Episode 88

Welcome to Songs That Don’t Suck, with your host, Mark Bradbourne.

What’s up friends? Welcome to Songs That Don’t Suck. My name is Mark. Every week, you know I am here, listening to hundreds and hundreds of newly released songs. Most of them are not worth the digital bits that make them up. But I do find some good jams. Can’t lie. I do. At least they’re good to me, right? It’s my personal opinion. You know, sell that for what it’s worth. Hey, if this is your first time listening, I wanna start out with a welcome. Appreciate you taking the time. If you’re a long time listener, I love you. Thank you so much for your ongoing support. Before we get into the new music this week, I have a question for you.

Have you ever had a skin orgasm?

Now you’d probably describe it as goose bumps or chills or your hair standing on end, you know, the back of your neck kind of thing. But in some of the research that I was doing, somebody, a scientist, referred to it as a skin organism. And honestly, I like that description a little more. Because sometimes, that’s how it feels, especially when it comes from when you happen to be listening to music. For me, I tend to get it a lot when I’m actually seeing live music or Broadway shows in particular. And I’m not sure if it’s the vocal or the setting or just kind of the overall immersive experience of it. But like I know most recently, I experienced it when I saw come from away. And I’ve seen that show a couple of times and each time it gets me. And it fascinates me, right? Like just that whole experience. So you know me, I went down a rabbit hole and I started researching.

The phenomenon is actually known as a Frisson, which is a French term meaning aesthetic chills. And it feels like waves of pleasure running all over your skin. Musical passages that include unexpected harmonies or sudden changes in volume or moving entrances of soloists, perhaps, can trigger this frison because it violates the listener’s expectations in a very positive way, which is kind of cool. Now the sad part is based on these research papers that I was reading, it’s estimated anywhere between 55 and 87% of people experience this when it comes to music. So there are a group of people who have no idea what I’m talking about. I hope you are not one of them. There was one study that was done at UC Berkeley that had a really small sample size. Like it was only 20 people, but there was something really interesting that they found through their research and it was actually a physical difference in the brain. So of that group of 20, only 10 people experienced Frisson, but the participants who experienced it, they actually had a higher volume of fibers connecting their auditory cortex to the areas that process emotion. All of them went through the MRI, but in these 10, it was visibly clear that these fibers were much more dense. So their brains were unique across this study.

There was another report that I saw, and this was back a while back in 2007, they were looking at kind of like personality characteristics around those who experience it. And they were saying that those who are, you know, ones that experience frison will be more open to new experiences than others. They saw higher levels of creativity and intellectual curiosity. In other words, the appreciation of beauty that is central to what makes us human, those who experience frison are supercharged versions of that experience, which I thought is pretty cool. I found yet another article, and they actually went through and curated a 700 plus song playlist. I think it’s like six days worth of music that are supposedly frison inducing songs. I am gonna put a link in the show notes so that you can go and listen to some of these, and it’s a wide variety of genres, anything from classical music to Metallica. If you decide to give it a listen, let me know if you experience it and what song triggered it, ’cause I’m like really curious now.

So I mentioned some of the things that cause it, dynamic changes, so any kind of crescendo, like a gradual increase in volume, or any sudden dynamic shifts, harmonic surprises. So sometimes I’ll experience it with really good harmonies, but those unexpected chord changes or modulation in key, especially, like if someone changes a key and all of a sudden they’re singing a high note, that can get me. Melodic or vocal flourishes. So think about just peaks in a vocal run or different ornamentation or vibrato that a singer can bring to a song. The lyrical content can also do this. So any emotionally charged lyrics can touch you in different ways. And then there’s obviously the combination of lyrics and music. The one article pointed out, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” has invoked this response in some folks. Tempo changes, syncopation, certain instruments even can bring it on, things like violin and cello. And then obviously kind of the continued layered of sound can be pretty impactful as well. So go listen to that playlist and please, please, please, go to the website, songsthatdontsuck.net.

If you experience it, let me know, and let me know what song triggered it for you. I’m really, really curious. Because for me, Frisson is an amazing experience. And it’s in those moments that I am reminded what it’s like to be alive, to be emotionally impacted by art. And that’s cool. So let’s raise a glass to music, reminding us what it’s like to be alive. And let’s get into the new music for this week, shall we?

The first song this week is “Average Cell” from Love Nor Money. So what happens when Oasis and like a blues rock band, like early black keys have a love child that then goes on to form a band and channels some of the classic rock sounds from the past? I think you get Love Nor Money. There are elements that oddly, vocally remind me of Paul Di’anno from Iron Maiden, like the original vocalist on the first two albums. It’s punky, it’s very attitude-filled. This track is just really, really steeped with a great groove. I love the guitar riff and the rhythm section is obviously really solid as they kind of lay the foundation for the whole thing. This is one of three songs that Love Nor Money have released to date. And when I tell you that this band has some serious potential to kind of make some serious waves musically, believe it, I mean, there’s so much music out there and there’s so few rock bands. When you hear something like this, you want to automatically root for it to become huge, especially if you are a fan of rock music. But hey, don’t take my word for it. Turn it up a little bit and give a listen to a little taste of “Average Cell” from Love Nor Money.

