If It's Too Loud...

A little more than a week before Lee Ranaldo's 2nd post-Sonic Youth album   comes out, there's a new song to help build excitement before Last Night On Earth  comes out. "Ambulancer" heads down the direction that Sonic Youth had been heading with A Thousand Leaves  and Murray Street.  It's equal parts post punk noise and psychedelic jam band rock. It's noisy while staying absolutely lovely, and might just be the perfect jumping on point for Deadhead friends you may have. Lee Ranaldo has always been Sonic Youth's George Harrison (less songs than the ones you get most of the credit, but with some of the most solid songs in the catalog) and Last Night On Earth  is shaping up to be his All Things Must Pass. It's unfortunate this album will get less attention than Body/Head or Chelsea Light Moving because it lacks the potential for tabloid-like lyric analysis when it's shaping up to be such a solid release. Last Night On Earth is due out on 10/18 on...

This is a great album that is being unjustly criticized. I’ve been spending the past two weeks trying to determine why. It’s new Sebadoh! New Sebadoh! It’s also Lou Barlow’s divorce album. Considering he met his now ex-wife because of a song (“Poledo”) and won her back because of a song (“Willing to Wait”), how could the relationship not end in song? I think this is where the problem lies: The album isn’t filled with standard break up songs. The theme of break up songs either go along with “get out of my life” or “I’m so sad you’re gone.” However, when a truly long term relationship (Barlow’s was 25 years) ends, especially when there are children involved, it’s not as black and white. You have feelings of both relief and regret. And when you add children to the mix, you don’t get the luxury of cutting the person out of your life forever. Somehow I don’t think most music bloggers have the life experience to understand that. Which brings us to the music. The album starts off “I Wi...

Maybe there was a time when Madonna was cool or relevant. I guess I have some respect for her early period, maybe. I mean, Sonic Youth covered her  and wrote a song about her and Sean Penn . She even handpicked The Stooges to perform her songs when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But lately, she's just been embarrassing herself with trying to stay relevant. This cover of Elliott Smith's particularly gorgeous "Between the Bars" might be the nail in her proverbial cool coffin, because, well, yikes. It's awful. It takes all the beauty and pain of the original and just bastardizes it. Sure, it's supposed to be a protest of the prison system, but it still sucks.

Here in the Northeast, festival season is officially over. The Newport Folk Festival is always a consistent highlight, and I hate having to wait an entire year between festivals. I know some of you aren't local to New England, or weren't able to get tickets since this year sold out months in advance. Luckily for you, there is finally an alternative. Next weekend (October 5 and 6) marks the inaugural Way Over Yonder Festival. This will take place at the world famous Santa Monica Pier. Way Over Yonder is definitely starting out smaller than Newport, but the line up is fantastic, at the very least. I mean, seriously? Saturday, October 5                                           Sunday,  October 6 Neko Case           ...

This week brings at least three new releases I've been waiting on for some time. Sarah Jarosz - Build Me Up From Bones : Sarah Jarosz keeps getting better and better. Her second album, Follow Me Down , was one of my favorite releases from 2011, and her follow-up, out today, continues being expansive and interesting. No one is doing what she's doing with bluegrass instruments and such stark, shadowy undertones. Plus, the album has its mandatory cover toward the end, with a version of Joanna Newsom's "The Book of Right-On," that meshes perfectly with everything Jarosz is doing. Early on, this is quickly becoming another candidate for best of the year. Mazzy Star - Seasons of Your Day : The last we heard from Mazzy Star was a European tour about 13 years ago, so the announcement of a new album was pretty exciting. I've enjoyed lead singer Hope Sandoval's music with the Warm Inventions, but there's something specific about the tone and mood of Maz...

