Rubber, Metal, Oil, And Stone

Cass McCombs “Big Wheel”

This song has the most aggravating fade out I’ve heard in a long time. I get it on a conceptual level: The song keeps going on and on, like the trucker narrator driving off into some infinite horizon, but damn it, I want to stay with it! The lyrics of this song are exceptional – partly because there’s some very vivid and specific images, but mostly because the rambling internal monologue takes some turns that are genuinely surprising. I particularly love when the character starts dissecting the question “what does it mean to be a man?,” and both challenges the idea, and embraces a particular idea of masculinity that gives him a sense of pride and identity.

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Cults “I Can Hardly Make You Mine”

As it turns out, I like Cults a lot more when there’s a bit more momentum to their music. “I Can Hardly Make You Mine” is basically where Motown pop, ’60s garage, and ’90s female-fronted alt-rock meet in a Venn diagram, and it’s a very appealing mixture. A lot of what makes the song work is Madeline Follin’s voice, which can be a bit thin and tinny on other songs, but has a great chirpy yet desperate tone here. Also, that brief solo has a fantastic melody that spirals nicely off the main riff.

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