New songs for July 10th, 2023

 here they are:


"Kisses" by Slowdive: Shoegaze was never a subgenre of alt-rock that caught on the way that, say, punk rock, new wave, or grunge did. It started as an "alternative" genre and remained that way since it combined the seemingly contradictory elements of squalid noise and ethereal beauty together. Although well-known groups like The Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead were influenced by it, shoegaze has still remained underground, which is why it was a pleasant surprise for me to hear that Slowdive, one of the leaders of the shoegaze movement, have released their first album in almost three decades! Slowdive are also a group I don't know near as well as other shoegazing legends like The Jesus and Mary Chain or Cocteau Twins. With "Kisses" being the first song I've really heard by Slowdive, I must say that I'm impressed. It retains the echo-y swirl that shoegazing was initially known for and has a flavor that's both sweet and psychedelic. It almost sounds like an updated version of "Heaven or Las Vegas" by Cocteau Twins. 

"Paper Machete" by Queens of the Stone Age: For our second QOTSA song of the year so far, we continue with yet another song where Josh Homme slams his now ex-wife, The Distillers' Brody Dalle. An even more vicious and spiteful rocker than "Emotional Sickness" was, "Paper Machete" is like Black Sabbath and Rush fused into one band, which is kinda weird since both bands are normally too aggressive for the adult alt radio format. The title phrase is supposed to describe Dalle herself. No one but Josh knows what "paper machete" means, but it can be inferred from the context of the song that it probably refers to how Homme views Dalle as both fake (papier mache) and mean (the "machete" part). Ouch!