If It's Too Loud...

A pretty significant new release week this week, so let's get right to it: Eleni Mandell - Let's Fly a Kite : Eleni Mandell is a throwback in a lot of respects. Much of her music feels like old orchestrated folk music, and it's a nice change that not a ton of people are doing her way. I was a fan of I Can See The Future , and I might argue that Let's Fly a Kite is even better. It trades standout tracks for a consistent, high-quality listen throughout, and that works well for someone who makes music that has a specific sound and atmosphere. Definitely a highlight of this week for me, worth a listen for sure. The Hidden Cameras - AGE : I confess to not really understanding The Hidden Cameras. Their breakout (as it were), Mississauga Goddam , had a few solid songs on it for me, but it ultimately didn't grab me on a whole. The new album, an 8 song full length, is along those lines of having a number of decent songs but lacking any sort of real staying power f...

The reunion we never thought would happen is chronicled in The Stone Roses: Made of Stone.  Director Shane Meadows ( This is England ) follows the band throughout the European leg of their tour, with backstage access, rehearsal footage, and more. One thing this film is not is a career spanning look at the history of the Stone Roses. It starts out that way, and seems like it is going to keep bouncing from the past to the present and back. That ends very quickly after a lengthy interview with the band three weeks before their debut album was released. Aside from a brief five minute opening sequence at the very beginning of the film, that's really all the history you get. Meadows then focuses on the rehearsals and reunion shows. Another interesting way this film diverges from the traditional rock doc is by avoiding the "talking head" interview footage that virtually every other one uses. Pretty much the only interview footage is with fans and is shot on location outside ...

With the Grammys over and done with, Google Play's music store has discounted a ton of stuff. Some free songs and cheap albums are available here , and there are highlights: * Lorde - Pure Heroine ($1.99) * Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer, Different Park ($1.99) * O Brother, Where Art Thou ($1.99) * Kanye West - The College Dropout ($1.99) * Jay-Z - Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life ($1.99) * Bon Iver - Bon Iver ($1.99)

The True Jacqueline are the latest band coming out of the unbelievably fertile Northampton, MA music scene. Formed back in 2007 by Noah Cerveny (and taking their name from a documentary about Jackie O.), the band was joined by bassist and co-lead singer Kate Niemczyk in 2008 and drummer Brian DiPippo in 2010. Their latest release, Like Way Out EP , combines the quirky side of the Breeders with the pop sensibilities and melody of Belly, with some of the crunch of Dinosaur Jr. They also list Eric's Trip as an influence, and when was the last time you saw that? The lead song, "Knock Knees," starts off sweet before coming in with an explosion of sound and Malkmus style vocals. My personal favorite, "Cloud Metal," is a bouncing romp that is about as danceable as indie noise pop gets. Just for good measure, "Cookie Dog" displays their My Bloody Valentine side. For some more information, head over to The True Jacqueline's website . If you're in ...

I consider myself a Bob Dylan fan, but I'm by no means one of those obsessive, all collecting fans of Dylan. Because of this, I know literally nothing about what he was putting out in the 80s, but I've heard it isn't exactly up to his normal level. So, of course a bunch of indie bands have decided to cover nothing but songs he released in the 80s for a new tribute album, Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One. The album will feature the likes of Deer Tick, Reggie Watts, Lucius, Blitzen Trapper, and more. Most importantly, it features Built to Spill covering "Jokerman" off Infidels. Like any Built to Spill cover, it stays completely true to the original while somehow making it completely their own. You can download a free copy of "Jokerman" over at Rolling Stone's website . For more information on Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One, click here .

The good thing about doing this weekly new release update is that it has forced me to expand my musical horizons somewhat. My first two highlights for this week are bands I would likely have never taken a real look at otherwise, and the rest of this week's releases aren't bad, either. Let's get right to it. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues : It's impossible to really talk about the newest release from Against Me! without talking about the circumstances surrounding lead singer Laura Jane Grace, who transitioned/is transitioning from male to female after coming out as transgender in 2012. The album's title, as well as many of the song titles if not most of the songs themselves, deal with this new reality for Grace, and as someone who a) was not an Against Me! listener previously and b) probably wouldn't have given this album a second look were it not for the circumstances surrounding the album (chances are if you read any music press, you're awa...

Out of all the projects rising from the ashes of Sonic Youth, the one I was most intrigued by was Thurston Moore joining the black metal supergroup, Twilight. It feels like the news Thurston would finally be indulging his metal side came out forever ago, to the point where I just assumed I had imagined it. This week came the news that Twilight finally had a song you could listen to ("Lungs"), an album coming out ( III: Beneath Trident's Tomb ), and was promptly breaking up. The whole thing almost feels like some kind of put on, except that holy shit is this song good. As you can tell by what we normally write about, neither Jeff or I are big metal guys. We're much more likely to go to a revamped Lilith Fair than Ozzfest. But Twilight? This sounds like Helmet and Quicksand had formed in Norway. And murdered people. If that sounds like your thing,  III: Beneath Trident's Tomb comes out on 3/18. You can listen to "Lungs" below.

