Here they are:
"Famous Son" by Belle Mt.: With a mix of a crisp, acoustic, folk-pop sound and staccato guitar riffs and pulsating synths forming a new wave influenced sound, Belle Mt's "Famous Son" doesn't really add anything new under the sun, but it's a pleasant song to kick back to nonetheless (we've been needing some of those lately). The real charm of this song, though, is probably more within its lyrics. The title of the song is not mentioned until towards the end, when the lead singer sums up the song's the theme, which is that his father warned him not to be "famous, son." Too bad! With this song being an up-and-comer on adult alt radio stations, Belle Mt. ARE getting famous to a degree.
"I Need Some of That" by Weezer: Weezer first hit the airwaves in the '90s, but in "I Need Some of That," they set the dials back one decade earlier. Recalling big '80s rock hits like Asia's "Heat of the Moment," and just about any early Bryan Adams or Cars song, "I Need Some of That" indulges unashamedly in nostalgia for a decade during which I was only a baby! The song itself is about nostalgia, not only in sound, but in lyric as well! Rivers Cuomo even opens the song with, "Summertime. I press rewind," and we are transported back to a past when Back to the Future ruled the movie theaters. As if the song didn't have enough of a hammy '80s classic rock sound, Rivers even mentions listening to Aerosmith as part of the lyrics. Party on, Weezer!
"Like I Used To" by Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen: Two of the most progressive female singer/songwriters of the 2010's come together for the first time with a song that is bound to please anyone who enjoys melancholy indie-folk music! Like our previous entry, "Like I Used To" has a jones for nostalgia, but not of the same type. This nostalgia does not take place in a specific decade, but just any time in someone's life when they might have felt like the past was a simpler time than the present. The title of the song already makes this apparent, but listening to both the words they use to accompany the title ("falling in love like I used to," "lighting one up like I used to," etc.) and the sultry yet sad way the lyrics are delivered really drives the point home. Judging from the things they miss doing in the context of the song, Sharon and Angel probably want to go back to when they were either teens or very young adults, pining away for when sex, drugs, and...folk 'n' roll...held a mysterious allure, as opposed to a harmful aftertaste.
"Missing Piece" by Vance Joy: Contemporary folk-rocker, Vance Joy, tends to be popular among both alternative and adult alt radio stations whenever he releases something, but the use of his latest song, "Missing Piece," on Grey's Anatomy seemed to contribute to his most recent wave of success within just a matter of days! Though I've never been a fan of medical dramas (or most dramas, for that matter), I must say that someone who works on the show must be pretty cool if they selected his music to be on the show! Onto the song itself, though, it's a very yearning one, as per usual for Vance, but in a way he hasn't really done so before. Instead of a "Woe is me. Where did my love go wrong?" song, we get a song about how he misses the one he loves. I suspect that part of this could have been in response to separation he might have experienced during the pandemic (if so, he released this song RIGHT in the nick of time). There's a hopeful side to this song as well, as Vance's "missing piece" is something he is positive will be FOUND once he rejoins his romantic partner. Thanks for getting us all through these hard times, Vance!
"Reverie" by Son Volt: '90s country-rock group, Son Volt, continued to soldier on into the new millennium with sparser and sparser appearances as the years went by. By the time the 2010's rolled around, they made only two memorable appearances, both of which had a bittersweet folk-rock sound in comparison to the more gritty stuff they originally became known for. With "Reverie," it seems as though Son Volt have found a comfortable middle ground. It has a more solid rock sound, veering slightly towards a light Southern rock variant, than most of their more recent material, but it retains the earthy, roots-y quality of their early stuff. This song also may serve as an answer as to why Son Volt retreated from the limelight in late 2016. The entire reign of terror of a certain person who shall not be named took place RIGHT at that time, climaxing in both physical and emotional separation as the current generation has never experienced before. With the recurring line, "We won't know where we stand 'till December," "Reverie" could be a way of summing up both last year AND this year. We didn't know where we would stand politically last year until about a month prior to December, and this year, it'll probably take until the end of it to find out where we are regarding if we can see each other again without fear of anyone we hang out with being contagious. A smart and timely song of both idealism and realism!
"Stop Making It Hurt" by Bleachers: In spite of the happy, bouncy sound of this song, there is most definitely a palpable undercurrent of hurt behind" Stop Making This Hurt." The song came about when the seemingly irrepressible Jack Antonoff came to the realization during the coronavirus pandemic that he wouldn't be able to perform face to face in front of his fans like he used to for a long time! The song details the angst, chaos, and disappointment of family life during the pandemic. The kids are complaining, Mom wants to break loose from the Garden State, and Dad has gotten to the point of not even recognizing where he is anymore. Nothing is fine. But sometimes, that's what we need to hear in a song! We need to KNOW that we're not the only ones going through what we are. "Stop Making This Hurt" might just be the spoonful of sugar we need to make the tiresome medicine of our vaccines go down!
"Witchoo" by Durand Jones and The Indications: Like fellow neo-soul-ster, Leon Bridges, Durand Jones and The Indications started off imitating '60s soul music and have now dipped their feet into '70s funk! "Witchoo" captures that moment in time when the R in R & B was getting stronger than the B, as the focus of this song is primarily rhythmic, lacking the bluesy pulse that was present in early R & B. We've had so many songs here that want to leave the present moment, and for understandable reasons, but this song seems very in-the-moment, at least lyrically speaking. Though its sound is an obvious throwback to soul music of the mid-1970's, "Witchoo"'s lyrics are basically about traveling on the road and spending time with that special someone. The simple pleasures of life. So what are you waiting for?! Get down with yo' bad self and melt into the auditory dance party that is "Witchoo"!
