Good Grief! "G" songs!

Here they are (as indicated by the title of this article, they both start with "G"):

"Gold" by The Lone Bellow: Even bands who have stuck to the folk-rock sound for longer than others, such as The Lone Bellow, are hopping aboard the electro-pop bandwagon now. Go figure, eh? The Lone Bellow's latest song, "Gold," sounds nothing like what their other material has so far. The title might be an allusion to drugs, also, since the song addresses the problem of opioid addiction. "Gold," then, might be opium itself? It's as good a guess as any! With five records now under their belt, I'm not sure why The Lone Bellow abandoned the folk-rock ship so suddenly, but I guess if it works for their fans, it works for me, too. It's just a little disappointing for me to see this shift away from guitar and towards the synthesizer for someone who has been a guitarist for 22 years now. 

"Grace" by Marcus Mumford (from Mumford and Sons): To reference the title of one of Mumford and Sons' earlier songs, M & S ended up being "Hopeless Wanderers" from their third album onwards in terms of finding a suitable sound. Thankfully, lead singer (and namesake), Marcus, seems to have found his way back to folk-rock, albeit with a more roots-y John Mellencamp-ish tinge, as opposed to the more Celtic-influenced folk sound he started with. The lyrics to the song don't seem too different from what Marcus attempted with his "Sons," revolving largely around the quest for redemption in the guise of a love song, but its sound offers something that simultaneously nostalgic and fresh for Mumford's longtime fans! 

"G" Whiz!!

The punny title comes from how both song titles for this week begin with the letter "G" (and you can't have the word "goofy" without the "G", right?!) Anyway, here they are:


"Get Out" by Frightened Rabbit: Probably the closest to a pure rock and roll sound (albeit with techno beats) that Frightened Rabbit have come to so far would be their latest song, "Get Out". The normally folk-rock-y Scottish group amps it up a bit for this song, which has quite interesting lyrical metaphors for love. These include lines like, "I'm a worshiper, a zealot king, cursed, a devotee of the heady golden dance she does", and "She's an uncut drug. Find the vein and pulse". Strange yet somewhat insightful and clever lyrics, if I do say so myself. If Scott Hutchinson's girl is an "uncut drug" then I guess sooner or later he's gonna have to face that he's addicted to love!


"Gimme the Love" by Jake Bugg: Yet another former folk-rocker trying to get away from the sound he's become known for. Jake Bugg actually has had some pretty hard rocking songs before, like "What Doesn't Kill You", the sound of which bore slight resemblance to bands like Green Day. Normally, though, Jake is like a slightly edgier Mumford and Sons. "Gimme the Love" sounds like neither Mumford nor Green Day. Instead, it sounds like an outtake from U2's "Achtung Baby", fusing rock and techno into one fluid musical movement.