here they are:
"Ditmas" by Mumford and Sons: After the faux-Coldplay sound of "Believe" and the surprisingly rockin' sound of "The Wolf", I now have at least a glimmer of hope that Mumford and Sons haven't QUITE lost their signature sound with their third single of the year, "Ditmas". Essentially, "Ditmas" is a folk-rock tune using electric instruments. Think Kings of Leon trying to do a Decemberists song and you have the blueprint for "Ditmas"' sound. As per usual with Mumford and Sons, lovelorn yet soul searching lyrics dominate "Ditmas"' theme. Perhaps not everyone liked M & S' constant use of banjo for their first two albums, but I did, and I kinda hope they go back to it for their next album if they decide to do one.
"Gone" by Jr. Jr. (formerly known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.): Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. has no problem with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s music, I guess someone closely associated with the single-juniored Dale Earnhardt decided that they didn't like the idea of a double-juniored Dale Earnhardt, so now they are simply known by the more redundant and mysterious moniker, "Jr. Jr." Now that I've gotten that out of the way, "Gone" recalls the punctuated whistling and neo-folk-rock sound of their first big song, "Simple Girl", while incorporating the use of the more electronic instruments that their other songs tend to use. "Gone" is also a bit more bittersweet than most of their material, containing a deeper message as well ("I can't be everything you want me to be"). Jr. Jr. may have lost having a reason for their name, but in the process they have gained more emotional depth. Even if their name one day dwindles down simply to the letter "J", I'll still be looking forward to what they have in store!
"Magnets" by Disclosure (featuring Lorde): Lorde has always had a bit of a mysterious, nocturnal aura about her, but the New Zealand adolescent really makes her inner moonlight shine with her latest tune, "Magnets". The combination of minor key melodies and pulsating dance beats make the song dark yet alluring, as is the song's chorus of "let's embrace the point of no return". The song seems to be about a love affair gone wrong and its vengeful aftermath. Perhaps it is time now to add Lorde to the ever expanding list of young women that Stevie Nicks has influenced with the vengeful romance themes that dominated Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours".
"Pretty Pimpin'" by Kurt Vile: Can a song be angst-ridden and silly at the same time?! Well, in Kurt Vile's "Pretty Pimpin'", that seems to be just what is happening! The song's theme seems to be about waking up in the morning and not recognizing who you are, as demonstrated by lyrics like "Didn't recognize the man in the mirror, then I laughed and said, 'Oh silly me, it's just me'", and yet again when he refers to himself as "that stupid clown in the bathroom sink" and asks who that "clown" is. Yes, the overall sound of this song is rather brooding, but the song's self-deprecation really wins me over!
"Roots" by Imagine Dragons: There are many Imagine Dragons songs I can name with a synthesizer sound, but "Roots" might just be the first one in which the keyboard sounds a bit more "organic", although the rhythm section in the song sounds more synthetic than usual. All three of the songs from Imagine Dragons' latest album that have become singles (this one, "I Bet My Life", and "Shots") have rather dark themes, but this is one in which the sound actually fits the theme since "Roots" is written in minor key, unlike its predecessors. The lyric in the song that defines it the most is probably "had to lose my way to know which road to take". However, there are some high points about the song, too. First of all, "Roots" is pretty catchy. Second of all, it seems as though quite a few people (myself included) first heard this song in the premiere episode of the new "Muppets" series, so it's not as though Imagine Dragons are lacking in their sense of humor!
"10,000 Emerald Pools" by Borns: Wow, that's a lot of emerald pools! Don't think I've ever seen that many, and I don't know anyone who has, either! Borns had a ridiculously catchy summer hit this year with "Electric Love", and I can see why "10,000 Emerald Pools" is currently following in its footsteps. One thing that draws me immediately into "10,000 Emerald Pools" is the rhythm of the bassline, which has a suspiciously similar sound here to songs like "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "25 Or 6 to 4", both of which can be said to be "jazz-rock" songs (Is that what Borns were trying to do here?!) Apart from the bass, the rhythm of the song seems to be almost reggae driven, and the guitars here seem to transition between background noise, electric, and acoustic. Dive into a swirling neo-psychedelic whirpool of electronic sound with "10,000 Emerald Pools"! Try not to count all the pools, though, you'll be sorely disappointed.
