here they are:
"Bad Thing" by Miya Folick: A swath of post-millennial synth-pop creeps up on the listeners of Miya Folick's breakthrough song, "Bad Thing," before shortly swallowing its listeners whole in a whirling wave of self-loathing. The song itself seems to reflect the post-millennial lifestyle of being willing enough to admit you need help while still despairing the life of drugs and "fake friends" you've surrounded yourself with. Whether Miya is referring to online friends or to ex-friends is not made clear, but both seem to happen in the lives of typical Gen Y and Z people. "Bad Thing," as its title indicates, talks about bad things. It never really makes an effort to resolve them, but it does an excellent job venting about said subject.
"Just Before the Morning" by Local Natives: "Just Before the Morning" is the perfect song to listen to...well...just before the morning! Its ethereal, ambient, synth-laden folk-pop atmosphere fits well with the dawning of the day. Local Natives are typically a pretty gentle-sounding group, but this song seems even more soothing than their usual material. The song describes how repetitive life is while being a bit repetitive itself, albeit not in a bad way, just by not moving beyond the four chords it starts out with. Perhaps that was intentional on their part? Regardless, this is a great wake-up song if you want to start the day off with something chill.
"Lover's Game" by The War and Treaty: The War and Treaty are probably one of the best examples of how the classic R & B style has thrived through the late 2010's and early 2020's. Of all their material so far, though, "Lover's Game" is probably the song that goes more towards the B (blues) than the R (rhythm) of their material! "Lover's Game" is a saucy, barn-burnin' blues-rock track that sets its subject straight! Exactly who the subject is is unclear, as The War and Treaty are a husband-and-wife duo. Perhaps the song is being addressed to one of their past lovers, but whoever it's about, "Lover's Game" pulls no punches and shows you who's the boss!
"New Body Rhumba" by LCD Soundsystem: Here's a triple dose of indie rock trivia for ya! In addition to LCD Soundsystem, a cult fave of indie fans, releasing their first successful single to adult alt radio stations, it is also on the soundtrack to a movie based on Don DeLilo's "White Noise," from which the indie-pop/rock group, The Airborne Toxic Event, got its name, and said movie is being directed by indie film director fave, Noah Baumbach, whose name inspired indie-folk-rock group, Noah and The Whale! Talk about a whirlwind of information! "New Body Rhumba" is also one of the more uptight, claustrophobic songs of the LCD Soundsystem catalog. Despite their techno-y sounding name, LCD Soundsystem are also sometimes influenced by folk-rock, power pop, and other forms of music ("All My Friends" probably would have made a great adult alt radio single for its more melodic sound and folk-rock influence), but instead, it's "New Body Rhumba" that's gracing the adult alt airwaves, a 7-and-a-half minute post-punk revival song with stark, slightly paranoid music and somewhat off-putting lyrics about "needing a new body," the meaning of which is never made quite clear in the song.
"This is Why" by Paramore: Led by post-millennial female rock revolutionary, Hayley Williams, Paramore quickly became one of the most recognizable faces of the "emo-pop" movement of the mid to late 2000's with their scathing single, "Misery Business." It's obvious that Hayley, much like her emo-pop contemporaries, was a fan of mid-'90s pop-punk trailblazers like Green Day, Weezer, and blink-182, all of whom paved the way for the emo movement later on. However, Hayley was fresh out of high school when that song hit the big time, and she's now approaching her mid-30's. So what does she listen to now?! The answer might surprise you! If their latest song, "This is Why," is anything to go by, I'd guess she has unexpectedly become a Talking Heads fan! The song recalls the spiky and off-kilter yet still catchy post-punk of Heads tunes like "Crosseyed and Painless," and even the lyrics of "This is Why" seem somewhat Byrne-esque. The exaggerated paranoia in both songs combined with catchy beats might give you the impression that not much has changed between 1980 (when Talking Heads' "Crosseyed and Painless" was released) and 2022, but the coronavirus pandemic has made people twice as paranoid now as they probably were then, which brings a whole new dimension of fear to "This is Why." Where David Byrne expressed hesitancy to trust others in "Crosseyed...," "This is Why" expresses hesitancy to trust the world outside your home!
