here they are:
"Bros" by Wolf Alice: The name "Alice" is in the band's name and their lead singer happens to be female, yet the title of their first big song is the decidedly male-sounding "Bros". Icy yet melodic sounding songs done by women are nothing new (last year around this time, Banks' "Begging For Thread" was a good example of this), but given how the aforementioned combination doesn't come around that often, it's always good to hear songs like this one when they come out. Take the main riff of Silversun Pickups' "Lazy Eye" (which itself is basically a slight variation on the riff of Smashing Pumpkins' "1979"), add in shimmering guitar riffs and distortion vaguely similar to The Cure, and detached vocals a la Shirley Manson in Garbage's "Stupid Girl", and you've basically got "Bros" in a nutshell. Nowhere is the term "bros" (or even "brothers") mentioned in the song. More than likely, it gets its title from how the song is an ode to childhood memories and having friends you were attached to like siblings (hence, "bros").
"Mess Around" by Cage the Elephant: "Mess around" is one thing this song doesn't do! It gets straight to the point, and how! This song stands as a stark contrast to the breezy "Sgt. Pepper"-esque psychedelia of the songs from CTE's previous album, "Melophobia", and gets back to the garage rock-y roots the band had back when they debuted in 2009. The combination of garage rock and surf music influences in this song may remind some of The Black Keys. The simple lyrics, catchy hook, and short length of "Mess Around" are all essential to the garage rock vibe the song has to offer. The next time you feel like dancin' in front of the mirror when no one else is around, put this song on. You won't be sorry!
"The Song" by Trey Anastasio: What's the name of that song?! Just "The Song", you say?! Interesting name! With Trey Anastasio, whether he's by himself or performing with his band, Phish, you never know if you're gonna get a roots-y folk-rock ballad or a guitar noodlin' jam session. "The Song" is the former of the two categories, albeit with a brief, decent guitar solo towards the end. Along with the obvious Grateful Dead influence that dominates Trey's work musically, the lyrics to "The Song" are rather philosophical and Dead-like as well, with the ending of the chorus stating, "in the end, all that's left is the song". Groovy, man, groovy! I can dig it!
"Way Down We Go" by Kaleo: Kaleo's first big song, "All the Pretty Girls", sounded an awful lot like Vance Joy. "Way Down We Go", which looks like it'll be Kaleo's second big song, sounds a lot like Hozier, from the minor key pseudo-gospel instrumentation to the deep soulful vocals. I guess this means Kaleo are out to imitate every major indie-pop act of the 2010's! The electric guitar solo in the middle of "Way Down We Go" definitely differentiates it from Hozier's material, though. The lamenting lyrics, "we get what we deserve", also sound rather Hozier-esque. Good song, but hopefully Kaleo's third big song will sound more original than their other material has.
Showing posts with label Trey Anastasio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trey Anastasio. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Songs for the day after Election Day!!
Before I begin my next review, just wanted to say congrats to Barack Obama for getting elected into office for another four years!! :) (My apologies if you disagree here, as I realize some of you reading this might). Now that I've said that, here are this week's songs:
"Cry For Judas" by The Mountain Goats: Though the only other song I know from The Mountain Goats besides this one is "This Year", I remember that something about that song made me fall in love with it immediately! The same could be said (perhaps more so) for The Goats' latest song, "Cry For Judas". Beginning with an acoustic guitar strumming a similar sounding chord progression (and rhythm) to Joni Mitchell's "Help Me", with muted horns, a thumping electric bass, and a percussion section kicking in immediately afterwards, "Cry For Judas" is neo-folk-rock at its finest! Beneath the triumphant sound of "Cry For Judas" are scathing, cynical lyrics, such as "Long black night, morning frost, I'm still here, but all is lost", but even with that known, the song still doesn't lose its "innocent" flavor. At least for me it doesn't.
"Pigtail" by Trey Anastasio: The daddy of post-Grateful Dead jam-rock decides to amp it up once again after his mostly acoustic previous hit, "Let Me Lie". Lyrically, Trey sounds almost as "psychedelic" as he does musically in "Pigtail", with the imagery he creates with pigtails being dipped in ink, becoming conscious again, and stars lining up in the sky. As if the song's words weren't tasty enough, we are treated to a horn solo towards the end of the song. Have a groovy time listenin' to this song, cats and chicks!
"Ride" by Lana Del Rey: For a pop star, Lana Del Rey sure is melancholy! No song of hers seems to illustrate such emotion like her latest song, "Ride", though. It demonstrates more depth than her previous material as well, especially during its chorus, which consists of four chords and an upward/downward progression of the chords. As "Ride" goes on, bittersweet lyrics like "Dying young and playing hard/That's the way my father made his life in art" are sung over soaring string sections. A very sad song, but still well worth the listen!!