"When, When" by Civil Twilight: "When, When"?! Why, "Now, Now", of course! What better time, time than now, now?! Well, actually, it seems as though Civil Twilight wanted to travel back in time to 1986 here to make an update of Paul Simon's "Graceland" for the indie-pop generation. As interesting and mysterious as the title of "When, When" sounds, it is actually just a question the lead singer asks the object of his affection as to when he's going to see her again. OK, so the theme of this song doesn't even measure up half as much to the deep, soulful themes of the "Graceland" tunes, but it's still pretty neat hearing "Graceland" influenced percussion in this song.
Showing posts with label Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
My 100th post...could it be?!?
According to what I read on my dashboard for this site, it is!! :D What better way to celebrate than with nine new songs?!? Here goes!!!
“Eyes Wide Open” by Gotye: It’s gotta be tough to follow up a song that’s both as unique and popular as “Somebody That I Used to Know”, but Gotye has finally done so after almost half a year since that song first the airwaves! Gotye continues in a Peter Gabriel-esque, world music meets alternative pop/rock type direction here for the sound of “Eyes Wide Open”, with enough exotic sounding but thrilling orchestration in the background to make it sound like something from “The Lion King”! The music video for “Eyes Wide Open” is, perhaps, even more impressive than the song, in which Tim Burton-ish robot monsters run rampant in a post-apocalyptic landscape across the ocean! The video for “Eyes Wide Open” can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyVJsg0XIIk Here’s hoping more songs (and videos) from Gotye’s catalog will make it into this blog, and onto playlists, sometime in the near future!
“Full Circle” by Ben Kweller: And here is yet another musician getting a second song noticed from his latest CD! Ben seems like the ‘60s would have suited him well, I must say! In January of this year, I reviewed his “Jealous Girl”, which sounded like a “missing” song from the British Invasion. And now, Ben’s latest song, “Full Circle” shows another side to him, a more subdued, gentle side that recalls the sunny country-rock vibe of The Byrds circa ’68. Ben’s chipper disposition in “Full Circle” is matched by both the sage advice (“There’s so much that you don’t see/Don’t judge anyone, because everybody comes full circle”) and surreal imagery (“Sand-shark tooth girl won’t cry for you”) in the lyrics of the song. I don’t think Ben’s QUITE come “full circle” YET, though. There should be plenty more songs of his coming up around the corner for people to hear!
“Hey Jane” by Spiritualized: Perhaps not the most immediately likable song on this week’s list, but certainly one of the most interesting! The first three minutes of “Hey Jane” recall the tougher, more rock-and-roll oriented songs Lou Reed did for The Velvet Underground, with its defiant, New York influenced attitude (even though Spiritualized are actually British!) Coincidentally, both the title of the song (“Hey Jane”) and the title of the album it appears on (“Sweet Heart, Sweet Light”) recall The Velvets’ material (“Sweet Jane” and “White Light, White Heat”, respectively). After the three-minute mark, “Hey Jane” lifts more from the trippy, just plain weird part of The Velvets’ catalog, to the point of where it almost becomes unlistenable, unless maybe you like progressive rock, free jazz, or some other form of complex, lengthy, surreal music. If you prefer your music to be more casual, though, spare yourself by only listening to three out of the eight minutes (and eleven seconds) of “Hey Jane”. It’s one of the only two songs in which I prefer the edited version (the other being Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Possess Your Heart”, which was also around 8 minutes in its unedited form).
