Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Count the Ways" by The Last Dinner Party:  The latest song from The Last Dinner Party combines a slinky guitar riff with Abigail Morris' sultry yet venomous vocals. Right from the opening lyrics, we get lines like, "Let the snake bite/Let her crawl under your skin/Let it eat you from within/It's alright," and shortly after that, "You break into my house/I'll break into your house/I'll do it/Do it." Those are very vindictive lyrics if you ask me! But the song also has a yearning undercurrent to it, centering around how much Abigail misses her lover. I dunno 'bout you, but I think I'm gonna count the ways this song lends itself to lyrical ambiguity! "Site Unseen" by Courtney Barnett (featuring Waxahatchee):  When it comes to sardonic yet sweet women of 2020's indie-folk-rock, Courtney Barnett and Waxahatchee are both giants, so it's interesting to hear them come together here! The song lacks the bite...

 here they are:   "Day One" by Bon Iver (featuring Dijon, and Flock of Dimes):  For a group who hadn't had success on adult alt radio in over a decade, Bon Iver's latest album has done pretty well, now yielding four singles (including this one) onto the format! Still more electro-pop than folk-rock like most of Bon Iver's latest single, but they chose some fitting guests to bridge the gaps on "Day One." Dijon for the pop-soul/electro side and Flock of Dimes for the more folk-y side. Though the song itself I have mixed feelings about, I think "Day One" has a very clever music video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd2bebzkPS0) in which many musicians, including Annie "St. Vincent" Clark, Flock of Dimes' Jenn Wasner, and even Justin Vernon himself audition to be the "next Justin Vernon." It is set in an alternate future where Bon Iver have "retired." I'm not sure how much the video has to do with the song, bu...

 here they are: "After the Setting Sun" by The Head and The Heart:  "After the Setting Sun" finds The Head and The Heart drifting away from alt/indie-pop and going back to their folk-rock roots. A lot of sweet acoustic guitar instrumentation in this one, and about two minutes of the song have little or no percussion, and even after that, the percussion is light. The yearning sound of this song is also winsome to me and makes me like it more than their previous single, "Arrow" (though that one was good too). "After the Setting Sun"'s pensive sound is not without reason. The lyrics of the song ponder what happens after all is said and done. What if we really are "all we've got," as the song asks?! Then music will live on long after we do! "Backseat Banton" by Bartees Strange:  Bartees Strange's songs are often reflective and moody, which makes "Backseat Banton" stand out among them! The song is surprisingly...

 here they are: "A Fragile Thing" by The Cure:  Was The Cure's last single, "Alone," too long for ya? Fear not, then, because they have a shorter song for ya! The second single from The Cure's latest album in over 15 years, "A Fragile Thing" is a moody song, in typical Cure fashion, but it bases its sound with piano as its core instrument instead of relying on an orchestral wall of sound the way "Alone" seemed to. The guitar slowly seeps in, crescendoing to a solo towards the middle, but nothing too loud (I mean when have The Cure ever been too loud?! It's not their style!) The lyrics are more typical of an actual Cure song than "Alone" was. Instead of wallowing in despair and isolation, "A Fragile Thing" is a love song, which most Cure songs are, but more a love song in the way it depicts love as enduring than it is in the traditional way. "Aren't We One?" by My Morning Jacket:  Another song that sta...

 here they are: "Bored" by Waxahatchee:  The song may be called "Bored," but it sure isn't boring! The song plays out like a slightly more countrified Tom Petty, echoing the progressions of classic Petty songs like "Listen to Her Heart." The title of "Bored" pretty much indicates what the lyrics are like. It's basically a song about Katie Crutchfeld being tired of the relationship she has.  "Dance in the Desert" by Daniel Donato:  The title of this song sounds kind of hippie-ish, doesn't it?! Fittingly, this song sort of sounds like a happier, more upbeat version of a Grateful Dead song with its Jerry Garcia-esque twang mixing with a peppy, almost ska-like drumbeat. The song is actually a 3-and-a-half minute version of a song that's actually a sprawling nearly 20-minute epic when he performs it live. Trippy, man! "Docket" by Blondshell (featuring Bully):  Bully have done some awesome songs by themselves, but pe...

 here they are: "Right Back to It" by Waxahatchee:  "Right Back to It" continues in the Americana direction that Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee has steered her music lately. It's a bittersweet, slow song that makes heavy use of the banjo, perhaps more so than other Waxatchee songs have since a lot of them are more guitar focused. Adding to the song's already country-rock flavor is Spencer Tweedy (who shares a first name with me), Jeff from Wilco's son, who plays drums on this track.  "Someday, Someday" by Pete Yorn:  Pete Yorn's music has now been around almost a quarter century. I did not think he would be doing music for that long of a time, but he has, and his musical quality has not dimmed a bit! "Someday, Someday," Yorn's latest, even finds him exploring new rhythmic dimensions! In typical Yorn fashion, the song is a folk-rock number, but it's also a waltz, which is not common to his material. The song could be desc...