here they are:
"Cleopatra" by The Lumineers: Simon and Garfunkel seem like a pretty obvious influence on bands like The Lumineers, but they've never sounded more like them in both a musical and a lyrical sense than on "Cleopatra", albeit with a slight influence from the softer side of Southern rock as well. Lead vocalist Wesley Schultz weaves a tale filled with metaphor and the struggle between the sacred and the profane in this song. Songs such as Joni Mitchell's "Free Man In Paris" might have also influenced "Cleopatra", as both songs center around protagonists whose genders are the opposite of that of their narrators. In "Cleopatra", Wesley sings as a "young actress" who basically tells the story of her life and career in vivid detail.
"Good Girls" by Elle King: Who you gonna call?! Elle King, apparently! The "Ex's And Oh's" jazz-rock songstress is featured on the soundtrack of a "Ghostbusters" remake. This fierce, feisty, and fun blast of music comes off like a blues-y Stevie Nicks trying to cover "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". Elle scratchily croons about how she "does what the good girls don't" in a sinfully sweet song filled with references to the unpleasant side of the afterlife in a manner that is more playful than scary. Hell hasn't been this tempting since Squirrel Nut Zippers sang about it back in '97!
"Take It From Me" by Kongos: Just like on their smash hit (and debut song) "Come With Me Now", Kongos have roared back onto the alt and adult alt charts with a song where rock guitars and "Graceland"-esque accordions collide! "Take It From Me" is song that's sure to scorch up your summer (in a good way, of course)! As this quartet of South African brothers proclaim on "Take It From Me", "nothing can stop me". Indeed, nothing CAN stop them from being one of the few 2010's bands that are liked equally by rock, pop, and alt fans! They've got all the good music in a single package here!
Showing posts with label Kongos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kongos. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
New songs for October 1st, 2014
here they are:
"Come From the Heart" by Hard Working Americans: "Hard Working Americans" sure is an apt name for this roots-y rock supergroup! They're a little bit country ("Down to the Well"), and a little bit rock 'n' roll as well ("Stomp And Holler"). Hard Working Americans' third big song, "Come From the Heart", is a slow, heartfelt song, that sounds like a soul-inflected country song. The organ solo in the middle almost gives "Come From the Heart" a gospel-like feel. "It's got to come from your heart, or it's not going to work", Todd Snider smoothly croons, accompanied by Johnny Cash's daughter, Rosanne. This is the kind of song that definitely comes from the heart, and it works great.
"Dangerous" by Big Data: Sometimes, an irresistible dance-rock tune comes about, and makes almost everyone a fan (or sometimes a hater, if it gets overplayed). Songs like Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" are surefire winners in this category, and it looks like a new song is about to join their ranks. That song is "Dangerous" by Big Data. With its thumping, funky guitar hook, "Dangerous" is dangerous...ly catchy!! This is the sort of song you'd be equally likely to hear in independent record stores and shopping malls, and it's what everyone's gonna be shakin' on the dance floor to this fall!!
"Easy Money" by Johnny Marr: Unlike Morrissey, Johnny Marr's melancholy, angst-ridden former bandmate from The Smiths, Johnny Marr seems to have more upbeat solo songs. I first started listening to Johnny's solo work in early 2013, with the garage rock influenced "Upstarts", and his latest song, "Easy Money", continues in a similar direction. "Easy Money" isn't straight up rock 'n' roll like "Upstarts" was, though, and instead has a more pulsating, new wave-y alt-pop sound reminiscent of groups like Foster the People and Phoenix. A similarity Johnny has to Morrissey is that they are both all about addressing social concerns to the media, but the way Johnny does so is a bit more on the sly side than the more obvious and melodramatic way that Morrissey does so. In the case of "Easy Money", the song is about exactly that - money - and it is also a satirical jab at how people think that money can "buy you happiness".
"I Don't Want to Change You" by Damien Rice: Damien Rice seems like the type who is introverted and fragile, so I had thought for a long time that his late 2006 album, "O", would have been his last. It appears as though I was wrong! After 8 years of musical hibernation, Damien has finally come out with a new song! "I Don't Want to Change You" is trademark Damien, all over! Melancholy acoustic guitar, delicate vocals, lovelorn lyrics, lush string arrangement in the background. Pretty much every Damien Rice song sounds like this, but it's why people like me love his work. Traits like this define who Damien is, and he still has 'em! Damien, I don't want to change you, either!
