Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Better" by Baby Rose:  One of a growing number of soul musicians dedicated to bringing back the "old school" soul sound of the '60s and early '70s, Jasmine Rose Wilson, aka "Baby Rose," is making her debut this week with a song that asserts her independence! "How many times can you expect me to change/While you stay the same?" she asks midway through the song. She tells the listener during the chorus that she's "better than that." She is not someone who will be played for a fool in relationships! As for the sound of the song? That's what really enchants me about this track! Rose doesn't approach R & B with the dance-heavy flavor of most of her more popular contemporaries. Instead, she does it the old fashioned way with horns, piano, and even guitar in a way that makes her brand of music sound old and new at the same time! "Light the Way" by Leon Bridges:  And speaking of musicians bring...

 here they are: "Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)" by Inhaler:  The Irish indie quartet are back, with a more disco-y yet still intimate-sounding flavor than we might be used to from them. A similar vibe to songs like Modest Mouse's "Float On" with its combination of breezy dance-rock and light guitar riffs interspersed enough to make it seem it doesn't stray completely from the rock category. I have a question before I begin this review, though. Who IS Billy, and why do they repeat his name 12 times before the first verse begins?! Billy Idol? Billy Joel? Billy Squier? Billy MAYS, maybe?! (Well, ok, the last one's highly unlikely). It's probably just an ordinary person named Billy, and Elijah Hewson seems to be reaching out to him in a similar way to how Burt Bacharach reached out to someone named Alfie many decades before this song came out. Elijah may not be asking, "What's it all about?" to Billy, but that sense of empathy is clearly there!  ...

 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:  "Habits" by Gary Clark Jr.:  Known for being the 21st-century answer to Jimi Hendrix for some people, Gary Clark Jr. rarely presents a vulnerable, sensitive side to his material, but with Gary's latest song, "Habits," we get to see a poignant side to the blues-rocker extraordinaire. It's a heartbreaker of a song that could be about many things. He never says just what the "habits" are in his song, but it's implied that they're something of a personal nature, perhaps either drug related or anxiety related. Either way, "Habits" hits hard, in the best of ways! "Kinky" by BBY:  Not sure how to pronounce this performer's name ("Baby"? "Bee-bee"? "Buh-bee"? "Bee-bee-why"?!), but man, their song sure is catchy! Driven by a flange-y guitar riff and a fast, danceable beat, "Kinky" has become a big hit on alt-rock radio, and adult alt radio is slowly but surely...