New songs for April 24th, 2023

 After two weeks of absence, I'm back! Six new songs for a brand new week. Here they are:

"Exhausting Lover" by Ben Folds: What's this? Is alt-pop's resident piano man, Ben Folds, suddenly turning to synths instead?! Well, in this song, he appears to be doing just that, at least initially until a bright brass section comes in towards the middle! This IS Ben Folds we're talking about, though, and many of his songs are snarky commentary, so him modernizing his sound might just be a subtle jab at contemporary pop culture, along with some of the lyrics of the song, particularly when he says, "Never gonna say YOLO no mo'." The song tells the tale of a girl who is quite possibly a spoof of recent female celebrities like Kim Kardashian meeting either an unnamed character in the song or possibly Ben himself, a self-described "nerd." As you might expect, things go south for the two rather quickly, and by the end of the song, things get incredibly awkward as Ben (or his character) finds himself in his underwear outside of a Motel 6, only for a guy to live tweet it (again, possibly indicating Ben's low-key yet apparent disdain for modern pop culture), probably embarrassing him in the process. Afterwards, more hilarious lyrics and imagery ensue, such as "Oh no. Head meet door. I don't wanna do this no more." Ben Folds is the Family Guy of indie-pop/rock - equal parts mean-spirited, satirical, and hilarious!

"Grand Junction" by The Hold Steady: The Hold Steady typically have songs that, while not exactly "hard" rock, are still rough around the edges and dominated by a jagged electric guitar sound. "Grand Junction" marks a departure from this. Though the song starts with a chugging electric guitar, it is quickly offset by a waltz rhythm from the drums and a synthesizer trying to gain equal footing with the guitar. Perhaps this is The Hold Steady's attempt at a "rock ballad," which, to my knowledge, they have never attempted before. The lyrics illustrate Springsteen-ian poetry inspired by life on the road, which is pretty typical of The Hold Steady, but instead of glorifying the nomadic lifestyle of touring rock stars, "Grand Junction" points to the dark side of it. The lyrics of the bridge, where Craig Finn points out that "It hurts to be human, but our instincts will keep us alive," encapsulates the true essence of the song. What we might initially view as being exciting can veer into making us more vulnerable later on.

"Hello" by Grouplove: Thus far, Grouplove have attempted synth-y pop/rock with songs like "Tongue Tied" and "Ways to Go," as well as irresistibly fun rock songs like "Deleter." "Hello" is sort of a combination of these two sounds, making for a rather pleasant yet juicy slice of sunny power pop where electric guitar and synthesizer both take center stage. Beneath the song's summery vibe, "Hello" is actually a very yearning song that expresses a desire to connect with others in an ever confusing world. It's probably the closest to a bittersweet song that Grouplove has done so far.

"Loving You" by Cannons: This song begins with a gentle acoustic guitar strum before dropping some disco beats, atmospheric synths, booming bass, and funky, sleek electric guitar riffs on us. This is almost the same trick that Cannons used for their 2021 mega-hit, "Fire for You," and it manages to work here, too! Michelle Joy seductively swoons her fans with this sultry, steamy siren song in a billowy whisper. By the time the song ends, it goes back to where it began with an acoustic guitar strum, but this time, the bass is added in for good measure. A torrid love song if ever there was one!

"Monsters" by Dave Matthews Band: In spite of its foreboding title, "Monsters" does not have the brooding, dark, pseudo-hard-rock song that DMB's previous song, "Madman's Eyes," did. "Madman's Eyes," which has become one of adult alt radio's biggest hits of the year so far, will probably go down in history as being the hardest-rocking Dave song next to "Halloween" and the final two and a half minutes of "Don't Drink the Water." "Monsters" is a more typical song for DMB, at least as far as the music goes. Lyrically, it explores some pretty deep themes, primarily about overcoming one's fears. The titular "monsters" are childhood monsters - the ones that kids usually imagine will come out of their closet when they sleep. Childhood seems to be a recurring theme in this song, with lyrics like "Broke gold toy soldiers lined up, 1, 2, 3," and "Chutes and ladders, pick up sticks, counting cars and counting bricks." Perhaps Dave is using nostalgia as a motif in this song for how easily people can fool themselves into thinking irrational thoughts (aka "the monsters in your head"). 

"Rescued" by Foo Fighters: The last album Foo Fighters did around 2021 contained an equal amount of quieter acoustic-rock-y songs ("Shame Shame," most of "Waiting on a War") and anthemic rockers ("Making a Fire," "Love Dies Young"), but all four songs managed to appeal to soft and hard rock fans alike, which has become more and more typical for Foo Fighters with each album they've released, which made me curious as to which route they'd take for the sound of their latest song, "Rescued." They have opted for the latter sound of arena rock on the track, but there's an undercurrent of yearning and sadness on it, and this is probably because FF lost their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, last year when he was only in his mid 50's. What exactly are Dave Grohl and co waiting to be "rescued" from, as he claims in the song? It could be any number of things, but the recent loss of one of the band's most pivotal members makes me think they could be waiting to be rescued from grief. The opening lyrics also seem to indicate what the song is about: "It came in a flash. It came out of nowhere. It happened so fast, and then it was over." "It" might be Taylor Hawkins' life. Songs like this remind us of just how precious life really is!