New songs for September 9th, 2024

 here they are:


"Glory" by The Airborne Toxic Event:  It feels like I've waited over a decade for these guys to come out with something new again, and now they finally have! Was it worth the wait?! Absolutely!! Instead of trying to hop onto new-ish alt/indie trends like they did for their last couple of records, they have gotten back to the U2/Springsteen-ish sound of their original album! So much so that I thought I was legit listening to Springsteen when I first listened to this one (though it does contain a few choice words that Springsteen rarely, if ever, uses in his music). The vocals sound remarkably Bruce-esque, though, and the music does, too! At 5 and a half glorious minutes, "Glory" certainly lives up to its title! This song is a tidal wave of emotion just waiting to wash you over!

"Happy" by Something Corporate (featuring Andrew McMahon):  An interesting collaboration here! I was never that thrilled with Andrew McMahon's work, and as for Something Corporate, I barely even know them, but upon first glance, my first impression is Ben Folds Five meets Jimmy Eat World. Something Corporate is sort of an emo-pop act who isn't quite as brooding or angry as their counterparts. A rarity, but a good one. This song takes the typical emo lyrical approach of dissatisfaction and wanting something you can't have. Don't be fooled by the title. The subject of the song wants to be happy but can't seem to get it. It's really more a melancholy pop song than anything, though.

"Still Strangers Sometimes" by Dawes:  For starting out as a country-rock group, Dawes have covered a lot of musical ground since their debut! Their latest song almost sounds like it came from the softer side of the Foo Fighters' catalog, especially during the chorus when Taylor Goldsmith's vocals sound as Dave Grohl-esque as the song itself! The song seems to be about how you never truly know someone even when you think you do. A bit of a scary subject for some since it involves fear of the unknown, but somehow, Dawes make it sound more sentimental than scary here! The guitar solo, oddly, is the one part that gets a bit in the way of this song, as it seems a bit fuzzy and out of nowhere compared to the rest of it, but still a solid song overall!

"Wake Up" by Imagine Dragons:  I dunno exactly what's happened to Imagine Dragons, but I'm now at the point where their latest efforts are tossups for me. There was at least a bit of guitar padding on their early stuff, and some of the indie-rock angst felt more believable to me. This just sounds like a more paranoid Backstreet Boys to me. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing (I was a big BSB fan in my preteens, believe it or not). But the BSB sound applied to Imagine Dragons just falls flat for me, and their attempt at paranoia just seems goofy more than actually paranoid. Perhaps this song will grow on me, though.