Happy Ground-blog Day!

 It's Groundhog Day...again. But this time, I'm doing something I don't think I've done on previous Groundhog Days: a music blog! Here are today's songs of the week:


"Hold U" by Indigo de Souza: The late '80s brought us the innovative, cutting-edge folk-rock duo, Indigo Girls. The early 2020's have brought us an equally innovative and cutting-edge indie-pop girl NAMED Indigo. Indigo de Souza, that is. Indigo is a North Carolinian with Brazilian heritage whose style of music can't be easily defined. It combines elements of techno, R & B, new wave, and pop music to create a uniquely catchy sound. Her breakthrough song, "Hold U," is a simple love song lyrically, but its sound is truly a breath of fresh air on alt and adult alt radio stations.

"Paddle to the Stars" by The Dip: As far as the indie-folk/rock record label, Dualtone, is concerned, The Dip are probably the most jazz and soul influenced band on their roster. The Dip have cultivated such a sound for a few years now, but "Paddle the Stars" marks the first time that adult alt radio has truly taken notice of their music, which carves out a sound more reminiscent of Stax Records than it does Dualtone. The song's lyrics aren't out of the ordinary for a love song, but the song definitely seems like it would hold appeal to fans of vintage, sax-heavy soul musicians like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. 

"Pierced Arrows" by Hurray for the Riff Raff: Where our first two entries of the week focused on love (fitting for the month of February), "Pierced Arrows" by Hurray for the Riff Raff focuses on heartbreak, and possibly on other negative emotions like fear. The song even starts on a sour, questionable note, with the lyrics, "Trying to avoid running into my ex on Broadway." Yikes! HFTRR's Alynda Segarra must have had some bad experiences with love before, if we are to go by those lyrics. The title alone indicates something negative, but Alynda holds nothing back right from the start in this paranoid yet catchy synth-driven indie-pop song. The song might also be a "screw-you" to the world at large (the third to the last line of the song is "The whole f**king world is changing.") Alynda gets both more fearful and more fierce than she ever has before on "Pierced Arrows." 

"Seventeen Going Under" by Sam Fender: Sam Fender's bittersweet yet catchy and Springsteen-esque song, "Hypersonic Missiles," might have just been the perfect song for 2019, exactly one year before the coronavirus pandemic. The song focused on the end of the world, but in a very triumphant and poetic manner. Two years later, Sam gives us the equally Springsteen-esque "Seventeen Going Under," combining shimmering, soulful jangle-pop guitars with stellar sax riffs, much like The Boss did during his early years. Lyrically, the song is about being 17, the age Sam was exactly a decade ago, and how awkward it is to be such an age. It's also about both the hunger and the pressure many teenagers feel to "grow up" at that age. Sam was no exception to the rule. He made the realization at this age that although he was no longer a little boy, he didn't feel like a fully-grown man either, and he struggled to cope with the confusing reality of this situation. At age 27, Sam has now realized that "growing up" and growing old are two different things, unlike what his teenage self probably thought. I think a lot of people can relate to this one!

"Simulation Swarm" by Big Thief: One thing that might jump out at listeners about Big Thief's latest song, "Simulation Swarm," if they listen carefully enough, is the contradiction between how sweet and warm the song sounds and how weird the lyrics are. It's a bit hard to make sense of Adrianne Lenker's rather stream-of-consciousness narrative, which consists of vivid imagery that never quite comes to fruition as a coherent story. Midway through, the gentle vibe of "Simulation Swarm" becomes slightly more trippy with its fuzzed-out, psychedelic guitar solo, yet it never climaxes to a point of intense loudness, remaining in the same state of blissed out calm throughout. The song leaves on a quiet, almost whispery note upon fading out. 

New songs for the day after Groundhog Day

Stuck in a continuous time loop? Not to worry. We have 6 songs that'll get you through it!


