Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Home Depot" by Medium Build:  After hearing Medium Build's funky song, "Last Time," from late last year, I'm surprised to know that what is poised to be their second adult alt radio hit, "Home Depot," sounds more like a sad, laid-back country-folk song! Why the change in sound?! Perhaps part of it is because of the heavy emotion this song carries! The song is also somewhat a character study for "the Steves" - a group of men, all named Steve, who Nick Carpenter made up for this song. The Steve narrating opens up his heart to ask another Steve about the painful, emotional turmoil he's been facing in his life lately. Though the song itself wouldn't sound out of place as a Garth Brooks ballad, the lyrics tell a more poignant story that pegs the song as more "alternative" for both its raw emotional quality and its quirkiness in character naming. "The Hallelujah Trail" by Charley Crockett:  Country m...

 here they are: "A Perfect Storm" by Jose Gonzalez:  "A Perfect Storm" IS a perfect storm - a perfect storm of melancholia, intensity, and calm in a single song! And it doesn't take that many instruments to do it either! In typical Jose style, acoustic guitar is the dominant instrument in this song, but he uses it in such a powerful way that I can't help but be drawn in. Jose's storm, lyrically, is a force of nature in more ways than one! The song is an eerily self-aware meditation and lament on how we are to blame for being the victims of our own impending doom. Phrases like "race against time" and "gambling with our common fate" indicate how Jose realizes that the human race has put itself in imminent danger. At least we get a good song out of it! "Back in Love" Suki Waterhouse:  One of the most insanely catchy songs of summer 2024 was Suki Waterhouse's indie-pop anthem, "Supersad"! Though her next single, ...

 Spoiler alert, none of them are Irish!! But here they are... "Bonnet of Pins" by Matt Berninger:  This song marks Matt's first musical effort apart from The National, but the instrumentation of this song sounds awfully close to what he did with them! A crisp acoustic guitar, orchestral strings in the background, and a jolt of electric guitar to punctuate the chorus set "Bonnet of Pins," Matt's debut solo effort, into motion, and a horn section creeps in later to add more depth! With quiet, sweet female vocals to create a marked balance point to Matt's more somber baritone male vocals, "Bonnet of Pins" is a moody yet sweet piece of music like most of Matt's efforts with The National have been as well. An electric guitar solo gives the remainder of the song a crackling, potent feel! "Gethsemane" by Car Seat Headrest:  At a staggering 10 minutes and 52 seconds, "Gethsemane" by Car Seat Headrest might just be the longest so...