Western Massachusetts is overflowing with fantastic new 90s tinged indie rock bands. Bunny's A Swine released their fourth album, Calling Out  (which you can stream here ). They just released a video for the single "Greetings From the Bottom" which is bursting with Northampton, MA area goodness. Filmed partially at Northampton rock club Elevens and mostly in a cornfield, the video also features other Northampton area indie rock luminaries such as Sadie Dupuis of If It's Too Loud... faves Speedy Ortiz . "Greetings From the Bottom" is a cheery blast of 90s influenced indie pop, kind of a noisier Papas Fritas. Check out the video for "Greetings From the Bottom" below, as well as Bunny's A Swine's website for more info. 10.12.13 | A House in Sunderland 11.02.13 | O’Briens (Allston, MA) 11.03.13 | The Montague Bookmill (Montague, MA)

The excitement over the impending new Deltron 3030 album continues to grow with the release of "Melding of the Minds," a new track from the forthcoming album featuring Zack de la Rocha of (formerly of?) Rage Against the Machine. Unless I've missed something, it's the first officially released music featuring Zack since 2008's One Day as a Lion album, so that alone makes this track a big deal. Zack's intensity makes for an interesting contrast to Del the Funky Homosapien's chill style, and neither tries to conform to the other at all. Add that to the Deltron 3030 signature futuristic funk sound, and it's pure alt hip hop gold. The new album from Deltron 3030 will be out on September 30. Head over to their website for more details. Listen to "Melding of the Minds" below, and after that you can find their current tour dates. 10-08 Boston, MA - Paradise 10-09 Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl # 10-10 Washington, DC - Howard Theatre 10-11 Cha...

If you had asked me yesterday if Fishbone and Bad Brains had recorded together, I would have responded with a hearty "Yes." Unbelievably, "Ragga Dub" marks the first time these punk legends have, which makes this track a must hear for virtually everyone. Off the recently released Dub Rockers Vol. 1  collection, which presumably pairs Jamaican reggae acts with American and British ones. I say presumably since Bad Brains is from D.C. and Fishbone is from California. Also, Slightly Stoopid is on it. But who truly cares, when we get a pairing from two of the most important bands of the past 30 years? "Ragga Dub" is much more chill than what I would expect/hope for from this pairing, but it's still a must listen.

Noisetrade has three EPs in one from Matt Pond , initially designed to be three seven-inch releases. Matt Pond's latest album has ended up in semi-constant rotation for me, so some extra free tunes from this indie rock stalwart isn't a bad thing...

A lot of new releases to get through this week, so let's not waste any time: Elvis Costello and The Roots - Wise Up Ghost : Probably the most anticipated release around these parts is the Costello/Roots collaboration Wise Up Ghost . Elvis Costello has never been shy about trying other genres out, and this is surprisingly not what I expected. It's got its R&B hints, to be sure, but it almost feels like a structured jazz record in a sense, and The Roots have a significant amount of influence on the proceedings. It's definitely an interesting listen, but I'll be honest - as a fan of both Costello and The Roots, I can't say whether or not I'm actually enjoying this one. Mark Lanegan - Imitations : My first exposure to Mark Lanegan was when Screaming Trees opened for Oasis way back in 1994 or 1995. Since then, I've heard him on plenty of things, but my exposure to him has mostly been his collaborations with Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell....

If It's Too Loud endorses Deer Tick as a live band, and they have apparently been doing versions of songs from Nirvana's In Utero live lately. In Brooklyn over the weekend, the band decided to do the entire album in its entirety . If the stream of "All Apologies" is any indication, they do it as a very straight version of the album, which is an interesting choice. You can stream it below and download the whole set above from NYC Taper.

Luscious Jackson, the band that taught indie kids to dance, is back with the first song off their first album since 1999, Magic Hour. Every indie dance act out today owes a debt to Luscious Jackson, although they probably don't know it. I was a little worried they'd try to keep up with the kids and this whole twerking phenomenon, but "Show Us What You Got" is a mid-tempo groove that fits right in with their classic 90s work. It's a perfectly fun summer tune, which is a bit of a shame they held it back until now. Magic Hour  was crowdsourced, making 100% of goal in 48 hours. There are still some packages left over at PledgeMusic , so check it out. For more details, head on over to Luscious Jackson's official website , and you'll find "Show Us What You Got" below. Magic Hour  is due out November 5th.

