Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Evolve" by Phish:  The Grateful Dead's biggest piscine fans are back with a fun, upbeat, blissful song. "Evolve" is also one of the most poetic songs so far in the Phish catalog. It is a meditation about both nature and appreciating the little things in life. Phish have been around for over 30 years, and they still maintain an aura of wisdom about them. Perhaps there's some truth behind that whole "older and wiser" thing! "Flowers" by Real Estate:  "Flowers" continues where Real Estate's previous single, "Water Underground," left off. They're both songs in the key of A major capoed at the 2nd fret with a blissfully jangly sound. Not a whole lot of difference between the two songs, which is unusual for a Real Estate song, since most of their material is distinguishable from one another. Supposedly, this song is the band's attempt at doing a country-pop song in the manner of musicians like Sh...

 here they are: "Big Love" by Camera Obscura:  It's not that far to make the leap from folk-rock to country-rock since both rely on acoustic guitar as the central instrument, but Camera Obscura's "Big Love" isn't just a switch in sound. It's also a tribute to country legend, Waylon Jennings. So yeah, there's a reason there's a steel pedal guitar driving this song forward. Not exactly what I'd expect from a band who wrote a song about '80s alt-rock singer/songwriter, Lloyd Cole, but it does add new dimension to what little I know of their material! "Capricorn" by Vampire Weekend:  Vampire Weekend's latest song (whose title is synonymous with my birth sign) is a significant departure from the herky-jerky reggae-rock fusion they're typically known for. It might just be the first folk-rock song in their catalog! "Capricorn" centers around acoustic guitar, piano, and string orchestra. As an added bonus, "Ca...