The second song this week is “Later On” from Fantastic Cat. Steeped deeply with Americana. They are folk rock for pussies. That’s their words. It’s on their social media bio. And honestly, it made me chuckle when I saw it. If you were a long time listener to the podcast, you know that I am kind of a sucker for deep, rich vocal harmonies. And Fantastic Cat, bring it to the table in buckets. It reminds me a lot honestly of the Wild Feathers. You know that the band I’ve talked about, they are kind of known as like the modern eagles or whatever. This band can totally take that moniker too. Very rich, right? Definitely a band that I am going to dive a lot deeper into. And while this is Americana and folk rock in all of the best ways, there’s some kind of chunky, screaming lead guitar parts here that are kind of sprinkled among the vocals and the mandolin. Great track, truly. I love to find this stuff. It’s so good when I do. So here’s a tiny little taste of “Later On” from Fantastic Cat.

All right, third song this week is “We Owe You Nothing” by Rolla. Anyone order some grunge-laden attitude? Rolla delivers. This chorus is chunky, it is groovy, and it is oh so tasty. It’s so good. The guitar tone feels a little, like very Seattle sound, like it’s just got that grungy, gritty feel to it, and it’s played with some teeth, right? It just grabs you and it does not let go until the end. And there’s some layers here too. Like if you’re listening really deeply, you will pick up the acoustic guitar track that’s kind of buried in the mix. It’s very evident in the verses because it really is used as a nice textural change between the verses and the kick you in the teeth chorus. As I’m listening to this, I feel like this is one of those moments that people in bands will recognize when I’m talking about this. Sometimes you write a song and you know it’s so fucking good that you can’t wait for other people to hear it, and you just know it. You hit it right in rehearsal or on stage, and you’re like, “Oh my God, this is the best song we’ve ever written.” That’s how this feels. And I’m not gonna say this is the best song they’ve ever written. They’ve only written three, and God, I don’t want to peak that early, but it’s a damn good song. So here, it is time for you to hear “We Owe You Nothing” from Rolla.

The fourth song this week is “Unbreakable” from The Chase. Holy shit. This track is fun. There are elements here that remind me a little bit of cake, and it’s mainly due to the horn work that’s happening, but it’s kind of got that bop of, like, ska, right? Like, early no doubt, like, mighty, mighty boss tones stuff. It is a fun and addictive sound. The lead vocal has moments where it is just huge. Like, I love this guy’s voice. It’s great. And he’s got amazing delivery. There’s moments where he, like, rolls his Rs. and it just stylistically works so well. And as I’m listening to this track, and I peaked at a couple of other ones as well, this is a band I feel like you really have to see live. I get hyped, like, listening to this song. As I was prepping for the show, like, driving around, listening to it, I’m like, “Damn, this is a good song.” And then I look down at my speedometer, I’m like, “Why am I doing 85?” But, ugh. And then to cap it all off, like, you get jazz flute solos. I’m like, “What are these guys doing?” They are not shy. They’re gonna mix things up, they’re gonna take some musical risks, and honestly, it’s paying off in big ways. Enjoy a little bit of Unbreakable from The Chase. [

The fifth song this week is Red Flag Verified by the Publics. This one is a tear through a sonic landscape. Heavy, heavy dose of rock, some arctic monkeys’ flavored swagger and vocal delivery, but honestly, it’s delivered with what I can only describe as more balls. Like, it’s– I don’t know if I have a better way to describe it, it’s just– ugh, it gives you, like, that feeling, right? The chorus is super hooky, and there’s a moment where it kind of casts itself as a crowd sing-along in a live situation, which would be amazing. Musically, I love what the drummer is doing on this, just kind of pushing the energy and the tempo, keeping it, like, really, like, almost pushing. I’ve talked about, like, the push and pull that a drummer can have when it’s not, like, a click track thing. Definitely playing in front of the beat and just, like, driving it, and while he’s doing that, the bassist is doing some fuzzy gymnastics, man. Some of those bass lines are sweet. And as a production note, I love it when a band will add odd samples to a track, especially when it’s not just, like, sprinkled in for no reason. I like when it’s juxtaposed against the lyrics, so, like, there’s a moment in the song where the national warning system comes on, like, you know, when we have emergencies or whatnot, and you get, like, the TV makes the sound and the robot voice comes on. Having that dropped into a song about someone who has red flag verified, yes, please. Especially at the end, as that fades out and that’s the sound that you’re left with, that is such a beautiful production note. Love it. So, hey, give it a listen. This is The Publics with red flag verified.

And that is it for this week. As always, feel free to follow on social media all the platforms we are there. I probably use Instagram the most. I feel like that’s the way that I’m leaning, as I feel most of the bands, actually pretty much all of the bands that I talk about episode to episode are on Instagram, so I feel like that’s where I’m focusing most. Anyway, follow on social media. If you go to the website, songsthatdontsuck.net, you can find links to all the songs from all of the episodes to the seven or eight major streaming platforms. Trying to make it as easy for you to go and find this music. You can also send me feedback. You can send me recommendations for artists. Or you can just send me a note and say hi. If you don’t want to use the form on the website, you can email me mark@songsthatdontsuck.net. I will respond to all emails. With that, thank you once again for listening. And as always, please go out and support these artists. Thanks for listening, and until next week, keep searching for and listening to songs that don’t suck.