New songs for the day before St. Patrick's Day 2026

 here they are:


"All I Did Was Dream of You" by beabadoobee:  beabadoobee has already had some pretty dreamy tracks in her career, but this might just be the dreamiest (fitting to its title). "All I Did Was Dream of You" has the 2020's indie-pop sensation singing one of the most icy yet hypnotic tracks she has ever released. Most of the lyrics fit the mood of the song, but there is one part where she sings "Nightmares always feel like this/They swallow me, but I let it go/Doesn't feel like I can breathe/But they follow me and I let it go." There's also a brief part in the song where its dream-pop-y vibe briefly gets a bit grungy, albeit not in an extreme way. This song is a bit like "6 Underground" by Sneaker Pimps if Garbage decided to cover it.

"Doctrine of Love" by Jalen Ngonda:  Hot on the heels of neo-soul sensations of the 2010's and 2020's like Curtis Harding, Leon Bridges, and Devon Gilfillian, Jalen Ngonda is the latest musician to take '60s and early '70s soul music and "translate" it for a modern audience! The bright brass, the soulful harmonies and passion, the subtle guitar licks, the "old-school" production sound...it's all there! The song's unique title comes from a misinterpretation of "doctorate." In other words, Jalen is viewing love like it's a "certificate" in this song - like permission for someone to love him, I guess. Not surprisingly, Jalen was listening to a lot of James Brown when he recorded this, though it sounds overall more Motown-y than it does funky. The song was also produced by Daptone Records, famous for producing other 21st-century neo-soul sensations like the late Sharon Jones.

"Even Mountains Erode" by Lala Lala:  A song that even uses the word "erode" in its title could be dark, right? Right! This largely rhythmic-based indie-pop track uses stark instrumentation and minor key to express its sentiments. Don't be fooled by "Lala Lala"'s playful name. She's anything BUT playful in this track! Overall, this is essentially a breakup song where she declares her independence from an ex. The song's sound is more sad than it is angry, but there's still a potent undercurrent of angst present on this one.

"Here" by Mumford and Sons (featuring Chris Stapleton):  When people refer to groups like Mumford and Sons as "country," I feel compelled to explain the difference between country and bluegrass. Bluegrass is typically a more rustic and stark sound than country, and often a faster sound as well. It doesn't depend as much on studio production as country does. But enlisting the help of a current country heavyweight like Chris Stapleton in their song?! I guess that DOES make Mumford a "country" group after all, at least in this song. This song DOES have a country twang that isn't often present on Mumford's other material. Their trademark banjo sound is swapped out for a "sighing" acoustic guitar (and a brief, marked electric guitar solo). The title of this song is also somewhat enigmatic. They are not using the word "here" to indicate a time or place, but rather as a placeholder word for "this" (e.g. "Here's the answers I never gave/Here's the calls I should have made"). I have mixed feelings about this one, to be honest. I love their recent return to indie-folk-rock, but this leans a bit more towards Americana than it does to the Celtic and Irish influences they typically have in their material.

"Matter of Taste" by Tyler Ballgame:  Tyler Ballgame already charmed indie-folk fans late last year (and early this year) with the whimsical "I Believe in Love." "Matter of Taste," Tyler's second big song to date, sounds like Paul McCartney fronting Neutral Milk Hotel (if NMH's guitarist was Stephen Malkmus from Pavement). This fun, quirky combination makes "Matter of Taste" worth listening to! Like a lot of the '90s indie that this song was likely inspired by, "Matter of Taste" features lyrics that are both quirky ("catching up with Jack and Jill") and somewhat self-deprecating ("it's just a matter of taste/you don't know me at all"). Well worth the listen!