New songs for July 14th, 2025

 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" was more of a universal message, "Mistakes" seems more like a song about awkward flirting that's more personal but doesn't take itself near as seriously. It's been an unpredictable year, and it seems like we're in it for the long haul. Might as well make the best of it, right?!

"Today's Song" by Foo Fighters:  This song is an interesting one! Starts off slower, almost ethereal, before Dave Grohl and co pull a "Gotcha! Just kidding!" instrumentally speaking, on their unsuspecting audience, turning the song from sensitive ballad to fiercely unapologetic rocker within barely over a minute! Foo Fighters are no strangers to humor (I mean just check out their videos for songs like "Big Me" and "Learn to Fly"!) but it's mainly in the instrumentation of the song that they pull tricks here. The song itself carries far more emotional weight. The band has faced both personal losses, such as that of drummer Taylor Hawkins, as well as losses of faith from their audience after revelations about Dave's private life stirred up controversy. But true to his unrelenting spirit, Dave wants to remain optimistic, and that's the message behind this song! There could be a number of reasons why the song shifts in sound the way it does, but perhaps it's a reflection of the journey the band has gone through from things being relatively status quo to badly shaken up in just a short amount of time.

"Wreck" by Neko Case:  A bittersweet folk-rock song, as per usual with Neko Case, but there a few things that make her latest song, "Wreck," such a unique one! First, it starts off with nothing but her voice, boldly urging, "Calm down, darling...don't take me too hard." Though there is nothing heavy about this song in terms of instrumentation, it crescendoes before it even begins once it comes in! That alone is pretty powerful! It calms down once Neko's voice shows up again, but during the chorus parts, instrumentation picks up again with lush horns and fast-paced, exhilarating string orchestration! Almost seems more like Sea Wolf (specifically "Wicked Blood") than it does Neko Case, but it's amazing to see her take on such thrilling direction in her music while still staying grounded in her trademark rustic folk-rock sound!