The beauty of the debut album from Kathleen Hanna's new band, The Julie Ruin, is how unexpected it is. The opening track of Run Fast, "Oh Come On," is exactly what I expected and wanted it to be: It combines the punk rock edge of Bikini Kill with the groove of Le Tigre. From there it takes a turn and is much more than I expected. This is a fun album. It's obvious that Kathleen Hanna's having a blast now that she's back to making music after her recent health scare, and that almost makes this a party album. Song titles like "Party City" and "Cookie Rd." give off that vibe. "Goodnight Goodbye" is actually just a really pretty little song. "Girls Like Us" shows what a Beastie Boys/Le Tigre mash up would sound like. Keyboad player/background vocalist Kenny Mellman takes over lead vocals on "South Coast Plaza" which comes across like a more drunken The Hold Steady. "Stop Stop" is my personal favorite...

Out of print for far too long, Drive-By Truckers have just reissued their first live album, Alabama Ass Whuppin'. Originally released in 2000, Alabama Ass Whuppin'  showcases a pre-Jason Isbell DBT at their very best. It was an interesting time to release a live album, considering they only had released two albums at this point ( Gangstabilly  and Pizza Deliverance ), but DBT have never truly followed a normal path. It also features an early version of "Lookout Mountain" long before it appeared on 2004's The Dirty South. A live staple, few songs match it's intensity when it's performed live. There's also DBT's cover of Jim Carroll Band's "People Who Died" on Alabama Ass Whuppin'.  Drive-By Truckers have always been one of the best live acts around, and this album almost captures the live show perfectly.  Make sure to head on over to Drive-By Trucker's website for more information and to purchase Alabama Ass Whuppin'. ...

After a few epic weeks, a slower burn, this time with one high-profile release and some interesting pieces on top of that: Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady : Musically, I love pretty much everything about Janelle Monae. She's got a really unique aesthetic for R&B that plays into my love of sci-fi and over-the-top storytelling, she knows how to cultivate a musical image that compliments the pop sensibilities of having a clear physical one, and, most importantly, the music is great . While I've found I like some rap music over the last few years, more straightforward R&B hasn't always worked for me, but Monae does. The Electric Lady doesn't quite meet the heights of The ArchAndroid , but I'm pretty sure that would have been impossible. The new album is definitely one of the better things to come about this year, its only flaw being a little too produced. Definitely worth your listen. Emiliana Torrini - Tookah : Emiliana Torrini is an artist that I...

Here at If It's Too Loud..., we're always on the lookout for new cover songs to share with you. Today, I'm bringing you two of my most recent favorites. Yuck are one of my favorite English bands I feel like I'm a little too old to be really into, and they're covering New Order, one of my favorite English bands I feel like I'm just young enough to have missed them. "Age of Consent" might be my favorite New Order song, and it's just under appreciated enough not to be played out. Yuck attack the song with their own noise rock style but keep just enough of the original to be reverential. Similarly, Chicago's Disappears bring just enough noise to U2's "New Year's Day" to keep it fresh. "New Year's Day" is the most hack song to cover in the U2 catalog, but it's part of The AV Club's covers series, so they didn't have much of a selection. It's definitely not a parody, but Disappears make the song th...

If you're a certain age, you probably hit the sweet spot of MTV - a little after the network finally solidified its image, but before the scourge of things like Total Request Live and the end of the animation block. For me, I probably started watching around 1993, which means I was too young to know much about the personalities of the VJs like Kennedy, but old enough to know who was who at the very least. Kennedy was probably my favorite, if only because she came across to me as the misfit toy of the group - not a model, not a comedian, sort of the nerdy type who wandered in and ended up getting a gig on TV. Now, today, she's a political spokeperson in libertarian circles, and she put out a book about her time at MTV, so I dove right at it. The meat of the book is effectively the story of Kennedy at MTV. It trades back and forth between anecdotes about working at MTV, getting hired, getting fired, the Beach House, and so on, and contrasts it with some talk of the bands s...

