Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Everything is Peaceful Love" by Bon Iver:  After Bon Iver's much needed return to folk-rock with "S P E Y S I D E" last fall, my interest in their music was renewed! I was excited once again to see what they'd come up with next! What did I get?! Well...the results aren't quite as good as that one, but as far as Bon Iver's experiments in electronica go, their latest song, "Everything is Peaceful Love," isn't the worst. Unlike some of the odder forays Justin Vernon and co have taken into electronica in the recent past (with equally odd titles like "33 God" and "8 (Circle)"), "Everything is Peaceful Love" at least has enough to balance it out. As electro-rock hybrid songs go, it's a smoother, calmer song. "In Love With a Memory" by Sasami (featuring Clairo):  And speaking of electronica songs, this song lays the synths on thick! The song walks the line between club/dance and ambi...

 here they are: "All I Ever Am" by The Cure:  The Cure are one of the most celebrated and influential alt-rock bands of all time, so naturally, when news hit in fall of last year that they'd be releasing a new album, avid fans of the band were all abuzz! While the first single, "Alone," seemed too long and spacious to make a lasting impact on adult alt radio, the second single, "A Fragile Thing," had far more appeal! Now up a third time at bat, The Cure's "All I Ever Am" is yet another song of theirs that hearkens back to their gloomy yet lovely vintage '80s sound. The song starts with an orchestral-sounding synth, but as soon as the drums start pounding in, so does the bass, masquerading as a fuzz guitar here. "All I Ever Am" is a bit of a long song at around 5 and a half minutes, but it's also a catchy one, so I think it'll fare well on adult alt radio. "Cry Baby" by Sunny War (featuring Valerie June):  B...

 here they are: "Give it Time" by Goose:  Post-millennial jam band, Goose, had a surprise hit on adult alt radio two years ago with "Hungersite"! It's a miracle when a song that's nearly 7 minutes long gets that much attention, and it's about to happen again with Goose's latest, "Give it Time." The song has a similar aesthetic to "Hungersite," although it's not as fast as that one was. The song seems to mostly have a contemporary soft rock sound with its true guitar playing chops hidden underneath. The guitar playing starts to shine through at around the 3-minute mark. Coincidentally, this is also when the song starts to speed up! Goose are truly something else! They're sort of like if a group like The Fray somehow became prog-rock! Unlike "Hungersite," which became a bit of a meandering jam band song after the 5-minute mark, "Give it Time" remains both vocally and instrumentally appealing throughout it...