New songs for December 11th, 2023

 SEVEN new songs for the month of December?! It's a Christmas miracle!! Here they are:

"Agua" by Porno for Pyros:  It's been a little over a quarter century since Porno for Pyros, Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction's side project, last released a song! Their biggest (and almost only) hit, "Pets," was released back in 1993, an unusually soft song for a band featuring a musician known mostly for doing hard and often controversial rock songs. Jane's Addiction is generally recognized as being legendary and innovative among alt-rock and hard rock fans for both their lyrical audacity and their musical audacity to combine post-punk, heavy metal, funk, psychedelic rock, and progressive rock into a single entity (and even reggae and folk with songs like "Jane Says"). Porno for Pyros tend to not receive near as much recognition as Jane's Addiction, but Perry Farrell's aggressively nasal vocals are unmistakable, and they shine through just as strong as ever on their latest song, "Agua." The song takes the folk-rock-y aspects of "Jane Says" during the verses, but goes for a Pixies-esque soft-to-loud approach during the chorus. Like The Pixies, whose "Where is My Mind?" was about a surreal surfing experience that Black Francis from The Pixies had, "Agua" is also a song about the ocean, as its Spanish title implies. Specifically, the song is about Perry and PFP's encounters with dolphins while surfing. Not near as harrowing a tale as "Where is My Mind?" but equally compelling!

"Alibi" by Hurray for the Riff Raff:  "Alibi" finds Hurray for the Riff Raff going back to their folk-rock roots. After experimentation with more synth-y instruments on tracks like "Hungry Ghost" and "Pierced Arrows," "Alibi" is a mellower and more bittersweet song. The song's title is not sung until the very last line, but it's still significant in telling what is essentially the message of the song. When Alynda Segarra sings, "I'm not gonna be your alibi this time," what she seems to be saying is that she doesn't want to stick up for a person whom she probably broke off either a friendship or relationship with. The poignant sound of this song indicates that she seems to feel more sorry than she does angry for cutting ties with this person. 

"Fear of Living" by The Lemonheads:  I love The Lemonheads!! Along with R.E.M. and Gin Blossoms, The Lemonheads were one of THE groups of the '90s that defined jangle-pop and helped propel it into the mainstream via airplay on alt-rock and adult alt radio. They had such a catchy, fun, sunny sound, exemplified in adult alt radio staples like "Into Your Arms" and "It's a Shame About Ray." It's been 17 years since The Lemonheads last released a song, so naturally, I was pretty psyched to hear what they'd come up with! The results?! Well...not exactly what I was expecting. The tune is decent, but there's something a bit off about Evan Dando's typically mid-range tenor voice. On "Fear of Living," it sounds low enough to be a latter-day Iggy Pop song! Perhaps it's the world-weary alienation in the song that's making Dando want to literally change his tone on the song. "Life is short and unforgiving, I only fear the living," he croons forlornly during the chorus. I can tell The Lemonheads have seen better days here!

"Meant to Be" by Wilco:  With "Evicted," Wilco released a sunny-sounding song apt for the summer season. As winter approaches, we have "Meant to Be," which sounds more like a chilling, wintry National song than it does Wilco. Though the chorus contains the phrase "our love was meant to be," it is being asked as a question, not confirmed as a statement ("Do you still believe our love was meant to be?") Though "Evicted" had somewhat heartbreaking lyrics as well, at least came off as an upbeat sounding song. In "Meant to Be," the lyrics and tone of the song match with one another a little more. There is both an urgency and uncertainty Jeff Tweedy conveys in this song, and both are done equally well!

"Wall of Eyes" by The Smile:  What little I've heard of The Smile, Thom Yorke from Radiohead's side project, seemed like eerie psychedelic/progressive rock. "Wall of Eyes" is the first sweet song I've heard so far from The Smile, evoking some of the calmer Radiohead tracks with more a sense of tranquility than sadness. In true Thom Yorke fashion, the song is also somewhat cryptic. (I mean what does "wall of eyes" even mean?! It's never quite explained.) The lyrics of this song are trippy, but it's still a great song to listen to after a hard day! The song goes a little wonky towards the end, but it never strays far from its calming factor.

"Water Underground" by Real Estate:  Does anyone remember the Nickelodeon "kid-com," The Adventures of Pete and Pete?! If so, you'll love the video for Real Estate's latest song, "Water Underground," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDVifDI1je0) which features Pete and Pete's Danny Tamberelli (he played "Little Pete" in the series)!! The show, which was essentially a kid-friendly version of Seinfeld, frequently featured groups that were comparable to groups like Talking Heads and R.E.M. (one time, R.E.M. themselves guested on the show). Even its theme song, "Hey Sandy" by Polaris, comes off as an R.E.M. soundalike. "Water Underground," fittingly, sounds like R.E.M. as well, and the video for the song takes slices of suburbia with a "quirky" backdrop, much like the typical Pete and Pete episode would back in the day (if that show can even be called "typical" in the first place)!! '90s Nickelodeon nostalgia nerds, go nuts!! 

"Wondering Why" by The Red Clay Strays:  Last, but certainly not least, we have the debut song of Alabama's Red Clay Strays! Their first song, "Wondering Why," sounds like a song from many decades ago, evoking the sounds of a blues-y classic soul ballad from roughly the late '50s/early '60s. The song tells the tale of an unlikely romance between a strait-laced religious girl and an impoverished and downtrodden guy, prompting the guy to keep "wondering why" (as the title and chorus state) she keeps loving him. We may never know the answer to this question, but what we do know is that the sound of gritty yet lovelorn classic soul lives on!