Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Everything is Peaceful Love" by Bon Iver:  After Bon Iver's much needed return to folk-rock with "S P E Y S I D E" last fall, my interest in their music was renewed! I was excited once again to see what they'd come up with next! What did I get?! Well...the results aren't quite as good as that one, but as far as Bon Iver's experiments in electronica go, their latest song, "Everything is Peaceful Love," isn't the worst. Unlike some of the odder forays Justin Vernon and co have taken into electronica in the recent past (with equally odd titles like "33 God" and "8 (Circle)"), "Everything is Peaceful Love" at least has enough to balance it out. As electro-rock hybrid songs go, it's a smoother, calmer song. "In Love With a Memory" by Sasami (featuring Clairo):  And speaking of electronica songs, this song lays the synths on thick! The song walks the line between club/dance and ambi...

 here they are: "Midas" by Wunderhorse:  A rather abstract and minimalist song, "Midas" is an interesting song with an equally interesting title! Unlike Wunderhorse's previous single, the more musically complex "Purple," "Midas" uses only four chords throughout. The lyrics to "Midas" are rather cryptic as well, never mentioning who exactly "Midas" is, and its verses seem to be just loosely strung together narratives that aren't really about anything. If I can gather anything here about Wunderhorse, though, it's how they seem to admire the '90s rock/alt aesthetic. It was featured plenty on "Purple," and on "Midas," the chord progression featured wouldn't be out of place in a group like, say, Toad the Wet Sprocket, or Gin Blossoms. "Nowhere to Run" by Kings of Leon:  One of the slower KOL numbers, "Nowhere to Run" is a different vibe from the rollicking rock and roll of...

 here they are: "After Midnight" by Phoenix (featuring Clairo): Phoenix have always been influenced by synthpop, but it's never been as obvious an influence on their music as it has with their latest song, "After Midnight" (not to be confused for the Eric Clapton song of the same name). Some of their later work uses a bit less guitar than their early stuff did, and this is no exception. Enlisting the help of fellow indie-pop sensation, Clairo, Phoenix churn out their most synthpop-y song yet with "After Midnight." Underneath this seemingly simple song, the phrase "Listen, it's illicit" is sung repeatedly, and so fast that it sound more like "listen, listen." "Classics" by Moon Taxi: So here's a song about...songs! The latest song from Moon Taxi starts out sounding like a children's toy piano version of John Lennon's "Imagine" before dissolving more into typical 2010's/'20s indie-pop a la C...