Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Clean Heart" by Perfume Genius:  After the surprisingly folk-rock-y "It's a Mirror," Perfume Genius are back to the trip-hop-y, breezy indie-pop they're known for with "Clean Heart." An interesting combination of instruments seem to combine here to make the song sound as affecting as it does! It almost seems like Nick Drake's "Northern Sky" if it relied more on keyboard than on guitar, and it's even in the same key as that song is (D sharp/E flat major). A lot of synthetic instruments here, as one might expect from Perfume Genius, but there's a very tinkly xylophone-ish sound oddly reminiscent of the Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood  intro that seems to run throughout the song and that kind of makes it what it is! Halfway through, as the song briefly gets stripped down to one instrument, there is a bit of guitar in it, but that part quickly gets clouded by the other instruments of the song. Michael Alden Hadreas...

 here they are: "Give it Time" by Goose:  Post-millennial jam band, Goose, had a surprise hit on adult alt radio two years ago with "Hungersite"! It's a miracle when a song that's nearly 7 minutes long gets that much attention, and it's about to happen again with Goose's latest, "Give it Time." The song has a similar aesthetic to "Hungersite," although it's not as fast as that one was. The song seems to mostly have a contemporary soft rock sound with its true guitar playing chops hidden underneath. The guitar playing starts to shine through at around the 3-minute mark. Coincidentally, this is also when the song starts to speed up! Goose are truly something else! They're sort of like if a group like The Fray somehow became prog-rock! Unlike "Hungersite," which became a bit of a meandering jam band song after the 5-minute mark, "Give it Time" remains both vocally and instrumentally appealing throughout it...