"I Want to Know" by Kongos: Kongos' uniquely catchy "Come With Me Now" was such a smash hit for this year, in multiple formats (including Top 40), that I just knew somehow they were bound to have another hit! For awhile, it looked like that song was going to be the rocking, menacing "I'm Only Joking", but perhaps that was too rough for adult alt audiences, so instead, the more reggae inflected "I Want to Know" has become the second song from Kongos to hit the adult alt airwaves. While nowhere near as catchy as "Come With Me Now", it still has its high points. It actually sounds similar to another reggae-rock fusion I reviewed earlier this year (Magic!'s "Rude"), but since the two bands came out around the same time, this is probably merely coincidence. "I Want to Know" also has a great, reverb soaked guitar solo, to really make the reggae-rock fusion of the song sound more solid.
"Low Key" by Tweedy: The title of this song is quite an apt description of how Jeff Tweedy from Wilco's music typically is. "Low Key", performed with his son, Spencer, is a mellow tune, in which the lyrics ("I've always been low key") match up with the mood of the song quite well. The song is also somewhat autobiographical, and Jeff even claimed in an interview that he thought the song was "meant for (him)". There are probably many times when you've sung a song to yourself, but not every day you've sung songs about yourself!
"Yellow Flicker Beat" by Lorde: Is Lorde a fan of the "Hunger Games" movies?! Between "Glory And Gore", and her newest song, "Yellow Flicker Beat", I would say that could very well be the case! (Or perhaps the people who make the movies are big fans of her music). The typical Lorde song seems to sound like a darker version of Madonna, and "Yellow Flicker Beat" is no exception. Perhaps the one thing that makes this song stand out from her other material is the lyrics, in which the 17-year-old New Zealand native describes a "yellow flicker beat sparking up (her) heart". Quite a vivid description there! Not sure exactly what that's supposed to be a description of, though.
"Come From the Heart" by Hard Working Americans: "Hard Working Americans" sure is an apt name for this roots-y rock supergroup! They're a little bit country ("Down to the Well"), and a little bit rock 'n' roll as well ("Stomp And Holler"). Hard Working Americans' third big song, "Come From the Heart", is a slow, heartfelt song, that sounds like a soul-inflected country song. The organ solo in the middle almost gives "Come From the Heart" a gospel-like feel. "It's got to come from your heart, or it's not going to work", Todd Snider smoothly croons, accompanied by Johnny Cash's daughter, Rosanne. This is the kind of song that definitely comes from the heart, and it works great.
"Dangerous" by Big Data: Sometimes, an irresistible dance-rock tune comes about, and makes almost everyone a fan (or sometimes a hater, if it gets overplayed). Songs like Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" and Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" are surefire winners in this category, and it looks like a new song is about to join their ranks. That song is "Dangerous" by Big Data. With its thumping, funky guitar hook, "Dangerous" is dangerous...ly catchy!! This is the sort of song you'd be equally likely to hear in independent record stores and shopping malls, and it's what everyone's gonna be shakin' on the dance floor to this fall!!
"Easy Money" by Johnny Marr: Unlike Morrissey, Johnny Marr's melancholy, angst-ridden former bandmate from The Smiths, Johnny Marr seems to have more upbeat solo songs. I first started listening to Johnny's solo work in early 2013, with the garage rock influenced "Upstarts", and his latest song, "Easy Money", continues in a similar direction. "Easy Money" isn't straight up rock 'n' roll like "Upstarts" was, though, and instead has a more pulsating, new wave-y alt-pop sound reminiscent of groups like Foster the People and Phoenix. A similarity Johnny has to Morrissey is that they are both all about addressing social concerns to the media, but the way Johnny does so is a bit more on the sly side than the more obvious and melodramatic way that Morrissey does so. In the case of "Easy Money", the song is about exactly that - money - and it is also a satirical jab at how people think that money can "buy you happiness".
"I Don't Want to Change You" by Damien Rice: Damien Rice seems like the type who is introverted and fragile, so I had thought for a long time that his late 2006 album, "O", would have been his last. It appears as though I was wrong! After 8 years of musical hibernation, Damien has finally come out with a new song! "I Don't Want to Change You" is trademark Damien, all over! Melancholy acoustic guitar, delicate vocals, lovelorn lyrics, lush string arrangement in the background. Pretty much every Damien Rice song sounds like this, but it's why people like me love his work. Traits like this define who Damien is, and he still has 'em! Damien, I don't want to change you, either!
