Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)" by Inhaler:  The Irish indie quartet are back, with a more disco-y yet still intimate-sounding flavor than we might be used to from them. A similar vibe to songs like Modest Mouse's "Float On" with its combination of breezy dance-rock and light guitar riffs interspersed enough to make it seem it doesn't stray completely from the rock category. I have a question before I begin this review, though. Who IS Billy, and why do they repeat his name 12 times before the first verse begins?! Billy Idol? Billy Joel? Billy Squier? Billy MAYS, maybe?! (Well, ok, the last one's highly unlikely). It's probably just an ordinary person named Billy, and Elijah Hewson seems to be reaching out to him in a similar way to how Burt Bacharach reached out to someone named Alfie many decades before this song came out. Elijah may not be asking, "What's it all about?" to Billy, but that sense of empathy is clearly there!  ...

 here they are: "Downstairs" by Matt Maeson:  Matt Maeson's work is usually guitar-oriented, but it often goes more towards folk-rock than it does electric guitar-based material. This is what makes his latest song, "Downstairs," stand out from his other material! The song starts out with just Matt's vocals and the electric guitar by themselves before it crescendoes to full-band instrumentation during the chorus. The title seems to be metaphorical, too, suggesting an escape from the world when everything goes wrong. Although clearly rooted in an indie-pop sound, there's something almost post-grunge-y about how "Downstairs" is set up with its soft-but-about-to-break verses and more explosive (but still relatively calm) chorus. "Enough" by Jeff Tweedy (Wilco):  In this midtempo folk/country-rock tune, Wilco's lead singer poses a tough question at the very start of this song: "Has it ever been enough? Has it ever been OK?" T...

 here they are: "From" by Bon Iver:  What are the secret weapons to making an electro-pop indie song that also translates well to a folk-rock audience?! For one, get rising indie star mk.gee on your team for the guitar! That's what Justin Vernon and co did for their latest song, "From." Then, add post-millennial blue-eyed soul musician, Jacob Collier, on backing vocals. Bam! The perfect recipe for smooth-as-silk electro-indie-pop that walks a fine balance between using synthesizers as the main instrument with caramel-sweet textured guitars underneath to give it that extra layering. Perfection! "Mistakes" by Caamp:  The gentle acoustic breeze and reassuring lyrics of "Let Things Go" was just what 2025 needed during its turbulent start! Midway into the year, we have "Mistakes," which is a more upbeat folk-rock song that places more emphasis on the "rock" element than "Let Things Go" did. Where "Let Things Go...

 here they are: "Best Guess" by Lucy Dacus:  This song may be a bit more synth-y than the indie-folk-rock we're used to from Lucy, but with her latest tune, "Best Guess," both the song and its video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a90_cjTF770) carry powerful messages! The song is, in essence, a love song, but by no means an ordinary one! The message of this one is more than just an "I love you." It's more an "I love you because..." and the reasons she lists are both emotional and physical! She leans heavy into vulnerability vibes here in the best ways! "Clasping your necklace, zipping your dress/Hands on your waist, kissing your neck/I love your body, I love your mind/They will change, so will mine" are the open lyrics. What powerful opening lyrics! As someone who values the beauty and aesthetic of the human body, it means a lot to me to hear a song like this one! With many of the people in the song's video dressed in tank ...