"Cry For Judas" by The Mountain Goats: Though the only other song I know from The Mountain Goats besides this one is "This Year", I remember that something about that song made me fall in love with it immediately! The same could be said (perhaps more so) for The Goats' latest song, "Cry For Judas". Beginning with an acoustic guitar strumming a similar sounding chord progression (and rhythm) to Joni Mitchell's "Help Me", with muted horns, a thumping electric bass, and a percussion section kicking in immediately afterwards, "Cry For Judas" is neo-folk-rock at its finest! Beneath the triumphant sound of "Cry For Judas" are scathing, cynical lyrics, such as "Long black night, morning frost, I'm still here, but all is lost", but even with that known, the song still doesn't lose its "innocent" flavor. At least for me it doesn't.
"Pigtail" by Trey Anastasio: The daddy of post-Grateful Dead jam-rock decides to amp it up once again after his mostly acoustic previous hit, "Let Me Lie". Lyrically, Trey sounds almost as "psychedelic" as he does musically in "Pigtail", with the imagery he creates with pigtails being dipped in ink, becoming conscious again, and stars lining up in the sky. As if the song's words weren't tasty enough, we are treated to a horn solo towards the end of the song. Have a groovy time listenin' to this song, cats and chicks!
"Ride" by Lana Del Rey: For a pop star, Lana Del Rey sure is melancholy! No song of hers seems to illustrate such emotion like her latest song, "Ride", though. It demonstrates more depth than her previous material as well, especially during its chorus, which consists of four chords and an upward/downward progression of the chords. As "Ride" goes on, bittersweet lyrics like "Dying young and playing hard/That's the way my father made his life in art" are sung over soaring string sections. A very sad song, but still well worth the listen!!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
New songs for September 12th, 2012
here they are:
"Fire Bug" by JD McPherson: The greatest '50s rock sensation that never was had a big hit on the adult alt charts earlier this year with "North Side Gal", and now he's burnin' up those charts again with his latest song, "Fire Bug"! With its pounding Jerry Lee Lewis style pianos, Chuck Berry style guitars, and soulful saxophones, "Fire Bug" sounds like the perfect song for a 1950's diner to be playing. Like "North Side Gal", "Fire Bug" is yet another song about an object of JD's affections. An ordinary subject, but an extraordinary song, so much so, that it probably wouldn't matter what JD sang about, as long as he delivered it with enough passion and energy!
"Let Me Lie" by Trey Anastasio: For a jam band aficionado, you'd probably expect a more complex, or at least a more electric guitar oriented song from Phish's leading man. But no, Trey has decided to mellow out and unplug for his latest song, "Let Me Lie". Even the lyrics ("Gonna take my bike out, gonna take my bike, gonna ride it slowly, ride it just how I like") suggest that Trey doesn't want to go all Jerry Garcia on us this time like he usually does, he just wants to take a break from all that fast paced life out on the road. For a man who's been jammin' his brains out for more than 20 years, both with and without Phish, I'd say that "Let Me Lie" is a well deserved break for Trey. Not that I don't enjoy it when he jams, though, he's great at that!!
"Love Is A Fire" by Courrier: With a sound that comes halfway between Snow Patrol and The Killers, Courrier already seem poised for success with their debut single, "Love Is A Fire". Somehow, though, even though Courrier have a solid, dynamic, appealing sound, something seems missing from their music. Perhaps because their lyrics (like the chorus, "Can you hear my heart, hear my heart now? Love is a fire and it's burning me down") seem ordinary in comparison to those that Gary Lightbody and Brandon Flowers typically deliver in their music. Courrier don't even seem to have the "tight harmony" concept that make songs by groups like Scars on 45 so profound sounding to me. Yet somehow, I still like Courrier, and I still like this song. It's not bad. I just think it needs a little improvement, and I think that Courrier have potential to make better songs.
