“Autopilot” by Alexsucks

 

     The discography of the Los Angeles-based band Alexsucks shows a diversity of influences. For their single “Autopilot,” there are signs of Bloc Party, a standout UK band. The song carries an urgency similar to Bloc Party’s “Banquet.” Autopilot” travels at 155 beats per minute and lyrically asks “Why am I bleeding,” while “Banquet” is only a slightly less frantic 149 beats per minute while explaining “Cause I’m on fire.”
 
     The quick tempo of the Alexsucks' single belies the lyrical subject matter, which relate to the confusion with a flawed relationship. “Autopilot” is the title track of the band’s recently released album. The band members are Alex Alvarez (vocals, guitar), John Luther (guitar), drummer Jonny Ransom (drums), and Garrett Orseno, aka DJ Topgun (bass),
 
     “Autopilot” by Alexsucks

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Lyrics of “Autopilot” by Alexsucks
There you are, you sit around and all you got
Is yourself to talk and you go on and on
You bite your tongue, you bite your tongue
When your thoughts are loud, when your thoughts are loud
 
Don't wanna hear it
If I'm the one that holds the gun
Then tell me, why am I bleeding? I'm bleeding
So what? We lost control
Autopilot, I need you, I need you
 
And there you go, you're never one to take it slow
Where you off to now? Where you off to now?
You lost your touch and you've lost touch
And now you're freaking out, you're freaking out
 
Don't wanna hear it
If I'm the one that holds the gun
Then tell mе, why am I bleeding? I'm bleeding
So what? We lost control
Autopilot, I need you, I need you
 
I need it
If I'm the one that holds thе gun
Then tell me, why am I bleeding? I'm bleeding
So what? We lost control
Autopilot, I need you, I need you

“Miyazaki” by Paris Paloma

 

      The latest release from outspoken Paris Paloma is named for outspoken Hayao Miyazaki, who is famed for his era-defining body of work and who is unabashed in criticizing AI-generated art as “an insult to life itself.” Paloma presents songs as a commentary on societal imbalances and injustices. While talking about ““Miyazaki,” she explained:
   “I wrote this song about art, about the burning, urgent desire to create art as my way of making sense of the world, and as my way of resisting darkness and hatred. It’s a defiant song, about defending the human need of artistic creation in a world that is increasingly devaluing it in the face of AI; that’s why it is named after renowned director Hayao Miyazaki. I wrote this song for everyone who has an urgent and unexplained need to express themselves through their art; it is for the painters, the dancers, the writers, the storytellers, the crafters, the directors, the singers, musicians, anybody who relates to this creative fire, and the threat that AI generated slop might take the place of essential humanity.”
 
     Paris Paloma is based in London. Originally hailing from Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Paris Paloma channels the experience of womanhood into her songwriting, speaking to the female experience, grief, love, death, and power.
 
     “Miyazaki” by Paris Paloma

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Lyrics of “Miyazaki” by Paris Paloma
I have something to say
As has anyone who’s ever made
Anything worth enjoying
Nobody can destroy it
Left unchecked it mutates
Bleeding desperation to create
Collapses me like a star
Sickness inside my heart
 
Whenever I fear death I think of that which I would fear much more
Never dying Is that what you all are striving for
I leave a stream of greenery in every path I walk
Chased by a monster of a thousand voices that always wants
One more
 
Please don’t ever take it from me
Changes the color of the air that I breathe
 
In grief’s fertile land
The space in between clapping hands
They say it’ll pass
I used to pray that it would
But its absence never brought anything good
I wake in the morning
Do all of my chores then
Of thinking in silence
And drinking sweet wine
Putting my mind somewhere outside
Where it can feel the sun
Maybe it’ll connect with someone
 
The world’s the world
And I’m a person in a tiny body
I vow to live
I won’t let fear be anything that stops me
I’m not a violent person but I make things with aggression
I’m not a violent person but my work is one exception
 
I won’t let you take it from me
Changes the color of the air that I breathe
 
I wasn’t always tortured
I made art long before then
I call into the void until I lose my voice but
Sometimes a cry reverberates back
A child with mud caked hands
Or a prolific and obsessive older man
I’d do it unpaid, unseen, unthanked
It’s worth more than anything that I have
 
