Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "American Dream" by Alabama Shakes:  Releasing a song called "American Dream" at a time when that sort of dream seems divided was intentional on the part of Brittany Howard and co this time. This swirling soul-rock slow jam expresses how disillusioned Brittany has become with both politics and how they affect other areas of life ranging from gun reform to abortion to the environment. She repeatedly refers to this dream as "the impossible dream," but not "impossible" in the sense of "sounds farfetched, but we can get there." More in the sense of how it really has become impossible now! "I can't keep dreaming," she says towards the end, reluctantly wanting to reconcile her dashed hopes with the harsher realities of American life at present. This one hurts, but in such a powerful, relatable way! "Any Old Fool" by Thee Sacred Souls:  TSS do what they do best on this song, and that is how they sound li...

 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...

 It's a day after Monday, but since Monday was a holiday, I'm doing the new music today. Here it is: "Let the Sun Come In" by The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde is now one year past being a septuagenarian, and she's STILL rockin' it! The Pretenders' latest song, "Let the Sun Come In," is not a crunchy hard rocker in the vein of something like "Middle of the Road" or "Tattooed Love Boys," but it does hearken back to some of the first mid-tempo half-rocker/half-ballad songs they had such as "Kid" and "Talk of the Town." Close your eyes and you probably won't notice too much a difference between this song and what they did a little over 40 years ago. The song's theme of liberation is also something that stands the test of time. The Pretenders aren't really singing here about issues relevant to the 21st century in this song, but they don't have to. Their output is timeless, and it really shows here!...

 First new songs of the new year! Here they are: "Love is the Way" by Thee Sacred Souls: Our first song of 2023 sounds a bit more like something from 1973, or perhaps even further back than that, and there's a good reason for this. "Love is the Way," the debut song from Thee Sacred Souls, was produced by Gabriel Roth, the cofounder of Daptone Records. Said record company is most famous so far for producing the songs of Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, a neo-soul group who rose to prominence roughly around the mid-2000's but whose sound was more reminiscent of performers like Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. Likewise, Thee Sacred Souls shows influence from people like Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and The Spinners with their silky, smooth, and soulful breakthrough song, "Love is the Way," an earnest and powerful plea for love! "On the Radio" by Spoon: With "On the Radio," Spoon has now reached their fourth adult alt radio hit fr...