“Lucky That Way” by Joe Walsh: Joe Walsh was usually the man who turned rock legends, The Eagles, from a country-rock band to more of a hard rock band! His solo songs were typically in a hard rock vein as well. Not this time, though! “Lucky That Way” sounds a bit more like a song from the country-rock side of Tom Petty’s musical repertoire (think “Into the Great Wide Open”). The lyrics are simple, but honest, just Joe reflecting on how good his life is. Perhaps the mellowness of this song, as opposed to most of Joe’s other material, is just indicative of him getting older, or maybe wanting to surprise his listeners with another style of music. Whatever the case, though, Joe is doing what he does best on “Lucky That Way”, and I don’t mean playing guitar. I mean having fun!
“Somebody” by Jukebox the Ghost: You can’t tell me you don’t feel happy when listening to this song! Well, I guess you CAN tell me that, since everyone has his/her own opinion about songs, but this is the type of song that just sounds so upbeat (and different) that it would appeal to just about anybody! It has a stick-in-your-head chorus reminiscent of Annie Lennox’s “Walking On Broken Glass” (only a bit catchier), a danceable beat (with hand clapping in the background), and a theme that everyone can relate to (wanting a relationship). “Somebody” has just as much potential of hitting the Top 40 charts as it does indie and alternative charts, and it would probably hold equal appeal to both audiences! The verses are mostly piano-based, but they build up to a more guitar-oriented chorus. There are just too many things I like about this song and I hope it reaches a larger audience someday soon! Highly recommended!!
“Spread Too Thin” by The Dirty Heads: I was reluctant to explore the music of The Dirty Heads at first, but I soon found their blend of folk, rock, and reggae to be quite appealing! They had three songs that became popular from their debut album and now I feel kinda bad I didn’t blog any of them! Well, it’s never too late to catch up, though, right? So now that their sophomore album has come out, I feel like I should discuss how I feel about their latest song, “Spread Too Thin”. The lyrics to the song are actually a lot more angst-ridden than the song itself is. Where The Dirty Heads’ most popular song so far, “Lay Me Down” was a song that reflected their sound, about just having a good time out on the beach, “Spread Too Thin” is more about trying to deal with pent up emotions (most obvious on the line, “I’ve bottled up all these emotions, babe/A monster ‘bout to rage”). I guess The Dirty Heads know that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, and “Spread Too Thin” is some of the best musical “lemonade” I have ever tasted!
“The Only Place” by Best Coast: Just the name of this band reminds you of California, doesn’t it? Well, no surprise there! Best Coast are from LA, and this song is about California, perhaps the best one since Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.”, as lyrics to “The Only Place”, like “We’ve got the babes, we’ve got the sun, we’ve got the waves”, illustrate oh so well (lead singer Bethany Cosentino IS a “babe” coincidentally). California dreamin’, on such a summer’s day! It seems like that’s the vibe “The Only Place” sends out with its bright energetic chords and rhythm contrasted by its more wistful sound. Best Coast started out with a more surf guitar influenced sound a little over a year ago, but “The Only Place” sends them in a new direction, with more influence from the bittersweet but fun, folk-y flavor of bands like The Byrds, R.E.M., Big Star, and The Lemonheads! Being a Californian myself who was born and raised the same city Bethany was, I can’t help but love this song!
