Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Carolina Rain" by Rhiannon Giddens:  One of the few musicians I know who can swing easily between soul and bluegrass, Carolina Chocolate Drops' lead singer, Rhiannon Giddens, hasn't had an adult alt radio hit since 2015's soul/blues-influenced "Black is the Color." After a little over a decade, she has returned with a song that owes more to the bluegrass-influenced stuff she started with in Carolina Chocolate Drops. Even the title of the song seems kind of quaint and country-ish. "Carolina Rain" is a wistful song dominated by banjo and fiddle with very light percussion buoying it in between. Rhiannon's sweet, soothing vocals weave a story about both nostalgia and travel. A lot of nature-like imagery in this song, too, especially during the chorus, which mentions whippoorwills, fireflies, and sorghum cane. Makes you feel like you're in the Deep South just listening to it, doesn't it?! "Good Times//End Times...

 here they are: "All I Did Was Dream of You" by beabadoobee:  beabadoobee has already had some pretty dreamy tracks in her career, but this might just be the dreamiest (fitting to its title). "All I Did Was Dream of You" has the 2020's indie-pop sensation singing one of the most icy yet hypnotic tracks she has ever released. Most of the lyrics fit the mood of the song, but there is one part where she sings "Nightmares always feel like this/They swallow me, but I let it go/Doesn't feel like I can breathe/But they follow me and I let it go." There's also a brief part in the song where its dream-pop-y vibe briefly gets a bit grungy, albeit not in an extreme way. This song is a bit like "6 Underground" by Sneaker Pimps if Garbage decided to cover it. "Doctrine of Love" by Jalen Ngonda:  Hot on the heels of neo-soul sensations of the 2010's and 2020's like Curtis Harding, Leon Bridges, and Devon Gilfillian, Jalen Ngonda i...

 here they are: "Beaches" by beabadoobee:  I thought beabadoobee wouldn't achieve mainstream success again after the bubbly, Regina Spektor-esque song, "The Perfect Pair," made it onto both my local alternative station and  my local smooth jazz station about two years ago, but the eclectic indie sensation made huge waves yet again this year with her summer smash, "Take a Bite," which might mark the first time that she topped the adult alt radio charts, even though she has been featured on said charts many times before. beabadoobee seems to have a fondness for '90s alt-rock, and it shows on her latest song, "Beaches," which has echoes of some of the softer No Doubt songs like "Don't Speak" and "Simple Kind of Life." "Beaches" tries to rock out with its grungy distortion and its electric guitar solo towards the end, but it still very much a breezy, post-summer soft rock tune for the indie generation. The ly...

 here they are: "Dog Days" by Dehd:  "Dog Days" picks up where Dehd's debut single, "Bad Love," left off. The songs even sound the same a bit! Both are energetic indie-pop tunes in E major that have a similar rhythm. The lyrics make the song worth listening to, as they are basically about rolling with whatever punches life throws at you. Dehd have experienced their fair share of ups and downs in life, and "Dog Days" is their way of celebrating both the ups and the downs. "Mrs. Postman" by Black Pumas:  Neo-soul duo, Black Pumas, hit it once again! In just three singles, we've gone from the liberating folk-soul of "More Than a Love Song," the psychedelic blues-rock of "Ice Cream (Pay Phone)," and now, the sophisticated jazz-soul of "Mrs. Postman." In addition to its extraordinary sound, the lyrics of "Mrs. Postman" also focus on the extraordinary. Specifically, they focus on finding the ext...

 It's the last day of the year, and we have 8 brand new songs! Here they are: "Bug Like an Angel" by Mitski: Perhaps the first Mitski song to dip into folk-rock territory, "Bug Like an Angel" continues to add new dimension and depth to Mitski's already eclectic catalog! "Bug Like an Angel" is a rather cryptic metaphor, but the "angel" part seems to refer to death by either drinking or overindulgence. The song is fittingly melancholy for one that has such a depressing theme, but ultimately more bittersweet than bitter. It manages to carry itself in a major key rather than a minor one, but it's still quite powerful! There is also religious imagery woven into the song, particularly at the end when Mitski says, "I try to remember the wrath of the devil was also given to him by God." Again, it's hard to make out exactly what Mitski means here, but my best guess is that the presumably now dead person being addressed in the son...