here they are:
"A Nocturnal Heresy" by Ondara (formerly J.S. Ondara): When Ondara debuted in 2019, with a moniker that was then preceded by his first two initials, his bittersweet take on folk-rock recalled people like Tracy Chapman and Richie Havens with his brutally honest yet still vulnerable and sensitive sound and lyrics. Three years later, folk-rock still beats as the heart of Ondara's work, but he's added a bit more rock instrumentation on his latest song, "A Nocturnal Heresy," than he had on his previous songs. Both electric guitar and synth take center stage to the acoustic on this song. The song seems to be a "sequel" of sorts to his debut song, "Saying Goodbye," in that both are about ending a relationship, but in "A Nocturnal Heresy," it appears he doesn't know where he stands on the issue.
"Orange Blood" by Mt. Joy: Apparently, citrus is a recurring theme on Mt. Joy's latest album, if their previous single, "Lemon Tree," is anything to go by. The cover art of the "Orange Blood" single also features an anthropomorphic orange. "Orange Blood" is a calmer song than the more frenetic and unpredictable "Lemon Tree." There is still something psychedelic about "Orange Blood," but it doesn't have the slow-fast-slow-fast rollercoaster dynamic that "Lemon Tree" had. This is also Mt. Joy's first single to date that uses both Spanish and English words, the former of which are used in the first verse, adding to the exotic, tropical allure of the song.
"Then it All Goes Away" by Dayglow: Sweet, summery pop songs made for an "alternative" audience is Dayglow's forte, and this is exactly what he does with his latest song, "Then it All Goes Away." However, something is present on this song that wasn't there on Dayglow's previous two hits, and that's how he chose to model this song after moodier, late '00s electro-pop groups like Phoenix, Passion Pit, and MGMT, as opposed to the bright, sunny '80s pop of Michael Jackson and "Take on Me." It seemed like just another Dayglow song until I found out Sloan Struble (who, himself, is "Dayglow") used those bands as influences, and having taken another listen to the song just now, I can hear a bit of MGMT and Phoenix influence, leaning more towards the synth-heavy stuff of the former's late '00s output than the slightly more guitar-driven stuff of the latter's album of the same era.
"There'd Better be a Mirrorball" by Arctic Monkeys: You'd probably never think that an Arctic Monkeys song could sound like a complex cross between Frank Sinatra and 1960's baroque-pop, yet that's pretty much what you get with Arctic Monkeys' latest song, "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball." The song sounds like it belongs in a much more distant era than the one it came out in, but perhaps that's part of the point to the song. Maybe Alex Turner and co were tired of their more jagged "alternative" sound and wanted to transport their listeners to a time when even their own parents might not have been alive when things were safer and more predictable (or so we would like to think). Even the lyrics (i.e. "old romantic fool") seem somewhat Sinatra-esque. About the only thing that prevents this song from being mistaken for the product of a bygone era are Alex Turner's husky, perishing vocals, more suited to alt and indie than they are to the "crooner" genre.