“We Almost Lost Detroit” by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Between the sunny indie-folk-pop of “Simple Girl” and the more organ-driven, Zombies-meets-Foster-the-People sound of this song, I’d say Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are a band whose choice in sound is as quirky and unpredictable as their name!! Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are from Detroit, as the song title indicates, but the way this song sounds, they sound more like some British band, or perhaps even a band that came from outer space! “We Almost Lost Detroit” was originally a protest song from the late jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron, but DEJJ put a whole new spin on it! Their version is more upbeat, and their video for it (which seems to be becoming somewhat of an underground “hit”) depicts Detroit as a city that is still surviving, rather than the bleak vision Scott-Heron offered of it back when a nuclear meltdown outside of one of Detroit’s power plants inspired him to write and perform the song. The video can be viewed here (http://allthingsgomusic.com/dale-earnhardt-jr-jr-we-almost-lost-detroit)
“You Don’t Have to Love Me” by Blues Traveler: Blues Traveler were a nostalgic but catchy (and sometimes clever) band back in the ‘90s. Once the next decade rolled around, though, it seemed as though the harmonica-loving jam band was left in the dark with songs that just didn’t have the spark of their old material! After twelve long years, though, Blues Traveler are back on their feet again with “You Don’t Have to Love Me”!! With John Popper covering Sublime and providing harmonica solo on reggae band Rebelution’s most recent track earlier this year, though, I kinda knew BT were bound for the “cool radar” once again. I had no idea how good they still were though! For the first time since “But Anyway”, John Popper and co now have a song with just as many harmonica solos as there are guitar solos! BT haven’t been this gritty in quite a long time! The contrast between the apocalyptic opening lyrics concerning global warming and the more generic lyrics of the chorus (“You don’t have to love me, tonight I’ll be your man”) show that they still have their sense of humor as well! Welcome back, guys, I’ve missed you for ever so long!!
“Eyes Wide Open” by Gotye: It’s gotta be tough to follow up a song that’s both as unique and popular as “Somebody That I Used to Know”, but Gotye has finally done so after almost half a year since that song first the airwaves! Gotye continues in a Peter Gabriel-esque, world music meets alternative pop/rock type direction here for the sound of “Eyes Wide Open”, with enough exotic sounding but thrilling orchestration in the background to make it sound like something from “The Lion King”! The music video for “Eyes Wide Open” is, perhaps, even more impressive than the song, in which Tim Burton-ish robot monsters run rampant in a post-apocalyptic landscape across the ocean! The video for “Eyes Wide Open” can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyVJsg0XIIk Here’s hoping more songs (and videos) from Gotye’s catalog will make it into this blog, and onto playlists, sometime in the near future!
“Full Circle” by Ben Kweller: And here is yet another musician getting a second song noticed from his latest CD! Ben seems like the ‘60s would have suited him well, I must say! In January of this year, I reviewed his “Jealous Girl”, which sounded like a “missing” song from the British Invasion. And now, Ben’s latest song, “Full Circle” shows another side to him, a more subdued, gentle side that recalls the sunny country-rock vibe of The Byrds circa ’68. Ben’s chipper disposition in “Full Circle” is matched by both the sage advice (“There’s so much that you don’t see/Don’t judge anyone, because everybody comes full circle”) and surreal imagery (“Sand-shark tooth girl won’t cry for you”) in the lyrics of the song. I don’t think Ben’s QUITE come “full circle” YET, though. There should be plenty more songs of his coming up around the corner for people to hear!
“Hey Jane” by Spiritualized: Perhaps not the most immediately likable song on this week’s list, but certainly one of the most interesting! The first three minutes of “Hey Jane” recall the tougher, more rock-and-roll oriented songs Lou Reed did for The Velvet Underground, with its defiant, New York influenced attitude (even though Spiritualized are actually British!) Coincidentally, both the title of the song (“Hey Jane”) and the title of the album it appears on (“Sweet Heart, Sweet Light”) recall The Velvets’ material (“Sweet Jane” and “White Light, White Heat”, respectively). After the three-minute mark, “Hey Jane” lifts more from the trippy, just plain weird part of The Velvets’ catalog, to the point of where it almost becomes unlistenable, unless maybe you like progressive rock, free jazz, or some other form of complex, lengthy, surreal music. If you prefer your music to be more casual, though, spare yourself by only listening to three out of the eight minutes (and eleven seconds) of “Hey Jane”. It’s one of the only two songs in which I prefer the edited version (the other being Death Cab for Cutie’s “I Will Possess Your Heart”, which was also around 8 minutes in its unedited form).