I was a little worried about how much time Mean Creek has been spending opening up for Counting Crows lately. Not that I really have anything against Adam Duritz, but I was worried the early 90s college stoner dude vibe would start rubbing off on Mean Creek. Apparently, my concerns were misguided since their just released song, "Cool Town," is the most furious thing they've released yet. It stops just a shade shy of punk and rests squarely in surf rock on speed. It's an interesting departure for the band, which always gave me an Archers of Loaf meets Bright Eyes kind of vibe. I'll be interested to hear their next album, Local Losers,  due out on January 28, which seems like forever. Check out Mean Creek's website here , and stream and download "Cool Town" below.

With word that the trailer for the reboot of Robocop has landed, and with a new song from Future of the Left being released around the same time, it sounded like a good reason to offer up their song about that Robocop film in pre-production in celebration of their new album coming soon, How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident , due out this October. While it's not allowing me to embed, " Bread, Cheese, Bow and Arrow " feels a lot like the themes of their first couple albums with the production of last year's The Plot Against Common Sense . They're still moving away from the McLusky sound, and I mind it less and less every time.

Music made for kids is the absolute worst. As much as you might try to raise your kid on a diet of Dinosaur Jr and the Ramones, eventually a grandparent ruins everything with some Disney Princess nonsense or the Wiggles. Sure, there are children's albums out there by They Might Be Giants and the Fun Fun Records roster is actually good, but they are the exception, and the rule is Raffi. Right now for free you can download a 3 song sampler on Noisetrade for Sandra Boynton's FROG TROUBLE . If you have a kid, you know Sandra Boynton's surprisingly good books featuring animals in people clothes ( But Not the Hippopotamus is my personal favorite). FROG TROUBLE  is a collection of kids' songs written by Boynton and sung by a mixed bag of artists. You'll probably want to focus on Ben Folds, Ryan Adams, Mark Lanegan, and Fountains of Wayne while ignoring Darius Rucker. The "fun pack" you can download for free includes Kacey Musgraves, Ryan Adams, and Ben Fold...

I know this has been out for quite a while, but I've been debating if I really  wanted to write about Pearl Jam. Usually I try to focus on music that you might have missed and not arena rockers that have been around for 20+ years. If I'm going to bring up that kind of band, it'll usually be to mock them . But "Mind Your Manners" is Pearl Jam's best song in decades. It's one of the rare songs where you actually hear their punk influences. Plus, it has one of the best Mike McCready guitar solos in history. It's their best music since 1994's Vitalogy. Lightning Bolt  comes out on October 15th. Check out Pearl Jam's website for more information, and find some tour dates below the video. 10.11.2013      Pittsburgh          Consol Energy Center    10.12.2013      Buffalo , NY       First Niagara Center 10.15.2013    ...

The Two Man Gentlemen Band , Official Top Ten Bands for Jeff, hasn't been seen much since their most recent album, Two at a Time . It turns out that they've been hard at work at the music and theme song for the new Disney cartoon Wander Over Yonder . You can listen over yonder above. The Two Man Gentlemen Band is a folky throwback duo who love history and drinking, sometimes at the same time. Definitely worth a listen if you're unfamiliar:

OK, this is more like it. Since the release of the horrible single "Bagboy," I had all but given up on the Pixies following the departure of Kim Deal. I may have been a wee bit premature. Yesterday the band released a new EP on their website called EP-1 . Of the four tracks, none of which are "Bagboy," they have a video out for "Indie Cindy." The track isn't great, but it's really, really good. It follows Frank Black's patented spoken word rants by getting quieter (throwing off the loud/quiet/loud dynamic, but perfectly) and strangely beautiful. It's a surprising return to form that thankfully has us skeptics doubting ourselves. You can buy EP-1  in the format of your choosing over at the Pixies' website , and check out the video for "Indie Cindy" below.