New songs for July 20th, 2026

 here they are:


"Carolina Rain" by Rhiannon Giddens:  One of the few musicians I know who can swing easily between soul and bluegrass, Carolina Chocolate Drops' lead singer, Rhiannon Giddens, hasn't had an adult alt radio hit since 2015's soul/blues-influenced "Black is the Color." After a little over a decade, she has returned with a song that owes more to the bluegrass-influenced stuff she started with in Carolina Chocolate Drops. Even the title of the song seems kind of quaint and country-ish. "Carolina Rain" is a wistful song dominated by banjo and fiddle with very light percussion buoying it in between. Rhiannon's sweet, soothing vocals weave a story about both nostalgia and travel. A lot of nature-like imagery in this song, too, especially during the chorus, which mentions whippoorwills, fireflies, and sorghum cane. Makes you feel like you're in the Deep South just listening to it, doesn't it?!

"Good Times//End Times" by Goose:  After their spring/early summer adult alt radio hit, the Steely Dan-esque jam "Good2B," Goose seem like they're going for a bit more of a mellow yet contemporary-sounding piano-pop/rock sound with "Good Times//End Times," an interesting title both for its slash marks and for being another Goose song with "Good" in the title. In case you're thinking this is just another breezy soft indie-pop/rock tune, this IS Goose (not to be confused with Geese) we're talking about, so there's also a fair bit of jam band influence in this song, and the song's chorus, which appears in its middle and end sections, has a chord progression which, while pretty, is not exactly for a beginning musician to follow (from what I can tell so far, it's G sharp, G, D7, what sounds like either a suspended or augmented G, C minor, G with the B string fret one higher than usual, C major, B flat, G sharp, G). Also, right as the end of the song happens, you THINK it's going to end on a cliffhanger with that unresolved G until an abrupt "Stop!" comes out of Cameron Winter's mouth, thus curtailing the song unexpectedly! (It ends on no chord at all! Just the "stop!" vocal). As for what the song is about? While I'm not sure what the two slash marks are doing in it other than making the song "quirky," the title comes from how easily distracted we are by tech ("Good Times") yet how that same pleasure ultimately gives us anxiety, causing difficulty coping with modern life ("End Times"). While I'd characterize a lot of Goose songs as "The Grateful Dead meets The Fray" (better than it sounds, trust me!), this one has gained comparisons to a lot of more atmospheric indie-folk groups like Band of Horses, The War on Drugs, and My Morning Jacket.

"I Feel Hope Coming" by Alabama Shakes:  So far, from Alabama Shakes' unexpected comeback album, we've had the prog/psychedelic-soul vibes of "Another Life," and the righteously angry, slow-burning blues-rock of "American Dream." "I Feel Hope Coming" is not only more positive in its title than their other two present-day adult alt radio hits, but it's also more soothing! The moment Brittany Howard's vocals kick into the song, it's like stepping into a nice, warm bath of smooth soul music that swings between E minor 7th and D major 7th, with an exotic, hypnotic rhythm! So how did we get to the hopelessness of "American Dream" to the hopefulness of this song?! Well, part of the secret lies in how this song's lyrics are not as hopeful as the song's title or sound make it seem! Brittany might feel hope coming, but does she believe it will?! That's a good question! This song's hope is far more than just "thoughts and prayers" vibes. Howard even claims in one of the song's lyrics that "It's going to take more than prayers to change my faith." Elsewhere in the song, there's lyrics like "I don't want your martial law/I want clean air" and "Got to work so they can't play us." The song's true hope comes in towards the end where Brittany says, "All the hell that we put through each other can make us strong." The last lyric, however, is "my heart is numb." Not exactly hopeful all the way through, but Brittany is clearly holding on hope here the best way she can!

"Neighbors Blues" by Jack White:   Won't you be my neighbor?! Apparently, Jack White doesn't want to be anyone's neighbor, if this song is anything to go by! In this song, which sounds like a cross between Uriah Heep's "Easy Livin'" and Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile," White goes on a 5-minute rant about how his neighbors think they can "fix" his problems, but their true nature is more manipulative and close-minded. The song's crunchy hard rock guitars melding with a "spooky" organ sound give me huge Deep Purple vibes! By the song's end, he wants to nullify the nosy nature of his nettling neighbors, especially with the song's penultimate lyric, "You make one mistake and you're dead"! Jack means business, people!!

"Sun Has Set" by beabadoobee:  Although beabadoobee is best-known for her more soothing songs, beabadoobee isn't always Miss Nice Girl. Here, she lets loose rock star fury with surprisingly fuzzy, pop-punk-y guitars! This isn't the goofy, irreverent pop-punk from blink-182's heyday, though. I'd say this song sounds more comparable to Paramore! The "sun" in this song is not meant to evoke poetic, bittersweet imagery. Instead, the phrase "sun has set" basically means, "It's over!" The pre-chorus ("Don't be so fake and affected/Scared of rejection/Lackin' direction/Take you for a victim") says it all! By the time the chorus actually happens, we get lyrics like, "When I say 'We'll never be friends,' I mean we'll never pretend/F**k that, you'll never run back to me now/The sun has set." Holy toledo! Gettin' huge "You Oughta Know" vibes here!! 

"Time is a Bomb" by Metric:  With a title like "Time is a Bomb," you know something's about to go down...and it does! At least in the beginning, it does. Frantic guitars and faint, stressed piano score the first 15 seconds of this song, and once Emily Haines' vocals come in, the piano becomes more noticeable (but still tense) and the guitars take a back seat but still throb with fury. Danger is the mood of this song! As the pre-chorus of the song approaches, the guitar frets get higher and more uptight, signaling what could be an explosive chorus! However, Metric trick us a bit here by revving up the synths and percussion and making the guitars almost atmospheric by the time the chorus really hits us. There might be a reason for this bait-and-switch sound method, though. It goes right along with the lyrics, which, while they are a bit ominous, mostly revolve around how Emily LIKES the element of danger and "flirting" with it! Then again...this rollercoaster of a song makes the guitars (and synths) sound "angry" yet again by the time Emily claims she "loves to flirt with disaster," keeping her listeners on their toes throughout the song! The song repeats this cycle one more time. Just when you think you've gotten to know this song, though, Metric throw the ultimate bait-and-switch with the piano by itself, now finally making the song softer yet still somewhat uncertain, leading the song during its last 30-ish seconds. Time is a bomb...and so is this song!!


"You Can't Hurt Me Anymore" by The War and Treaty:  Black husband-and-wife duo, The War and Treaty, are an interesting band, as their sound meets at the intersection of vintage soul music, blues, and country music. Their latest song, "You Can't Hurt Me Anymore," sounds like a vintage soul ballad from the '60s (think "When A Man Loves a Woman," "I've Been Loving You Too Long," etc.) with both blues-y licks and country-ish twang to anchor it. Both Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount sing passionately in this somewhat sad yet sultry soul song. It sounds like a "make up after you break up" song from the lyrics, but the "you" in the song may or may not be the respective significant other it's seemingly aimed at during the song's various verses. A gospel influenced lyric sneaks in during the chorus ("I took back all my pride/I got Jesus at my side/And an army full of angels at my door/You can't hurt me anymore"), making it a bit uncertain as to who (or what) the song is about. Is "you" society itself? People outside their religion?! We may never know the answer, but this is still a great song to listen to when your spirits are low!