“Lucky That Way” by Joe Walsh: Joe Walsh was usually the man who turned rock legends, The Eagles, from a country-rock band to more of a hard rock band! His solo songs were typically in a hard rock vein as well. Not this time, though! “Lucky That Way” sounds a bit more like a song from the country-rock side of Tom Petty’s musical repertoire (think “Into the Great Wide Open”). The lyrics are simple, but honest, just Joe reflecting on how good his life is. Perhaps the mellowness of this song, as opposed to most of Joe’s other material, is just indicative of him getting older, or maybe wanting to surprise his listeners with another style of music. Whatever the case, though, Joe is doing what he does best on “Lucky That Way”, and I don’t mean playing guitar. I mean having fun!
“Somebody” by Jukebox the Ghost: You can’t tell me you don’t feel happy when listening to this song! Well, I guess you CAN tell me that, since everyone has his/her own opinion about songs, but this is the type of song that just sounds so upbeat (and different) that it would appeal to just about anybody! It has a stick-in-your-head chorus reminiscent of Annie Lennox’s “Walking On Broken Glass” (only a bit catchier), a danceable beat (with hand clapping in the background), and a theme that everyone can relate to (wanting a relationship). “Somebody” has just as much potential of hitting the Top 40 charts as it does indie and alternative charts, and it would probably hold equal appeal to both audiences! The verses are mostly piano-based, but they build up to a more guitar-oriented chorus. There are just too many things I like about this song and I hope it reaches a larger audience someday soon! Highly recommended!!
“Spread Too Thin” by The Dirty Heads: I was reluctant to explore the music of The Dirty Heads at first, but I soon found their blend of folk, rock, and reggae to be quite appealing! They had three songs that became popular from their debut album and now I feel kinda bad I didn’t blog any of them! Well, it’s never too late to catch up, though, right? So now that their sophomore album has come out, I feel like I should discuss how I feel about their latest song, “Spread Too Thin”. The lyrics to the song are actually a lot more angst-ridden than the song itself is. Where The Dirty Heads’ most popular song so far, “Lay Me Down” was a song that reflected their sound, about just having a good time out on the beach, “Spread Too Thin” is more about trying to deal with pent up emotions (most obvious on the line, “I’ve bottled up all these emotions, babe/A monster ‘bout to rage”). I guess The Dirty Heads know that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, and “Spread Too Thin” is some of the best musical “lemonade” I have ever tasted!
“The Only Place” by Best Coast: Just the name of this band reminds you of California, doesn’t it? Well, no surprise there! Best Coast are from LA, and this song is about California, perhaps the best one since Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.”, as lyrics to “The Only Place”, like “We’ve got the babes, we’ve got the sun, we’ve got the waves”, illustrate oh so well (lead singer Bethany Cosentino IS a “babe” coincidentally). California dreamin’, on such a summer’s day! It seems like that’s the vibe “The Only Place” sends out with its bright energetic chords and rhythm contrasted by its more wistful sound. Best Coast started out with a more surf guitar influenced sound a little over a year ago, but “The Only Place” sends them in a new direction, with more influence from the bittersweet but fun, folk-y flavor of bands like The Byrds, R.E.M., Big Star, and The Lemonheads! Being a Californian myself who was born and raised the same city Bethany was, I can’t help but love this song!
