Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Bloodstream" by Alyssa Grace:  Armed with a spacious acoustic guitar and a powerful voice, Alyssa Grace makes a striking debut with "Bloodstream." The song's seemingly simple sound contrasts with its commanding presence and dark yet relatable lyrics. The subject of the song being in Alyssa's "bloodstream" refers to how she finds it hard to let go of her previous relationship. Obviously, different people feel different ways about their own past relationships, but "Bloodstream" is still a very relatable song since some things are hard to let go of! "California Sober" by Iron & Wine:  A gorgeous song, as per usual from IAW, "California Sober" doesn't seem to feature the exotic alternate tuning that "In Your Ocean" from earlier this year did, but it is probably capoed, and it seems to feature an arrangement of notes that's complex even by IAW standards. Sam Beam's lyrics are abstr...

 here they are: "Afraid" by Flock of Dimes:  Having made quiet yet considerable success on adult alt radio with the aching, acoustic "Long After Midnight" in summer of this year, "Afraid" is autumnal electronica melancholia at its finest! The song relies less on guitars than "Long After Midnight" did, but it's just as compelling and just as vulnerable! Like many Flock of Dimes songs, "Afraid" wears its vulnerability on its sleeve! "I did not enter this world afraid," Jenn Wasner says during the song's opening lines, and from there, she distills herself down to her emotional essence, laying her feelings bare for the listener of the song. The song's opening line is also its last line, but Jenn adds "But I refuse to leave it that way" during this part of the song. Songs like this make me sad, but in the best possible way!  "Anywhere" by Ratboys:  They're not rats, and their lead singer isn'...

 here they are: "Downstairs" by Matt Maeson:  Matt Maeson's work is usually guitar-oriented, but it often goes more towards folk-rock than it does electric guitar-based material. This is what makes his latest song, "Downstairs," stand out from his other material! The song starts out with just Matt's vocals and the electric guitar by themselves before it crescendoes to full-band instrumentation during the chorus. The title seems to be metaphorical, too, suggesting an escape from the world when everything goes wrong. Although clearly rooted in an indie-pop sound, there's something almost post-grunge-y about how "Downstairs" is set up with its soft-but-about-to-break verses and more explosive (but still relatively calm) chorus. "Enough" by Jeff Tweedy (Wilco):  In this midtempo folk/country-rock tune, Wilco's lead singer poses a tough question at the very start of this song: "Has it ever been enough? Has it ever been OK?" T...