"1957" by Milo Greene: Has it somehow become a trend to use 20th century years in indie-pop/rock song titles?! First there was Phoenix's "1901", and earlier this year, The Tallest Man on Earth put out a song called "1904". Now, thanks to Milo Greene (a band, not a person), we have our third "year song" in the indie-pop category, "1957". "1957" also utilizes other trends in indie-pop/rock. Like Of Monsters and Men, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, The Civil Wars, and The Lumineers, Milo Greene are a band that plays bittersweet folk-rock with a guy and girl sharing vocals, somewhat like a modern day Mamas and Papas. The video for the song is particularly interesting, in that it plays out like a three and a half minute version of current indie flick, "Ruby Sparks". The guy in the video appears to be writing a story about this girl, he falls for her, she appears to be real, but she turns out to (more than likely) just be imaginary. Surreal enough for ya?! The video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Mc8YRigmw
"Teardrop Windows" by Benjamin Gibbard: So Death Cab's leading man has finally decided to go solo, eh? Well, it sounds like...ummm...not that different from Death Cab themselves. However, "Teardrop Windows" is a relief for me since its sound hearkens back to the bittersweet folk-rock Death Cab initially became known for, as opposed to the more electronic flourishes of more recent Death Cab songs like "You Are A Tourist" and "Underneath the Sycamore". As you might expect from a song with the word "teardrop" in the title, "Teardrop Windows" has both a moody sound and moody lyrics (even the opening lyrics, "Teardrop windows crying at the sky, he's all alone and wondering why"). But Ben doesn't let the tears flow too hard in "Teardrop Windows", since the song has a somewhat catchy backbeat, as well as a good balance of major and minor chords throughout the song.
"Fire Bug" by JD McPherson: The greatest '50s rock sensation that never was had a big hit on the adult alt charts earlier this year with "North Side Gal", and now he's burnin' up those charts again with his latest song, "Fire Bug"! With its pounding Jerry Lee Lewis style pianos, Chuck Berry style guitars, and soulful saxophones, "Fire Bug" sounds like the perfect song for a 1950's diner to be playing. Like "North Side Gal", "Fire Bug" is yet another song about an object of JD's affections. An ordinary subject, but an extraordinary song, so much so, that it probably wouldn't matter what JD sang about, as long as he delivered it with enough passion and energy!
"Let Me Lie" by Trey Anastasio: For a jam band aficionado, you'd probably expect a more complex, or at least a more electric guitar oriented song from Phish's leading man. But no, Trey has decided to mellow out and unplug for his latest song, "Let Me Lie". Even the lyrics ("Gonna take my bike out, gonna take my bike, gonna ride it slowly, ride it just how I like") suggest that Trey doesn't want to go all Jerry Garcia on us this time like he usually does, he just wants to take a break from all that fast paced life out on the road. For a man who's been jammin' his brains out for more than 20 years, both with and without Phish, I'd say that "Let Me Lie" is a well deserved break for Trey. Not that I don't enjoy it when he jams, though, he's great at that!!
"Love Is A Fire" by Courrier: With a sound that comes halfway between Snow Patrol and The Killers, Courrier already seem poised for success with their debut single, "Love Is A Fire". Somehow, though, even though Courrier have a solid, dynamic, appealing sound, something seems missing from their music. Perhaps because their lyrics (like the chorus, "Can you hear my heart, hear my heart now? Love is a fire and it's burning me down") seem ordinary in comparison to those that Gary Lightbody and Brandon Flowers typically deliver in their music. Courrier don't even seem to have the "tight harmony" concept that make songs by groups like Scars on 45 so profound sounding to me. Yet somehow, I still like Courrier, and I still like this song. It's not bad. I just think it needs a little improvement, and I think that Courrier have potential to make better songs.
"1957" by Milo Greene: Has it somehow become a trend to use 20th century years in indie-pop/rock song titles?! First there was Phoenix's "1901", and earlier this year, The Tallest Man on Earth put out a song called "1904". Now, thanks to Milo Greene (a band, not a person), we have our third "year song" in the indie-pop category, "1957". "1957" also utilizes other trends in indie-pop/rock. Like Of Monsters and Men, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, The Civil Wars, and The Lumineers, Milo Greene are a band that plays bittersweet folk-rock with a guy and girl sharing vocals, somewhat like a modern day Mamas and Papas. The video for the song is particularly interesting, in that it plays out like a three and a half minute version of current indie flick, "Ruby Sparks". The guy in the video appears to be writing a story about this girl, he falls for her, she appears to be real, but she turns out to (more than likely) just be imaginary. Surreal enough for ya?! The video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Mc8YRigmw
"Teardrop Windows" by Benjamin Gibbard: So Death Cab's leading man has finally decided to go solo, eh? Well, it sounds like...ummm...not that different from Death Cab themselves. However, "Teardrop Windows" is a relief for me since its sound hearkens back to the bittersweet folk-rock Death Cab initially became known for, as opposed to the more electronic flourishes of more recent Death Cab songs like "You Are A Tourist" and "Underneath the Sycamore". As you might expect from a song with the word "teardrop" in the title, "Teardrop Windows" has both a moody sound and moody lyrics (even the opening lyrics, "Teardrop windows crying at the sky, he's all alone and wondering why"). But Ben doesn't let the tears flow too hard in "Teardrop Windows", since the song has a somewhat catchy backbeat, as well as a good balance of major and minor chords throughout the song.
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