"I Want to Know" by Kongos: Kongos' uniquely catchy "Come With Me Now" was such a smash hit for this year, in multiple formats (including Top 40), that I just knew somehow they were bound to have another hit! For awhile, it looked like that song was going to be the rocking, menacing "I'm Only Joking", but perhaps that was too rough for adult alt audiences, so instead, the more reggae inflected "I Want to Know" has become the second song from Kongos to hit the adult alt airwaves. While nowhere near as catchy as "Come With Me Now", it still has its high points. It actually sounds similar to another reggae-rock fusion I reviewed earlier this year (Magic!'s "Rude"), but since the two bands came out around the same time, this is probably merely coincidence. "I Want to Know" also has a great, reverb soaked guitar solo, to really make the reggae-rock fusion of the song sound more solid.
"Low Key" by Tweedy: The title of this song is quite an apt description of how Jeff Tweedy from Wilco's music typically is. "Low Key", performed with his son, Spencer, is a mellow tune, in which the lyrics ("I've always been low key") match up with the mood of the song quite well. The song is also somewhat autobiographical, and Jeff even claimed in an interview that he thought the song was "meant for (him)". There are probably many times when you've sung a song to yourself, but not every day you've sung songs about yourself!
"Yellow Flicker Beat" by Lorde: Is Lorde a fan of the "Hunger Games" movies?! Between "Glory And Gore", and her newest song, "Yellow Flicker Beat", I would say that could very well be the case! (Or perhaps the people who make the movies are big fans of her music). The typical Lorde song seems to sound like a darker version of Madonna, and "Yellow Flicker Beat" is no exception. Perhaps the one thing that makes this song stand out from her other material is the lyrics, in which the 17-year-old New Zealand native describes a "yellow flicker beat sparking up (her) heart". Quite a vivid description there! Not sure exactly what that's supposed to be a description of, though.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
New songs for March 5th, 2014
here they are:
"Come With Me Now" by Kongos: Considering the amount of influence this song seems to have from Paul Simon's South African sounding "Graceland" record, the name "Kongos" seems quite apt for this band! The accordions in the intro seem to come straight from "The Boy In the Bubble", and it has a similar rhythm to the song as well. The "Graceland" influence is not the only thing "Come With Me Now" has going for it, though. It also has a Kings of Leon/Killers style guitar solo in the middle of it. World music and alt-rock haven't fused together so smoothly since U2's "The Joshua Tree"! As if that wasn't enough, a friend of mine online also informed me that "Come With Me Now" is the "theme song" for Chicago ice hockey team, The Blackhawks, so perhaps THAT has something to do with its current success!
"Me And You" by Jake Bugg: This song also seems Paul Simon influenced, but more for the songs he did in the '70s than what he did in the '80s. It is, perhaps, the most heartfelt song so far from U.K. folk-rock sensation, Jake Bugg, whose songs are normally underscored with sarcasm and/or street smarts of some sort (both of these factors came to an extreme in his punk-y "What Doesn't Kill You"). "Me And You" has neither, and is more of a sincere love song, though it also seems to be about escaping societal pressures. It lacks the defiance of Jake Bugg's other material, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. After all, every tough guy has a soft side! Perhaps the only blow to this song is how it is the first Jake Bugg song that has been featured in "American Idol". How that happened, I have no idea!! Maybe this means that "Idol" has been getting more folk-rock friendly, though, as the show has with musicians like Phillip Phillips.
"Shelter Song" by Temples: "Eight...miles...high!!" Oh wait, wrong song!! This does sound an awful lot like The Byrds, though! "Shelter Song" has been out since January of this year, but it seems to have been only recently that the song has received a significant boost in airplay on adult alt stations. Boy, was I missing out!! Anything that sounds like The Byrds (R.E.M., anyone?! Gin Blossoms?!) I seem to take an immediate liking to, and "Shelter Song" is no exception! Both the sound and lyrics of this song ("take me away to the twilight zone", "I read a poem aloud", etc.) are pure '60s. Groovy, man, groovy!!
"Supernova" by Ray LaMontagne: Until now, I had thought of Ray LaMontagne as being a "poor man's Van Morrison". Though I admire Van the Man very much, Ray always seemed like he was trying a bit too hard to emulate Van's sound. Thankfully, Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys came to the rescue for Ray's latest album, and, as a result, produced catchy songs like "Supernova" that float between folk-rock and psychedelia! There is noticeably more mingling of electric and acoustic guitars in "Supernova", which give it a sound that seems vaguely like something from Crosby Stills & Nash, or perhaps Fleetwood Mac. "Supernova" has something that no other Ray LaMontagne songs have had for me so far. It has the power to get stuck in my head!!