"Gardenia" by Iggy Pop: David Bowie and Lou Reed may not be around anymore to grace us with their presence, but at least ONE punk rock forefather is keeping things alive for us, and that man is Iggy Pop! If you're expecting something with manic reckless abandon like "I Wanna Be Your Dog" or "Lust For Life", you'll be sorely disappointed. "Gardenia", instead, is one of the few calmer songs in Iggy's catalog, in fact it kinda sounds more like David Bowie than Iggy Pop, both musically and vocally. I wonder if the "Gardenia" mentioned in the song is Bowie himself?! Could be! One gets the hint that Iggy wants to continue to impress today's "alternative" crowd, just as he did in days of old, as this song seems to be slightly influenced by groups like The Walkmen and Modest Mouse.


"No Love Like Yours" by Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros: Musically, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros still sound a little like a modern day Mamas and Papas, but vocally, that seems to be lost in this song. That's because the female harmonies supplied by ex-Magnetic Zero Jade are no longer there. Female vocals are present on "No Love Like Yours", but they're not as distinctive as Jade's voice. Nonetheless, ESATMZ fans will probably still be wowed by "No Love Like Yours", as it does have the typical upbeat, post-hippie-folk-rock sound that the group usually have. The tinkly pianos in this song tend to make it distinct from other Magnetic Zeros songs, despite the fact that they've used pianos before. It is also one of their shortest songs, at only 2 minutes and 57 seconds.


"Run Or Hide" by Run River North: Here is yet another indie-pop song in which piano is a defining feature. However, it sounds far too modern to be mistaken for a song from the 1960's, which is funny for a band whose first major song, "Monsters Calling Home", sounded a bit like Mumford & Sons or Of Monsters & Men. "Run Or Hide" definitely has a more modern sound than one might expect from Run River North. Perhaps that's why it's gotten more attention than their other songs have. The shout-y vocals, slightly reminiscent of songs like Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", might also be a bit jarring for people who originally got to know Run River North through "Monsters Calling Home". However, Run River North seemed to have gained a new fanbase in the process of this song, and they seem to like it, too, especially judging by how much Run River North seem to like interacting with their fans through their YouTube page. Nerds, rejoice! Apparently Run River North are fans of "Pokemon" and "Firefly" according to one YouTube comment they made!


"Spirits" by The Strumbellas: How many people thought that their name was actually "Strumbrellas" instead of "Strumbellas"?! Well, I did. Apparently there's only one "R" in their name, not two. Anyway, The Strumbellas' debut song, "Spirits", is an interesting song. It is an indie-folk-rock song backed by an upbeat drum section and (once again) piano. The paranoid lyrics of the song, "I've got guns in my head and they won't go. Spirits in my head and they won't go" are offset by how happy the song itself sounds. The song seems to be a pretty big hit so far. The secret to their success? Probably just making the song sound as fun and catchy as it does!


"Thank God For Girls" by Weezer: WEEZER?! Some of you probably spit milk through your nose if you know me well enough, as I'm really not a big fan of Weezer ordinarily. However, there are some times where I make an exception to the rule, and this is one such case. Here is yet ANOTHER song where piano takes a central role. (Billy Joel, are you listening?! Take note!) Weezer have made an interesting transformation from self-loathing nerds in the '90s, people questioning their social identity in the '00s, and nerds who are more proud of their nerdiness in the 2010's. This song is pretty quirky, really. I mean who ELSE would use the word "cannoli" in a song even once?! They use that word repeatedly here! I'm not sure that half of this song is even ABOUT girls. "Thank God for girls" just seem to be four words they use here to drill into peoples' eardrums for days upon end.


"Wolves Without Teeth" by Of Monsters and Men: Yet another OMAM song with strange and mystical metaphors for the ups and downs of relationships. I'm sure that's why a lot of their fans (including me) like their music, though. Even their name has an aura of mystique that's just as alluring as the songs they perform. "Wolves Without Teeth" is a light folk-rock affair like a lot of OMAM's songs tend to be, but the distortion of the backing electric guitar here seems to be a bit more noticeable here than it is on their other songs (one YouTube commenter even referred to this song as "Of Mumford and Bastille" - a pretty apt and somewhat funny description, if I do say so myself!)