“We Almost Lost Detroit” by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Between the sunny indie-folk-pop of “Simple Girl” and the more organ-driven, Zombies-meets-Foster-the-People sound of this song, I’d say Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are a band whose choice in sound is as quirky and unpredictable as their name!! Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. are from Detroit, as the song title indicates, but the way this song sounds, they sound more like some British band, or perhaps even a band that came from outer space! “We Almost Lost Detroit” was originally a protest song from the late jazz musician Gil Scott-Heron, but DEJJ put a whole new spin on it! Their version is more upbeat, and their video for it (which seems to be becoming somewhat of an underground “hit”) depicts Detroit as a city that is still surviving, rather than the bleak vision Scott-Heron offered of it back when a nuclear meltdown outside of one of Detroit’s power plants inspired him to write and perform the song. The video can be viewed here (http://allthingsgomusic.com/dale-earnhardt-jr-jr-we-almost-lost-detroit)
“You Don’t Have to Love Me” by Blues Traveler: Blues Traveler were a nostalgic but catchy (and sometimes clever) band back in the ‘90s. Once the next decade rolled around, though, it seemed as though the harmonica-loving jam band was left in the dark with songs that just didn’t have the spark of their old material! After twelve long years, though, Blues Traveler are back on their feet again with “You Don’t Have to Love Me”!! With John Popper covering Sublime and providing harmonica solo on reggae band Rebelution’s most recent track earlier this year, though, I kinda knew BT were bound for the “cool radar” once again. I had no idea how good they still were though! For the first time since “But Anyway”, John Popper and co now have a song with just as many harmonica solos as there are guitar solos! BT haven’t been this gritty in quite a long time! The contrast between the apocalyptic opening lyrics concerning global warming and the more generic lyrics of the chorus (“You don’t have to love me, tonight I’ll be your man”) show that they still have their sense of humor as well! Welcome back, guys, I’ve missed you for ever so long!!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
new songs for September 21st, 2011
here they are:
"Holocene" by Bon Iver: Of all the songs I'm reviewing this week, this is by far the most serene, bittersweet, and just plain awe inspiring! Earlier, in June of this year, their latest album was released, and the song "Calgary" became the first song off of the album to get airplay on adult alt stations. Though I love Bon Iver dearly, "Calgary" seemed like their attempt at a pop song (albeit with Bon Iver's trademark icy yet ethereal emotional quality attached to it). The most recent song to get attention in Bon Iver's catalog, "Holocene", is a much better song, I think, due in large part to how stark, yet still hauntingly beautiful its instrumentation is. Justin Vernon's high pitched but breathy vocals also add a unique touch to to this song, and his echoing in the chorus of "I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles" might even outdo Pete Townshend's similarly worded chorus to The Who's "I Can See For Miles" (though probably not many people will agree with me on this).
"Knots" by Lisa Hannigan: The artist formerly known as Damien Rice's backing vocalist first made a name for herself as a solo artist about two and a half years ago, with a charming, lighthearted folk-pop ditty called "I Don't Know". In Lisa's latest song, "Knots", the folky part is still there, but the pop part? Well, not so much here, as "Knots" delves into more thought provoking sounds and more complex chord structures (especially how she goes from a regularly used chord and immediately leaps into a more exotic one afterwards during the verses). The music video for this song REALLY makes it stand out, though! It is a synesthetic treat, in which Lisa makes various colors in a paint set come to life as musical instruments, resulting in a fun, artsy mess!! The video for "Knots" can be viewed here (http://www.twentyfourbit.com/post/10447707906/lisa-hannigan-knots-video-weve-seen-this-new)
"Same Mistake" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: With "Same Mistake", the cumbersomely named indie-pop group, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, brings catchy, buoyant, somewhat Beatlesque three-chord pop 'n' roll to the table. Though it's obvious from listening that "Same Mistake" is a recent song, I can't help but feel like CYHSY are using 12-string guitars (which were more popular in the '60s than in other decades) in it, even though I know they really aren't (and that the trick they are using to make this song sound so "retro" and 12-string-ish is using the third fret of the thin "E" string for each chord, as well as the groovy distortion this song has). Vocally, "Same Mistake" also seems to be a time twister, in that, although the vocals sound too "modern" to have come from, say, Ray Davies, Roger McGuinn, Brian Wilson, or Paul McCartney, the way the harmony of the vocals flow in this song does seem to be influenced by such performers. Though sunny, happy songs like this seem to be getting increasingly more common within the indie world, there's really nothing wrong with 'em, and "Same Mistake" is certainly NOT a mistake, as far as I'm concerned!
