New songs for August 4th 2025

 here they are:


"Blame" by Girl Tones:  Sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe bring garage-y indie rock to a new audience with their debut single, "Blame"! The two have toured with big names in the indie rock business such as Silversun Pickups and Cage the Elephant, both of whom they bear similarity to. The song seems to be about a relationship on the brink, but Girl Tones handle this topic with ease and with a bit of cheeky humor, at least judging by their delivery!

"Born Runnin' Outta Time" by Lukas Nelson:  Like his dad before him, Lukas is proving with every song he releases that "country" is a label that boxes him in more than it accurately describes what he does! His latest song, "Born Runnin' Outta Time," sounds a bit like a more countrified (but still rockin') version of Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream," with its opening guitar licks sounding like they could fit in a spy movie! One might wonder from the song's title just what Lukas is "runnin' outta time" for. The answer seems to be many things, largely both road life and romantic life. But like the loyal, steadfast guy he is, Lukas wants to stick around for it all even if he doesn't realistically have time for it all! 

"Down to Be Wrong" by Haim:  After the infectiously catchy pop-soul of "Relationships," Haim tone things down a bit with "Down to Be Wrong" (which has a more guitar-forward sound than "Relationships" did, but not in a loud way). Danielle Haim seems to be reflecting on what are likely '90s rock and alt influences for her, mixing Sheryl Crow's earthy yet world-weary vibes with the more sublimely heartbroken and angst-ridden vibes of Shirley Manson into a single song. Even the song's middle guitar hooks seem to be '90s influenced (they wouldn't sound out of place in something like "Closing Time," "Sex and Candy," or "I Will Buy You a New Life"). "Relationships" hid angst. "Down to Be Wrong" wears it on its sleeve! The title alone, which contains both "down" and "wrong," says it all!

"Long After Midnight" by Flock of Dimes:  Perhaps the most acoustic guitar-centered song Flock of Dimes have released so far, just hearing the first few notes of "Long After Midnight" made me picture a familiar image. Not sure if this note sequence was intentional for FOD, but it reminds me of the Sesame Street song, "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon," of all things! A rare melancholy moment from the long-running children's show, but I suppose that's why it's stayed with me for all these years. Lead singer Jenn Wasner gives her trembly, achy, yearning vocals to this song. It obviously deals with more adult subject matter than the Sesame song did, but I also feel that Jenn might just be attempting to bridge the innocence of childhood with the disillusionment of adulthood in this song. A subconscious longing to return to more carefree days. So many letdowns in this song, ranging from lack of money to too much money (to get medication - a fragile subject in and of itself) to vulnerability in relationships, but through it all, Jenn's voice seems to whisper beneath the lyrics, "Why can't things be how they used to be?"

"Lucy" by Mt. Joy:  The rare Mt. Joy song to reach the alt charts before the adult alt charts, "Lucy" seems calmer and more folk-rock-y than the ramshackle garage rock tones of their last single, "Coyote," but perhaps it reached alt audiences first because of its sensitive subject matter (although adult alt listeners gravitate towards this as well). First and foremost, there's the subject matter of the song, which is not sugarcoated. It's spelled out immediately when Matt Quinn says, "I want to live like Lucy died." Who is Lucy? She's an old friend of the group who sadly got diagnosed with multiple brain tumors. Word got out about this after a concert Mt. Joy played at Madison Square Garden. The song is calm musically but intense emotionally, and some of that intensity seeps through towards the end of the song, as it slowly but surely builds up to be almost a Mumford-ian/Of Monsters and Men-ish version of Jackson Browne's "Fountain of Sorrow," musically speaking. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Jackson himself has also written melodic elegies, such as "For a Dancer." 

"Undressed" by sombr:  After the sorrowful yet catchy "Back to Friends," sombr is back with another melancholy alt-pop song with "Undressed." Seamlessly mixing bass, keyboard, and a tiny bit of guitar (both acoustic and electric this time), the song has an interesting flavor that intrigues with its staccato guitar/keyboard licks as much as it depresses and lets down. The video offers an interesting mix of the cheeky and the more serious as well (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0wT6CrEGYg) taking the "undressed" part of the title literally, with young men and women running around in nothing but their underwear...ordinary undies, too, at that! Not used for seduction, but rather for humor (taking the title literally), and also to illustrate how everyone, regardless of gender, race, etc., feels exposed sometimes. sombr doesn't seem to want to give himself to a relationship again in this song. Perhaps reluctance towards relationships is a running theme in his songs? It would make sense to me! (Also, is it coincidence I first found out about this song the day right before National Underwear Day?!) 

"Virginia Slim" by Clover County:  ...And speaking of vulnerability, Clover County seems to be illustrating plenty of it in her latest song, "Virginia Slim." To begin with, she's comparing herself to a drug! Although there are plenty of rock and pop songs about drugs and drug addiction, it's rare to hear one where the person in the song is the drug! The song is clearly about drug addiction from what I can tell, but it's more poetic and bittersweet than it is trippy. Even the start of the song reminds me of the fragility Nico brings about in "These Days," with its gentle yet nervous fingerpicking. She then compares her drug dependence with her obsession for love ("I used to be a junkie for love"). Clover's unguarded beauty comes alive in this song!

"Watch Me Go" by Lord Huron:  Another chill song from Lord Huron, but this one almost seems to have "cosmic cowboy" vibes to it! In spite of the happy sound the song has, "Watch Me Go" is really about watching Ben Schneider...well...go! What does "go" mean, you might ask? Die! It's not subtle since he even says the word "die" towards the end of the song, so it's no secret as to what the song is about. No news has spread around yet about any physical illness Ben has had, but perhaps he's being metaphorical here. Maybe, like many contemporary musicians in the indie scene, he feels disaffected or disconnected somehow from life, and feels like he might be better off dead. I certainly don't think he would be! Lord Huron have graced my musical world with their chill, ethereal sound and enhanced my musical palette in doing so!