New songs for July 22nd, 2024

 here they are:


"Just a Bird" by Blind Pilot:  It's been almost a decade since Blind Pilot last released something! Their latest song, "Just a Bird," is a bit more upbeat and a bit more roots-y/country flavored than most of their more subdued, dreamy folk-rock was in their previous songs. The song's upbeat sound is balanced well by its deep lyrics. "Just a Bird" is a soul-searching, truth-seeking song, though it's anyone's guess as to what the title phrase ("sometimes a bird is just a bird") means. 

"Real Good Love" by Pete Yorn:  "Real Good Love" finds Pete Yorn drifting further away from folk-rock and more towards a pure folk sound. The song even seems to use alternate tuning in a similar manner to performers like Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, though I haven't heard the song enough times yet to really tell if it uses that. "Real good love is so hard to find," Yorn smoothly whispers during the song's chorus. Real good music is so hard to find, too, but I think I've found it with this song!

" :) " (pronounced "Smiley Face") by Japanese House: Shifting their sound slightly from electronica to folk-rock without completely losing the electronica aspect, this quirkily-titled song has a sound that walks the line between folk-rock and Baroque pop. The phrase "smiley face" is not actually said in the song's lyrics, but the chorus does use the phrase "I feel happier." A smooth, billowy song, like most of Japanese House's material, this song is guaranteed to put a :) (...err...I mean a smile...) on your face!

"When You Know Someone" by Valley:  Perhaps the only song on this week's list that has been shared by both alt and adult alt radio stations, Valley's "When You Know Someone" does have a pretty typical-sounding 21st-century alt-pop sound, so perhaps that's why alt stations discovered it before the adult alt stations caught onto it. This catchy, uplifting song has lyrics that are anything but uplifting, describing the betrayal people feel when they think they know someone but they're really just trying to use that person. The song's use of harmonica to buoy the verses and its surprise electric guitar solo in the middle do help to distinguish it from other alt/indie-pop songs of the era, as does the dwindling piano solo towards the end which descends its key from C sharp to a plain C.