"Simple Girl" by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Before I get to reviewing this song, let me inform you, you are NOT hallucinating, and I did NOT make a typo, his name really IS Dale Earnhardt "Jr. Jr.", with the word "junior" repeated twice! And now, back to the song. "Simple Girl" is a simple song. In a good way, though, since it's one of the many indie-pop songs that have come out in the last couple years with an irresistible, somewhat childlike ambiance to it. It is also simple in its length, at slightly less than two and a half minutes. And the vocals are (here comes that word again) SIMPLE, with the repeating, infectious, "ba-da-ba, ba-da-ba-da-ba-ba-ba"'s in the chorus. This song totally fits its title, but like I said earlier, in a good way! I can only assume that the lyrics are, well, simple (but hopefully also somewhat clever).
"Holocene" by Bon Iver: Of all the songs I'm reviewing this week, this is by far the most serene, bittersweet, and just plain awe inspiring! Earlier, in June of this year, their latest album was released, and the song "Calgary" became the first song off of the album to get airplay on adult alt stations. Though I love Bon Iver dearly, "Calgary" seemed like their attempt at a pop song (albeit with Bon Iver's trademark icy yet ethereal emotional quality attached to it). The most recent song to get attention in Bon Iver's catalog, "Holocene", is a much better song, I think, due in large part to how stark, yet still hauntingly beautiful its instrumentation is. Justin Vernon's high pitched but breathy vocals also add a unique touch to to this song, and his echoing in the chorus of "I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles" might even outdo Pete Townshend's similarly worded chorus to The Who's "I Can See For Miles" (though probably not many people will agree with me on this).
"Knots" by Lisa Hannigan: The artist formerly known as Damien Rice's backing vocalist first made a name for herself as a solo artist about two and a half years ago, with a charming, lighthearted folk-pop ditty called "I Don't Know". In Lisa's latest song, "Knots", the folky part is still there, but the pop part? Well, not so much here, as "Knots" delves into more thought provoking sounds and more complex chord structures (especially how she goes from a regularly used chord and immediately leaps into a more exotic one afterwards during the verses). The music video for this song REALLY makes it stand out, though! It is a synesthetic treat, in which Lisa makes various colors in a paint set come to life as musical instruments, resulting in a fun, artsy mess!! The video for "Knots" can be viewed here (http://www.twentyfourbit.com/post/10447707906/lisa-hannigan-knots-video-weve-seen-this-new)
"Same Mistake" by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: With "Same Mistake", the cumbersomely named indie-pop group, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, brings catchy, buoyant, somewhat Beatlesque three-chord pop 'n' roll to the table. Though it's obvious from listening that "Same Mistake" is a recent song, I can't help but feel like CYHSY are using 12-string guitars (which were more popular in the '60s than in other decades) in it, even though I know they really aren't (and that the trick they are using to make this song sound so "retro" and 12-string-ish is using the third fret of the thin "E" string for each chord, as well as the groovy distortion this song has). Vocally, "Same Mistake" also seems to be a time twister, in that, although the vocals sound too "modern" to have come from, say, Ray Davies, Roger McGuinn, Brian Wilson, or Paul McCartney, the way the harmony of the vocals flow in this song does seem to be influenced by such performers. Though sunny, happy songs like this seem to be getting increasingly more common within the indie world, there's really nothing wrong with 'em, and "Same Mistake" is certainly NOT a mistake, as far as I'm concerned!
"Simple Girl" by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: Before I get to reviewing this song, let me inform you, you are NOT hallucinating, and I did NOT make a typo, his name really IS Dale Earnhardt "Jr. Jr.", with the word "junior" repeated twice! And now, back to the song. "Simple Girl" is a simple song. In a good way, though, since it's one of the many indie-pop songs that have come out in the last couple years with an irresistible, somewhat childlike ambiance to it. It is also simple in its length, at slightly less than two and a half minutes. And the vocals are (here comes that word again) SIMPLE, with the repeating, infectious, "ba-da-ba, ba-da-ba-da-ba-ba-ba"'s in the chorus. This song totally fits its title, but like I said earlier, in a good way! I can only assume that the lyrics are, well, simple (but hopefully also somewhat clever).
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