New songs for July 6th 2026

My biggest blog in over a decade!! A whopping total of TWELVE songs (my fave number)!! Here we go!!

"Black Dog Rabbit Hole" by Devon Gilfillian:  Perhaps Devon's most funkadelic song yet, "Black Dog Rabbit Hole" is a tasty blend of funk and hard rock in Drop D tuning that feels like a lost recording of an early Red Hot Chili Peppers song! No more Mr. Restrained Soul Performer!! Devon unleashes righteous fury on this track with abstract, psychedelic lyrics, and a guitar solo that roars like Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello!! I currently have no clue about what this song is about, but when Devon sings "Baby, it feels so good!" during the chorus, it's my only hint. And this song DOES feel good...in a spicy, sizzlin', hot summer way!!

"Chauffeur" by The Womack Sisters:  If the name "Womack" rings a bell, then you're probably a fan of classic R & B music - and in particular, soul legend Bobby Womack. In case you were wondering, The Womack Sisters ARE related to Bobby! They are his nieces! If that wasn't enough classic soul cred, they're also the granddaughters of the late Sam Cooke, a soul legend in his own right! The cherry on top of this soulfully sweet sundae is how Daptone Records, the record company of the late soul musician, Sharon Jones, is the record company releasing The Womack Sisters' breakthrough single, "Chauffeur." So, does the song measure up to all the soul legends it's connected to? Yes, it does! Tasty horn licks, smooth sensuous harmonies, slinky syncopated beats, and guitar/drum/bass/organ interplay in the background - this song has it all! Though it sounds like an early '70s soul track, "Chauffeur," lyrically, is a track for the modern age, and for people looking to make it through an increasingly turbulent and untrustworthy world. Oh, and more thing...these gals are also touring next month with soul legend, Al Green!! Rhythm and blues is in the news!! 

"Come Again" by Jim James:  Though this song's origins are in folk-rock, post-psychedelia, and piano-rock as opposed to soul music, My Morning Jacket's Jim James' "Come Again" is yet another song this week where the lyrics are centered around finding hope in an increasingly chaotic world! When Jim says, "I always knew we'd come again," he's probably talking about how he's trying to have faith that our currently disorderly world will one day come to order again. Jim is like a cosmic hippie in a post-post-punk world, blissfully comforting those in need with profound wisdom and natural calm! Kind of like another bearded hippie named Jim I knew about who defined my childhood (Jim James IS a fan of Jim Henson, in case you were wondering!) 

"Fabulous" by Meek:  There's something I can't quite tell about this piano-and-orchestra-laden glitzy pop song. Is it supposed to be serious, or is it not?! Georgia Meek, best known simply by her last name, keeps singing she looks and feels "f**king fabulous" throughout this song, usually in response to something unfavorable like getting heartbroken, repeating therapy, and becoming destitute. Musically, this track doesn't sound that different from a Lady Gaga or Chappell Roan track, but lyrically, it's almost self-deprecating, and perhaps that's what's made this track so big among the alt and adult alt crowds! The whole song seems kind of sarcastic. Is Meek truly happy, or is she just saying that to mask insecurity?! I'm leaning towards the latter, but I dunno!


"Get Away from Me" by Julia Jacklin:  The latest song from Australian indie singer/songwriter, Julia Jacklin, is a world-weary one with gentle acoustic strumming, though it's not above including light electric guitar distortion in some of its solo parts. Julia is not saying "Get Away from Me" as an act of defiance. Rather, she seems to be trying to give herself space to decide whether she's ready for love or more attracted to the idea of love. The full chorus is "get away from me, I think I'll love you soon," which tells me that she doesn't really want the subject of her song to "get away" as much as she wants them to let her decide if she's worthy of pursuing love again. 

"Gone" by Kels:  Pittsburgh's Kelsey Hillock, better known as "Kels" (pronounced with a soft "S" sound, not a "Z" sound, at the end), might not look like a soul queen at first glance, but she absolutely sings and performs like one! From the song's slinky F minor bass line in the opening to its strategically placed drums a few seconds later - not to mention Kels' husky, sultry vocals, and the horns that get added around the chorus - "Gone" is a song that tells it like it is! Kels isn't afraid to let her soon-to-be-ex know that she is not going to put up with their deception and manipulation! "Don't be surprised when I'm gone," she boldly declares during the song's chorus. We won't be, Kels, but you're free to stay with fellow fans of vintage soul music reinterpreted for the modern age!

