Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 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: "Common Blue" by Warpaint:  It's been about 7 years since Warpaint last released a successful adult alt radio single, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear they were making a comeback! Where their previous single, "New Song," was mostly upbeat and synth-focused, "Common Blue" is a more melancholy song that focuses equally on synth and acoustic guitar. The title is not mentioned anywhere within the lyrics of the song, so I can only guess what it refers to, but perhaps it refers to the part where lead singer Emily Kokal asks, "Can you see the colors?" Lyrically, it is an interesting song that uses vivid imagery like colors and butterflies to refer to the brevity and scarcity of life.  "Highway Queen" by Mt. Joy:  It has been common for Mt. Joy to incorporate elements of folk-rock and psychedelic rock into their music, but so far, "Highway Queen" is the first time they've tried their hand at bluegrass! The...