Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 Spoiler alert, none of them are Irish!! But here they are... "Bonnet of Pins" by Matt Berninger:  This song marks Matt's first musical effort apart from The National, but the instrumentation of this song sounds awfully close to what he did with them! A crisp acoustic guitar, orchestral strings in the background, and a jolt of electric guitar to punctuate the chorus set "Bonnet of Pins," Matt's debut solo effort, into motion, and a horn section creeps in later to add more depth! With quiet, sweet female vocals to create a marked balance point to Matt's more somber baritone male vocals, "Bonnet of Pins" is a moody yet sweet piece of music like most of Matt's efforts with The National have been as well. An electric guitar solo gives the remainder of the song a crackling, potent feel! "Gethsemane" by Car Seat Headrest:  At a staggering 10 minutes and 52 seconds, "Gethsemane" by Car Seat Headrest might just be the longest so...

 here they are: "Call it a Draw" by Uwade:  Indie and soul might seem like strange bedfellows to some, but Nigerian-born performer Uwade (pronounced oo-WAH-day) makes it work in her breakthrough song, "Call it a Draw"! Known previously for collaborating with indie-folk stars, Fleet Foxes, Uwade strikes out on her own here. She doesn't really sound a thing like Fleet Foxes, despite her being associated with them. Not clear whether this song is about a breakup, wanting an old partner to come back, or perhaps both.  "Ginkgo" by Panchiko:  Giant chickens and bands that sound like Radiohead don't seem like they'd have much to do with each other, do they?! Well, now they do! In a bizarre music video about giant chickens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYHiewpA_1w), Panchiko, who sound an awful lot like Radiohead, present us with their breakthrough song, "Ginkgo." A strangely calming psychedelic indie song, "Ginkgo" comes as quick...

 here they are: "After the Setting Sun" by The Head and The Heart:  "After the Setting Sun" finds The Head and The Heart drifting away from alt/indie-pop and going back to their folk-rock roots. A lot of sweet acoustic guitar instrumentation in this one, and about two minutes of the song have little or no percussion, and even after that, the percussion is light. The yearning sound of this song is also winsome to me and makes me like it more than their previous single, "Arrow" (though that one was good too). "After the Setting Sun"'s pensive sound is not without reason. The lyrics of the song ponder what happens after all is said and done. What if we really are "all we've got," as the song asks?! Then music will live on long after we do! "Backseat Banton" by Bartees Strange:  Bartees Strange's songs are often reflective and moody, which makes "Backseat Banton" stand out among them! The song is surprisingly...

 here they are: "Everything is Peaceful Love" by Bon Iver:  After Bon Iver's much needed return to folk-rock with "S P E Y S I D E" last fall, my interest in their music was renewed! I was excited once again to see what they'd come up with next! What did I get?! Well...the results aren't quite as good as that one, but as far as Bon Iver's experiments in electronica go, their latest song, "Everything is Peaceful Love," isn't the worst. Unlike some of the odder forays Justin Vernon and co have taken into electronica in the recent past (with equally odd titles like "33 God" and "8 (Circle)"), "Everything is Peaceful Love" at least has enough to balance it out. As electro-rock hybrid songs go, it's a smoother, calmer song. "In Love With a Memory" by Sasami (featuring Clairo):  And speaking of electronica songs, this song lays the synths on thick! The song walks the line between club/dance and ambi...

 here they are: "All I Ever Am" by The Cure:  The Cure are one of the most celebrated and influential alt-rock bands of all time, so naturally, when news hit in fall of last year that they'd be releasing a new album, avid fans of the band were all abuzz! While the first single, "Alone," seemed too long and spacious to make a lasting impact on adult alt radio, the second single, "A Fragile Thing," had far more appeal! Now up a third time at bat, The Cure's "All I Ever Am" is yet another song of theirs that hearkens back to their gloomy yet lovely vintage '80s sound. The song starts with an orchestral-sounding synth, but as soon as the drums start pounding in, so does the bass, masquerading as a fuzz guitar here. "All I Ever Am" is a bit of a long song at around 5 and a half minutes, but it's also a catchy one, so I think it'll fare well on adult alt radio. "Cry Baby" by Sunny War (featuring Valerie June):  B...

 here they are: "Give it Time" by Goose:  Post-millennial jam band, Goose, had a surprise hit on adult alt radio two years ago with "Hungersite"! It's a miracle when a song that's nearly 7 minutes long gets that much attention, and it's about to happen again with Goose's latest, "Give it Time." The song has a similar aesthetic to "Hungersite," although it's not as fast as that one was. The song seems to mostly have a contemporary soft rock sound with its true guitar playing chops hidden underneath. The guitar playing starts to shine through at around the 3-minute mark. Coincidentally, this is also when the song starts to speed up! Goose are truly something else! They're sort of like if a group like The Fray somehow became prog-rock! Unlike "Hungersite," which became a bit of a meandering jam band song after the 5-minute mark, "Give it Time" remains both vocally and instrumentally appealing throughout it...