folk/soul/rock combo that has made them popular among millennials, and then there's the more blues-y side that can sometimes get so intense that it slides into Led Zeppelin territory. "Break My Baby" falls into the latter category. No Zeppelin-esque stuff here, but it does manage to capture the blues-rock influence of bands like The Black Keys, albeit in somewhat softer form. Sort of a cross between The Black Keys and Hozier here, really. Lyrically, it's an interesting song as well. Underneath its surface as a possible breakup song, "Break My Baby" might also be about the music biz! When lead singer JJ Julius Son spouts lines like, "They'll take you in and spit you out. You're only worth how much you sell," his lyrics are pretty representative of his venom towards the industry! Perhaps the "baby" in the song is the very group of people who produced it!
"C'Est La Vie" by The Killers: Breaking from the "epic" sound of "Caution" and "My Own Soul's Warning," "C'Est La Vie," the latest single from The Killers, is noticeably different from most of their stuff. First of all, there isn't near as much guitar in the song (if any) as most of their material. Instead, "C'Est La Vie" is keyboard dominated. It also has a happy, quirky sound to it. It's not aiming to be a "crowd pleaser" the way most of their songs do. Even the lyrics are somewhat quirky, especially the line about frogs falling from the sky!
"Faith Healer" by Julien Baker: My closest online friend actually recommended Julien to me awhile back. A few years later, and now I'm reviewing her music on my blog! How 'bout that? Anyway, onto the song, which is a very bittersweet and meaningful one. The titular "faith healer" Julien is hoping for is one who can help her fight her addiction to drugs. She talks candidly about how she misses the buzz drugs gave her, while at the same time acknowledging how harmful they have been in her life. Anyone struggling with anything, be it mental or physical, could benefit from hearing this song!
"Hold Yourself" by tUnE-YaRdS: Even among "indie" bands, tUnE-YaRdS hAvE AlWaYs bEen on the wEirdEr sIDe of the inDie rOcK spEcTRum! (SeE wHat I dId tHeRe?!) The surreal video of their latest song, "Hold Yourself," employs techniques like cutout animation and features a muscular lookalike of Benson from "Regular Show." Ummm...WHAT?! As for the song, it starts out as sort of a synth-pop ballad, but halfway through, it quickly devolves into what appears to be a badly orchestrated trumpet section. Once again...WHAT?! About the only way this song might make even remote sense is in the lyrical department. It seems to be about how, just because one has parents, doesn't mean they're always mature people who know what they're doing. I get the feeling tUnE-YaRdS don't quite know what they're doing either! (Here is the song's bizarre music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hcG6UgTHiU
"Pendulum" by Jealous of the Birds: 22-year-old Northern Irish musician, Naomi Hamilton, is Jealous of the Birds. I'm not saying she's actually jealous of any particular group of birds, or any anything, for that matter. "Jealous of the Birds" is simply what she has chosen to call herself on stage. Why?! Ummm...darned if I know! Anyway, it was none other than my dad who recommended this musician to me merely a few days ago, and I can see why! "Pendulum," the song currently poised to be her breakthrough hit, is a sweetly hypnotic song that bears similarity to other innovative female musicians of the past 10-ish years, such as St. Vincent, and Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine. The title comes from how Naomi views relationships as a constant back-and-forth, as though swinging on a pendulum. I hear ya, Naomi. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I feel like I've been swinging from a pendulum all week!
"Say" by Moon Taxi: After the bittersweet folk-rock of Moon Taxi's previous single, "Hometown Heroes," "Say" continues more in the anthemic indie/alt-pop direction Moon Taxi have become known for. Sound-wise, it's almost like Queen's "We Will Rock You" with keyboards and drum machines instead of guitars and hand claps. The message of the song is simple but powerful: "If you wanna say something, say it!" Not much more to say (no pun intended) about this song, but sometimes songs can say (no pun intended, I swear!) so much even though they seem to be conveying so little!
"The Divine Chord" by The Avalanches (featuring Johnny Marr from The Smiths, and MGMT): I don't know The Avalanches very well yet, but I do know Johnny Marr and I do know MGMT. Of the three acts featured here, this seems to be mostly in MGMT's ballpark. The combo of keyboard and a faint hint of guitar swirling into a pleasantly psychedelic flavor has become MGMT's trademark sound, though they didn't start out that way. The recurring line, "the stars are rearranging, my love," seems very fitting for a song as billowy and fluffy as this one is. There's also an aura of mystery in this song, though, since what "the divine chord" is is never mentioned in the song (and nor is the phrase itself).
