Matt Corby, courtesy Billy Zammit.

Tuesday Tracks brings forth a handful of first-timers and two return visitors this week. We delve into global issues with Matt Corby, lament relationship struggles with tracks by LANNDS and Sylo, and stomp on blood-sucking parasites with Dream Wife. Illiterate Light and Hatchie both visit the the past, meanwhile, with the former making a great ’90s alt-rock song and the latter an ’80s industrial pop throwback.

Illiterate Light, “Feb 1st” — Virginia duo Illiterate Light laments the loss of pre-pandemic freedom. Singer-guitarist Jeff Gorman and drummer Jake Cochran wrote the song on Feb. 1, 2021. The track delves into grunge with tons of reverb and distorted electric guitars. The rhythmic guitar introduction actually recalls The Church’s 1988 hit “Under The Milky Way,” while the melody of the bridge calls to mind “Wrapped Around Your Finger” by The Police. There’s much to appreciate in this new song revisiting solid aspects of great music of the past.

The group is currently on tour supporting Futurebirds and played at The Chapel in San Francisco on Nov. 9, as well as a secret house show in the North Bay, if you know where to look.

LANNDS, “Overseas/BACK 2 U” — LANNDS, the duo Rania Woodard and Brian Squillace, bring us this dreamy downtempo entry. Formed in 2017, the Los Angeles group produced, mixed and mastered the song with Woodard handling guitar and vocals and Squillace adding in his multi-instrumentalist talents. The slightly melancholy lo-fi electronica ditty was “meant to capture the tragedies of unfortunate unrequited love,” Woodward has said. The whispery, mellow track follows “K TOWN.”

Matt Corby, “Problems” — Australian singer-songwriter and producer Matt Corby offers a diatribe of the times. Corby initially rose to fame as a finalist on “Australian Idol” in 2007, and has since made two albums, several EPs and won some awards in Australia and other places in the South Pacific. Written immediately after the artist and his family survived this year’s floods in Queensland and New South Wales, the song is a reflection of how human nature plays a part in the problems we then have to solve.

Matt Corby created a layer of sound with his compelling vocals along with playing bass, drums, keys and co-producing the track with Chris Collins. The soulful funk of this track is evocative of other Australian acts like Jamiroquai and Maroon 5. “You can take your complications and shove it where the sun don’t shine,” illustrate the artist’s frustration in experiencing events where people create more problems than they solve.

Hatchie, “Nosedive” — Multi-genre artist Hatchie dives into ’80s, synth-driven rock in this punchy, high-energy track featuring heavy-distortion on the vocals and a breathy, lyric-free chorus. The song is from the Australian singer’s new album. You can hear Depeche Mode and Duran Duran in the track; especially from something on Seven and the Ragged Tiger. But even more than that, you can see how that sound got adapted by future industrial acts like Nine Inch Nails.

Sylo, “Air” — This beautifully crafted ballad builds on a simple acoustic guitar intro, gently engaging listeners with Sylo Nozra’s warm, soulful vocals. A tapestry of sounds are woven as strings, a soft back beat and layers of harmonies add to the texture of the sound in this compelling blend of lo-fi pop and R&B. “Air” is the third single off of the Korean-Canadian artist’s upcoming EP, blanket, following earlier tracks “Bento Box / American Idea” and “Millions.”

Dream Wife, “Leech” — Gritty guitar-driven new wave and spoken-word delivery collide in the latest single from garage rock band Dream Wife, “Leech.” The quartet delivers metal-esque guitars, grinding bass and crisp drumming. The instrumentation backs Rakel Mjöll’s tightly wound verses and support the group’s resentful and enraged screams over the chorus.

The Icelandic/U.K. band, making its third visit through Tuesday Tracks, described the furtive, angry track as “tense and withheld, erupting to angry cathartic crescendos.” Mjöll, guitarist Alice Go and bassist Bella Podpadec are back with their first new track since 2020 album So When You Gonna… 

Mel’s pick: Sylo’s “Air” came up a close second this week, however my pick is Matt Corby’s “Problems.” Both songs were similar in that they featured skilled, soulful vocal deliveries and a funky R&B vibe. However, Matt Corby offered more depth in lyrical content, with verses that seemed simultaneously simple and complex.

Follow Mel Bowman at Twitter.com/melmichel.