Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Barbed Wire" by Cardinals:  With their previous single, "Masquerade," having a somewhat Radiohead-esque sound, "Barbed Wire" has an even more interesting tune to it! It has a mid '00s indie rock swagger akin to Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, or Arctic Monkeys, but beset by an accordion sound. Somehow, they turn the accordion into a rock and roll instrument on "Barbed Wire," a song that takes dark subject matter like imprisonment and drugs and makes it into a daring tale of adventure! "Paradise Road" by Clover County:  If you thought this said "Clover Country" instead of "Clover County," you wouldn't be that far from the truth! Clover County, whose previous works were closer to indie-folk, leans more towards a country sound for their latest tune, "Paradise Road." No place called "Paradise Road," real or fictional, is mentioned in the tune, but it could be inferred from the...

 here they are: "Blame" by Girl Tones:  Sisters Kenzie and Laila Crowe bring garage-y indie rock to a new audience with their debut single, "Blame"! The two have toured with big names in the indie rock business such as Silversun Pickups and Cage the Elephant, both of whom they bear similarity to. The song seems to be about a relationship on the brink, but Girl Tones handle this topic with ease and with a bit of cheeky humor, at least judging by their delivery! "Born Runnin' Outta Time" by Lukas Nelson:  Like his dad before him, Lukas is proving with every song he releases that "country" is a label that boxes him in more than it accurately describes what he does! His latest song, "Born Runnin' Outta Time," sounds a bit like a more countrified (but still rockin') version of Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream," with its opening guitar licks sounding like they could fit in a spy movie! One might wonder from the ...

 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...