Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Buzzkill" by Jobi Riccio:  Before I begin this review, I want to say that I had the pleasure of seeing Jobi perform this song and others of hers live at a place called Healing Force of the Universe! I barely knew about her back then, but she did an amazing performance, sounding somewhere halfway between Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt, but for the indie-folk generation. Though most of Jobi's material is rooted in folk and country, "Buzzkill" has that biting indie/alt edge to it, which is probably part of why it's ended up being her breakthrough single! The lyrics are also very relatable, especially to young adults! Jobi goes through being different ages in the song (21, 23, 25) and noting how, no matter how old you get, life can still feel incomplete and dissatisfying. Jobi herself is the "buzzkill" in the song. Her wry, self-deprecating humor combined with bittersweet observations on life make this song a winner! "Dime"...

 It's Groundhog Day...again. And it's the day for me to review some new releases! Here goes: "Against the Dying of the Light" by Jose Gonzalez:  Ever since I heard Jose's quiet but powerful "Heartbeats" almost 20 years ago, I've always loved his material! He goes right in line with Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, and Iron & Wine as a musician who relies primarily on alternate tunings and acoustic guitar. It's been nearly a decade since he last released something, but it was worth the wait! Jose's advice in this solemn song is almost Zen-like, with such lyrical gems as "accept who you have become," "embrace who we could be," "disconnect from every algorithm," and "kill the codes that feed the hate." Some of this advice is timeless, but other parts mentioning things like algorithms and codes seem more like lyrics for today's generation than they would have been for millennials and Gen Z-ers who were ou...

 here they are: "Count the Ways" by The Last Dinner Party:  The latest song from The Last Dinner Party combines a slinky guitar riff with Abigail Morris' sultry yet venomous vocals. Right from the opening lyrics, we get lines like, "Let the snake bite/Let her crawl under your skin/Let it eat you from within/It's alright," and shortly after that, "You break into my house/I'll break into your house/I'll do it/Do it." Those are very vindictive lyrics if you ask me! But the song also has a yearning undercurrent to it, centering around how much Abigail misses her lover. I dunno 'bout you, but I think I'm gonna count the ways this song lends itself to lyrical ambiguity! "Site Unseen" by Courtney Barnett (featuring Waxahatchee):  When it comes to sardonic yet sweet women of 2020's indie-folk-rock, Courtney Barnett and Waxahatchee are both giants, so it's interesting to hear them come together here! The song lacks the bite...

 here they are: "Barbed Wire" by Cardinals:  With their previous single, "Masquerade," having a somewhat Radiohead-esque sound, "Barbed Wire" has an even more interesting tune to it! It has a mid '00s indie rock swagger akin to Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, or Arctic Monkeys, but beset by an accordion sound. Somehow, they turn the accordion into a rock and roll instrument on "Barbed Wire," a song that takes dark subject matter like imprisonment and drugs and makes it into a daring tale of adventure! "Paradise Road" by Clover County:  If you thought this said "Clover Country" instead of "Clover County," you wouldn't be that far from the truth! Clover County, whose previous works were closer to indie-folk, leans more towards a country sound for their latest tune, "Paradise Road." No place called "Paradise Road," real or fictional, is mentioned in the tune, but it could be inferred from the...

 "Fool's Gold" by Buffalo Traffic Jam:  By now, a song like this might be considered a throwback song! A Mumford and Sons-ish galloping rhythm, a bluegrass-y vibe similar to Trampled by Turtles, and a voice like the lead singer of Caamp all combine into one bluegrass-rock tune on "Fool's Gold" by Buffalo Traffic Jam! The titular "fool's gold" seems to be numbing ways of distracting oneself from the difficulties of life, such as drugs. In other words, things like that are just a crutch. They may seem like "gold," but they're really just another way of saying "I'm OK" when you're really not. This song is like an Americanized Mumford and Sons going through a revelation that nothing in life is as it seems! "In Your Ocean" by Iron & Wine:  The sublime, alternately tuned folk-rock sound on IAW's latest song, "In Your Ocean," makes it sound like it was an outtake from an earlier album they di...

 Happy New Year everyone!! Here goes!! "Lou Reed Was My Babysitter" by Jeff Tweedy:  A striking contrast to the other two following entries on my list in a few ways. It starts with L, not W, the performer of the song is white, not Black, it tells a statement, not a question (the other two both ask "Who?"), and it goes more towards alt-rock and folk-rock than it does to vintage R & B vibes. This makes "Lou Reed Was My Babysitter" a vibrant entry to start off 2026!! Even the title of the song says a lot!! The Patron Saint of Alt-Rock has long deserved his own song, and Jeff Tweedy finally gives him one! Does it sound like Lou Reed?! Yeah, it kinda does! It has a very laconic, dry rock sound that goes halfway between laid-back folk-rock and jagged, experimental alt-rock. The song contains rather obvious references to songs like "Rock and Roll," and other more oblique references to various Lou/Velvets songs, possibly evoking "Sister Ray...