"Lost Boys" by Phoebe Bridgers:  The most heavily anticipated song of the week on adult alt radio has gotta be this one! Phoebe's fans have been waiting for a newbie from her for nearly 4 years, and now they have one! A vulnerable folk-tronica track, "Lost Boys" is a song with hushed vocals and delicately strummed and arpeggiated chords, like most of Phoebe's songs have. The song also has notable use of horns, like one of her previous adult alt radio hits, "Kyoto," had back in 2020. The title alone probably makes people think of Peter Pan, and much like the beloved fairytale, "Lost Boys" is about people who "never grow up," at least according to Phoebe in her lyrics. But don't be fooled. This song is not a magical nighttime adventure where people fly and visit pirates and mermaids to escape the real world. Rather, "Lost Boys" is a song where the real world is faced head on and acknowledged, but where "never growing up" and "never getting old" is a way of escaping violent relationships, not escaping growing up itself. 

"Only the Good I Keep" by Broken Social Scene:  The band where Canadian indie-folk-rock sensation, Feist, initially got her start (and also where Metric's Emily Haines got her start), Broken Social Scene also fall into the indie-folk-rock category as a group. They're probably best known for the bittersweet banjo-laden tune, "Anthems for a 17-Year-Old Girl," which became popular about a decade after its release with its inclusion on quirky indie comedy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Neither Emily nor Feist are on their latest track, "Only the Good I Keep," but BSS continue to be a vehicle for women in indie music since Hannah Georgas is on the lead vocals for this track, which, coincidentally, sounds a lot like a Phoebe Bridgers tune! The song's delicate acoustic guitar, quietly sighing horns, and hushed vocals are comparable to Phoebe. The lyrics seem to be about family drama, but various pop culture references are woven in, including a double-reference to Smashing Pumpkins in the opening ("Bullets and butterflies/1979"). 

"Plans" by Brandon Flowers:  I had my doubts about alt-rock star, Brandon Flowers, releasing a "country" album, but from its first big track, "Plans," this song is "country" in the authentic sense, not the corporate one! It's a soft, nostalgic tune that sounds almost like a Glen Campbell song! Gentle acoustic guitars, equally gentle harmonica, sighing "twang," and lovely harmony vocals all define this song! Ever since Flowers' unabashed love for Bruce Springsteen's material that he revealed on The Killers' sophomore album, he's become more and more Bruce-like through the years in both his lyrics and sound. This album might just be Brandon's answer to Bruce's Nebraska, but "Plans" seems more yearning and nostalgic than it does disillusioned like the Nebraska tracks did. It's the perfect song for both road trips and for reuniting with lost family and friends!

"Rewind" by Feeble Little Horse:  "Feeble Little Horse" is already a unique name! Their music is equally memorable! I initially assumed with "horse" in their name that their lead singer was male, but it is actually a woman named Lydia Slocum (though the other members are male). Their breakthrough single, "Rewind," is a short but sweet song that clocks in at just a little over two minutes and combines indie-folk, electronica, and slight shades of shoegaze into a single track. Lydia's hushed yet world-weary vocals tell a brief yet compelling story about uncertainty in a relationship. She isn't sure whether she wants to continue with someone whose values and interests no longer align with hers. Part of her wants to quit from exhaustion, but another part still yearns with quiet hope that things will work themselves out. Time will tell...

"Stone Over Water" by Death Cab for Cutie:  Though Death Cab's previous single from earlier this year, "Riptides," was unusually intense and somewhat jagged in both music and lyric, it still maintained their signature knack for harmony and vulnerability. On their latest song, "Stone Over Water," those elements come through a bit more naturally. It's a delicate track influenced more by indie-folk (and the indie sound in general) than it is by post-punk. "Stone Over Water" is one of the few (if not the only) chorus-less songs from Death Cab, giving it a bit of a minimalist flavor while still being hushed and quieter overall. If "Riptides" was about facing change in an increasingly chaotic world, "Stone Over Water" is more about acknowledging the inevitable aftermath of such situations. Ben Gibbard is "trying to hold it together" and "telling his friends he's alright," but it's clear from the rest of the lyrics that he isn't. Even the title of the song references how Ben thinks he will "sink," no longer able to control the flow of his own life. Very relatable in this day and age!


"We Might as Well Be Strangers" by Weezer (featuring Wednesday):  Weezer, Wednesday, and "we"?! This track has been brought to you by the letter W, I guess!! W is also for "wistful," which Weezer seem to be for their younger days in this song, since it doesn't sound that far off from "Buddy Holly" or "Undone (The Sweater Song)" with its crunchy and vaguely Pixies-ish sound. But perhaps most of all, W is for "worrisome," the overall vibe of this song! Even a wicked rock and roll guitar solo (wicked - 'nother good W word!!) couldn't save this song from the dread that both Rivers Cuomo and Karly Hartzman are both expressing in it. From "debating Nietzsche" to comparisons to the fractious relationship of Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen to various fears of death and growing old ("I'm not sure you even missed us," "Now we're history," "Don't want your songs to become clues to why we lost you"), "We Might as Well Be Strangers" is Woeful, Worrisome, and Waxes nostalgic on the Wasting away of their ex-bassist, Matt Sharp (whom most of the aforementioned lines are about). Wow, that's Wild!