New songs for May 22nd, 2023

 here they are:


"It's Fine" by Bethany Cosentino (from Best Coast): The country-rock style might be a new thing for the mostly surf, punk, and power pop influenced Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast, and her striking out on her own might be too, but her trademark attitude, thankfully, remains the same on "It's Fine," her latest song. The title of the song, first of all, seems to be dripping with sarcasm. It seems to serve as a facade for how she really feels about life, and if the opening lines are anything to go by, she's clearly frustrated, not fine! The song's mellow, countrified vibe is a good counterpoint to how she's really feeling, though, using a technique that people like Ryan Adams, Jenny Lewis, and Conor Oberst have all now used for decades. If you're breaking up with someone and writing about it in song, perhaps one of the best ways is to be subtle about it, and although Bethany is currently a novice at this, she'll probably hone it in eventually!

"The Drop" by Sports Team: Scrolling through the YouTube comments of this song so far, one of the most on-point descriptions of this song I've seen is "Dandy Warhols meets Franz Ferdinand." Whoever said that about this song hit the nail on the head! "The Drop" by Sports Team is a 3-minute blast of energy that owes as much to power pop as it does to post-punk, kind of like The Cars did a few decades earlier. Unlike The Cars, "The Drop" does not contain any guitar solos, instead relying on synths to have more varying notes even though guitar is the dominant instrument here. Regardless, fans of new wave, whether they prefer their new wave flashy or gloomy, will probably get a kick out of this song!

"The Narcissist" by Blur: I only know a few songs by Blur aside from "Song 2" (the Kinks-y mid '90s garage rock tune where the guy shouts "WOO-HOO!" during the chorus), but of those few other Blur songs I've known, none of them are really that sensitive. "The Narcissist," despite its self-centered title, is probably the most bittersweet song that Blur has done thus far. The song is somewhat autobiographical (and perhaps a bit self-deprecating, too, given its title) as it talks about Blur's path to alt-rock stardom. The song only gets even slightly intense towards the end with a mildly dizzying instrumental sound, but overall, it retains its surprisingly poignant vibe. Perhaps these guys were influenced by both the hard AND soft side of the Kinks' catalog. The Kinks' mellower material often dealt with more narrative, introspective themes, and it seems to be what Blur is attempting here as well.