“The Mother We Share” is the debut single by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches from their debut studio album, The Bones of What You Believe. The song was re-released in the United Kingdom in September 2013 by Virgin Records. The re-release peaked within the top 40 in the UK, reaching number 38 in September 2013. Michael Cragg of The Guardian gave the song a positive review, while noting the mood differences between the song and a previous Chvrches track, “Lies”. He wrote that the song “tempers the monster synth riffs in favour of twinkling keyboards, padded drum claps and a central lyric that lends the whole thing a slightly melancholic edge. Pitchfork ranked it number 191 on their list of the top 200 tracks of the 2010s so far in 2014.
“Inside Out” is the second single off of Spoon’s 2014 album, They Want My Soul, consists of an extended metaphor about gravity, a girl, and why she matters more to him than his fans or “holy rollers” who worship him. Britt Daniels plays the piano on the demo, crooning the lyrics with a little bit of grit in his voice. The whole thing lasts less than two minutes, as opposed to the album track, which was one of the longest on the record. He also explained what the song meant to him: “The lyrics are a combination of that law of physics that says ‘Time gets distorted when there’s intense gravity’ and how that related to this relationship I was in, and what that meant in a breakup. That relationship gravity that pulls people together.”
“Pain Killer” is a single performed by Danish art punk band, Iceage. The single was the second single released on their fourth studio album, Beyondless. The track has been praised for its jazz influence, featured horns and backing percussion, and its backing guest vocals from American singer, Sky Ferreira. The single was released on the band’s YouTube in March 2018. The track received widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics. John Norris of Billboard described the track as a “driving standout” on the album, and the music as “Tusk-worthy fanfare of horns”. Norris overall described the song as a bold move from the band.
“Bags” is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Clairo. Fader Label released it as the first single from her debut studio album Immunity in May 2019. The song features drums from Danielle Haim, and was produced by Rostam Batmanglij and Clairo, who also wrote the song. It gained over 20 million streams in 2019, and was nominated for “Song of the Year” at the 2019 Boston Music Awards. “Bags” was ranked at No. 5 on the list of Hottest Records of the Year by BBC Radio 1. Harry Todd from Paste praised “Bags” for its layers, stating that “A set of simple guitar chords, understated drum fills, plunking keys” are familiar elements of Clairo’s music. Shaad d’Souza from The FADER described the song as a “gently strummed track” that “builds to a peak augmented by warped guitars and piano.”
Down by the Water is a song on the American band The Decemberists’ sixth album, The King is Dead. It was released as a single in 2010. “Down By the Water” includes Peter Buck and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch, who contribute 12-string guitar and vocal harmonies, respectively. It also features accordion riffs and heavy harmonica reminiscent of Neil Young; particularly the song “Heart of Gold”. “Down By the Water” has been compared to the music of Bruce Springsteen. It was featured for free download in November 2010, on their official website. Meloy has said that The King Is Dead is more straightforward and heavily influenced by R.E.M., and “Down By the Water” is a prime example. Meloy himself has said that the song “started out as more of a paean to R.E.M. than I think any of us really wanted it to be”. The song reached number 33 on the U.S. Rock songs chart. It was ranked the 97th best song of the year by Pazz and Jop.