"The Struggle" by Grizfolk: The last song for this week's blog has much in common with the first song of this week's blog! Both songs are "fusion" songs of sorts (this one combines Elvis Costello-esque organs, folk-rock guitars, and a Killers-ish dance floor ready alt-pop sound), and both songs have gotten a sudden boost in popularity due to being featured in non-radio media ("The Struggle" has been featured on the supernatural drama series, "The Originals"). The title of this song tells all as far as the lyrics are concerned, and it all comes to a head in the end of the song, which explains that "The struggle you are up against makes you what you are". The theme of the song may revolve around hardships, but it is no struggle at all to listen to a tune that's as catchy as this one!
"Come With Me Now" by Kongos: Considering the amount of influence this song seems to have from Paul Simon's South African sounding "Graceland" record, the name "Kongos" seems quite apt for this band! The accordions in the intro seem to come straight from "The Boy In the Bubble", and it has a similar rhythm to the song as well. The "Graceland" influence is not the only thing "Come With Me Now" has going for it, though. It also has a Kings of Leon/Killers style guitar solo in the middle of it. World music and alt-rock haven't fused together so smoothly since U2's "The Joshua Tree"! As if that wasn't enough, a friend of mine online also informed me that "Come With Me Now" is the "theme song" for Chicago ice hockey team, The Blackhawks, so perhaps THAT has something to do with its current success!
"Me And You" by Jake Bugg: This song also seems Paul Simon influenced, but more for the songs he did in the '70s than what he did in the '80s. It is, perhaps, the most heartfelt song so far from U.K. folk-rock sensation, Jake Bugg, whose songs are normally underscored with sarcasm and/or street smarts of some sort (both of these factors came to an extreme in his punk-y "What Doesn't Kill You"). "Me And You" has neither, and is more of a sincere love song, though it also seems to be about escaping societal pressures. It lacks the defiance of Jake Bugg's other material, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. After all, every tough guy has a soft side! Perhaps the only blow to this song is how it is the first Jake Bugg song that has been featured in "American Idol". How that happened, I have no idea!! Maybe this means that "Idol" has been getting more folk-rock friendly, though, as the show has with musicians like Phillip Phillips.
"Shelter Song" by Temples: "Eight...miles...high!!" Oh wait, wrong song!! This does sound an awful lot like The Byrds, though! "Shelter Song" has been out since January of this year, but it seems to have been only recently that the song has received a significant boost in airplay on adult alt stations. Boy, was I missing out!! Anything that sounds like The Byrds (R.E.M., anyone?! Gin Blossoms?!) I seem to take an immediate liking to, and "Shelter Song" is no exception! Both the sound and lyrics of this song ("take me away to the twilight zone", "I read a poem aloud", etc.) are pure '60s. Groovy, man, groovy!!
"Supernova" by Ray LaMontagne: Until now, I had thought of Ray LaMontagne as being a "poor man's Van Morrison". Though I admire Van the Man very much, Ray always seemed like he was trying a bit too hard to emulate Van's sound. Thankfully, Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys came to the rescue for Ray's latest album, and, as a result, produced catchy songs like "Supernova" that float between folk-rock and psychedelia! There is noticeably more mingling of electric and acoustic guitars in "Supernova", which give it a sound that seems vaguely like something from Crosby Stills & Nash, or perhaps Fleetwood Mac. "Supernova" has something that no other Ray LaMontagne songs have had for me so far. It has the power to get stuck in my head!!
"The Struggle" by Grizfolk: The last song for this week's blog has much in common with the first song of this week's blog! Both songs are "fusion" songs of sorts (this one combines Elvis Costello-esque organs, folk-rock guitars, and a Killers-ish dance floor ready alt-pop sound), and both songs have gotten a sudden boost in popularity due to being featured in non-radio media ("The Struggle" has been featured on the supernatural drama series, "The Originals"). The title of this song tells all as far as the lyrics are concerned, and it all comes to a head in the end of the song, which explains that "The struggle you are up against makes you what you are". The theme of the song may revolve around hardships, but it is no struggle at all to listen to a tune that's as catchy as this one!
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