New Music Monday

On this, the first Monday of 2012, I have 4 songs for you - none of which have impressed me very much.  I've only listened to these a couple times, so my opinion on them is possible (possibly likely) to change, but these are my first impressions.

"Northern Mentality" - Mathieu Santos (Massachusetts 2010)
I'm not going to lie, after the amount of music I came to love in 2011 that originated in the northeast, I had high hopes for this song.  I was excited to find yet another artist from my side of the country, but it was not to be.  Somehow, this song sounds unfinished to me although I can't really put my finger on why.  Apparently it has this deep meaning about being raising up north messes with your brain (I was raised by Yankees, so I know this to be true), but I don't get that.  In fact, after listening to it 4 or 5 times, I'm still like, "what the hell is he talking about?"  And I find the horn section to be vaguely irritating, which is odd because I have been loving the shit out of some horns lately. 

"St. Croix" - Family of the Year (St. Croix EP)
I'm kind of neither here nor there on this song.  It does have a catchy little chorus that made me laugh the first time I heard it, but that's about it.  I think the song is about some dude going to the Caribbean to forget about a girl and the best I can gather, he hooks up with a new girl (after throwing his cell phone in the ocean).  I think that's what's happening anyway.  The chorus, "You bring the ocean, I bring emotion (or the motion...I'm not sure), together we'll make a love potion" is funny, but too cheesy to make me really like the song.

"Keep You Right" - Blind Pilot - (We Are the Tide)
When you have a lot of people in your band or a big arrangement in a song, there is a fine line between "wow, that sounds great" and noise.  This song treads all over that line and crosses to both sides of it from time to time.  It has a catchy chorus that I can see singing along to, but that's about all I can say about it.  I'm not in love with it, but I don't hate it.  Check it out and see what you think.

"Roll on Hills" - Annie Williams - (This Mountain)
This is my favorite of these four, if only because it is the most benign.  Annie Williams has a pleasant, dreamy sounding voice and the song is quiet and smooth.  I'm not sure exactly what the song is about, but only because I haven't listened to it closely enough to follow.  There is a little too much drum for me, but I think only because her voice is so delicate that the drum almost drowns it out.  Either way, I would recommend this song, I can't imagine anyone would find it offensive.