New songs for October 6th, 2025

 here they are:

"Daisy" by Marfa:  This song has been around for a few weeks now, but it seems like it's been gaining more traction lately, so I've decided to review it. This song is a wistful, slightly bittersweet track that sounds like what an indie-folk version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" might have been like. "Daisy," in this case, is the name of a girl, not a flower, though the song's mellow vibes could certainly evoke floral imagery! The titular Daisy, apparently, is "a broad who flew the coop to Utah" who "could never last a summer without any withdrawal." Sexual withdrawal?! Those are some risque lyrics hiding beneath this sweet song! As the song moves on from these lines, it mostly just repeats the phrase "Yeah, she's gonna be alright." That line almost seems sarcastic when you put it up against the previous lines.

"Dandelions" by Whitney:  No, not a person named Whitney, but a group of people with that as their band name. Their ultra-mellow song, "Dandelions," evokes an early '70s yacht rock song that never existed! You can almost hear America or Seals & Crofts just wafting through its sound! I guess with a wistful song title like "Dandelions," it's only fitting to have a breezy sound. After all, dandelions are one of the things people wish on when they're kids, and then they watch their "wishes" float away on a nice summer breeze. Though the song itself might make people think of their youthful days, "Dandelions" is really about realizing how quickly time passes if you waste much of it being drunk. Quite the opposite of childhood wishes, wouldn't you say?! Also, is it coincidence that the first two songs here are both flowers that start with the letter "D"?!

"Disco Life" by Say She She:  Though the trio's "Cut and Rewind" was only a minor adult alt radio hit this summer, it was certainly a catchy one, and enough so that I guess it warranted the band a second single! "Disco Life" has a disco sound that fits its title! It almost urges the listener to get down and boogie without saying so directly! However, there's a bit of deception within the lyrics. The three women of the group are saying they "never HAD a 'disco life'." They say so repeatedly throughout the song. So the question remains: are they celebrating the excess glories of the disco lifestyle, or just yearning for them?!

"Divine Feelings" by Vance Joy:   A little over a decade after his first and biggest hit, "Riptide," and Vance Joy is still kickin' it! Much like The Lumineers, Vance Joy has never quite deviated from his indie-folk sound, and that's refreshing to me! I feel like a lot of the bands and musicians from the indie-folk boom work best that way. As the song's title implies, "Divine Feelings" is essentially a love song, but the song's mentions of cigarettes and alcohol make me think he could be likening love (or sex, more likely) to drug addiction. Either way, though, this is a sweet, breezy tune to give us that dusky, cloudy transitional feeling from summer into fall!

"Last Time" by Medium Build:  Medium Build's debut song on this blog might seem like a charmingly awkward slice of "white disco," but beneath its funny facade are lyrics about a relationship on the brink, some of which almost come off like a "dis track"! Lines like "You were drunk but still polite, we didn't wanna kill her vibe/So we pressed our lips together like we had a thousand times," "I punched a hole in the wall, you were curled up like a ball," and "And you told your friends he's a loaded gun, now you say that I'm the one?" all seem to indicate how Medium Build's lead singer is dissatisfied with his current relationship, which was more than likely tainted by being under the influence. He acknowledges that because of this reckless behavior and the consequences that resulted from it that it might be the "last time" he ever kisses his partner, hence the title of the song. A lot of angst bubbling up from underneath the dance floor!

"Man on a Mission" by The Black Keys:  After experimenting lately with post-psychedelic pop ("Beautiful People"), folk-rock ("On the Game"), soul-inflected pop ("The Night Before"), and even moody electronica ("No Rain, No Flowers"), "Man on a Mission" might be the first time in the 2020's that The Black Keys have gone back to what they do best - garage rock! The title of the song already hints at something daring yet fun, and the song's vibes really fit that image! The song is essentially a love song, but more in a way that says "You rule!" to the person it was meant for, as opposed to a simple "I love you." The song also slows down midway through (but then speeds back up quickly) as a special treat for the listener!