(You can never have it ever)
(You can never have it ever)
(You can never have it ever)
 
 
I won’t let you take it from me
Changes the color of the air that I breathe
I won’t let you take it from me
Changes the color of the air that I breathe
 
I won’t let you take it from me

“Familiar Faces” by Two Connors

 

     “Familiar Faces” merges two storytelling approaches that are compelling on their own but become especially potent in tandem. In their song, Two Connors craft an aural portrait of their hometown, and in doing so unreservedly name names that bring the subject matter to life.
 
     Writing about one’s hometown radiates nostalgia that’s found relatable, even by listeners who have never visited the city. In the Indie Universe, our favorite is "Feather on the Clyde," in which Passenger crafts a lyrical painting of his childhood city of Glasgow. Looking back some decades, other hometown songs include:
   “Mainstreet” - Bob Seger
   “My Little Town” - Simon & Garfunkel
   “My Hometown” - Bruce Springsteen
   “Small Town” - John Mellencamp
But the song from Two Connors is most closely aligned with “My City Was Gone” by The Pretenders, since both sets of lyrics lament the changes to the city. As Two Connors state, “This ain't the town we knew.”
 
     As noted, “Familiar Faces” doesn’t shy away from identifying people by names, although we suspect that actual names are avoided for legal and sensitivity reasons. Other examples of naming names in lyrics include:
   “Walk on the Wild Side” by Lou Reed
   "People Who Died" by The Jim Carroll Band
   “We're All Gonna Die!!!” by Baby FuzZ
   “Pepper” by Butthole Surfers
   “Strange Friends” by little image
  “The All Encompassing Need To Say Goodbye” by My Best Unbeaten Brother
 
     Two Connors are brothers Danny and Callum Connor. Their song is about Oldham, a hamlet in Devon, England.
 
     “Familiar Faces” by Two Connors

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Lyrics of “Familiar Faces” by Two Connors
The town that I call Oldham, so many characters I've seen
When a cold pint in the Scruples bar was a localer's big dream
And the lads all in the stolen cars of a run-down 1.4 Capri
 
From drinking on the corners with Pete Taylor and Craig Lindsay
When Spanner and Pete Grimley were hiding shotguns in the chimney
Oh, well, some hard times in this town, but it's the place that we loved
 
And Mick Taddy's in the pub again, and he's barred from every boozer
And the Durker Hotel's round again, we never thought much of the future
Oh, no, if I could go back in time, I wouldn't change a single thing
About these stories we wrote, 'cause that's when we were young
 
This ain't the town we know, this ain't the town we knew
Them young guns coming through, and I know that times are changing
But I still don't feel the same way that I do
When I'm here thinking of you and familiar faces
 
This ain't the town we know, it just don't feel like home
'Cause all of my friends that I grew up with, most are dead and gone
And I'm holding on to pictures in my mind
Just wanna spend the night with you and familiar faces
 
Well, the town that I call Oldham was born on childhood memories
And the legends' names are carved in stone on the graves in the cemeteries
We were singing to the Irish songs on the fairy tales of Yorkshire Street
 
And Glyn Gardner's in the cells again for doing grows up in his home
And the police outside of Pat's old house at 16 Pripy Road
Oh, no, some hard times in this town, but it's the place that we loved
 
And the council tax keeps going up, destroying our estates
The pubs we spent the good nights in are just buildings gone to waste
Oh, there were times I used to hold your hand and go see our favourite place
Those memories will live a lifetime once again, 'cause that's when we were young
 
This ain't the town we know, this ain't the town we knew
Them young guns coming through, and I know that times are changing
But I still don't feel the same way that I do
When I'm here thinking of you and familiar faces
 
This ain't the town we know, it just don't feel like home
'Cause all of my friends that I grew up with, most are dead and gone
And I'm holding on to pictures in my mind
Just wanna spend the night with you and familiar faces
 
Familiar faces
Familiar faces
Familiar faces
Familiar faces