David Wax Museum might be my favorite current band to see live. Before this show, I had seen them play live five times, everywhere from the Newport Folk Festival, a dimly lit basement show, a church, and a sparsely attended outdoor show in New Hampshire. Like no other band I've ever seen, they truly fit their setting, making every show completely unique. The Sinclair (my favorite venue right now) might be the most traditional place I've seen them play so far. It was also the band's return to the stage after multi-instrumentalist Suz Slezak gave birth six weeks prior. Let that sink in for a second... one of the two main members of the band gave birth to a child six weeks before, and they had a mini tour. That speaks volumes about what playing live means to these guys. I don't think any band matches David Wax Museum's sheer love of playing music. It wouldn't matter to them if only ten people showed up. They'd still go all out and have a blast just for the...

I don't know if I can truly call Leyla McCalla a current obsession. I first discovered her playing the FreshGrass Festival in 2012. She was still with the Carolina Chocolate Drops then and played her own set earlier in the day. I think it's pretty safe to say no one had ever heard of her before that day, but everyone who was there for her set shares my obsession. She even had a true encore, which is incredibly rare for a slot early in the day at a festival. As soon as I saw her, I wanted to own everything she had out, which, unfortunately, was nothing. Her debut album, Vari-Colored Songs, A Tribute to Langston Hughes , comes out February 4. It's by far my most anticipated release of 2014. How does a debut album from a little known artist best known for being a short time member of Carolina Chocolate Drops become my most anticipated release in a year that promises albums from Drive-By Truckers, Beck, and Wu-Tang Clan? By being one of the most original voices folk has see...

Even though there hasn't been a single artist announced, early bird tickets go on sale today at 10:00 am for the 2014 Newport Folk Festival. They did this last year, and tickets sold out before an artist was even announced. I'm guessing these will be gone by 10:30 am, tops, so if you know you want to go (and you do, trust me) you better buy these now. Early bird tickets are 10% cheaper than regular tickets, which are already a bargain for what you get. I've been personally going for 7 years now, and this is always the highlight of my summer. The Newport Folk Festival runs July 25-27 in Newport, RI. You can buy tickets starting at 10 am Wednesday the 15th here . For more info head on over to www.newportfolk.org . To get a taste of the Fest, check out a video featuring Hurray for the Riff Raff with Spirit Family Reunion from last year's fest below.

Another somewhat busy week. Let's dive right in: The Crystal Method - The Crystal Method : To think they've been doing this for 20 years now... I loved Vegas in high school, but I can't say I've been a huge fan of theirs since. With the whole dubstep thing, the sort of music they've made feels a little more out of place, but their new self-titled album is probably my favorite release this week. It sounds like a Crystal Method album while still remaining relevant to the electronic music that's currently what people are listening to. And it has a LeAnn Rimes song on it. Go figure. Worth a listen, in any regard. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - Give the People What They Want : If there's a group that is more consistently solid from album to album than Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, I don't know who they are. Give the People What They Want is exactly what they do, with a quick hit of an album that's got the same sort of retro revivalist fee...

We love covers here at If It's Too Loud..., and we also love Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. This works out fantastic since she has just released a free song on her Bandcamp, which is a cover of Bob Dylan's "All I Really Want To Do." This version of the song isn't Bob Dylan's version, but Cher's cover of the song which is either hipper or less hip, I'm not really sure. Aly Sparrow's version is unflinchingly faithful to Cher's version and might be this year's folk/disco anthem. Plus, it's free, which we also love here at If It's Too Loud... Head on over to Lady Lamb the Beekeeper's Bandcamp page to download the song for free. While you're there, you can also check out some of her earlier, self-produced work. All I Really Want To Do by Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

And we're back! We got a few good new releases to start out the new year, so let's dive right in. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags : I was never really a fan of Pavement, which I understand is indie rock heresy, but there it is. His first solo album, however, really did it for me. Loved a lot of the songs on there, and it remains a favorite to this day. I haven't loved much more of his solo output, so this new album wasn't something I was expecting to enjoy. Thankfully, if you want to call it a "return to form," or just a solid release, you could do any of that. Wig Out at Jagbags is a solid effort from start to finish, offering a lot to like in songs like "Lariat" and "Cinnamon and Lesbians" while not sticking around so long that you want to give up. Definitely worth a listen, especially if you've been away from the Malkmus stuff for a while. John Newman - Tribute : John Newman hit the scene recently with ...

Fresh off Macauley Culkin's residual check for all the Christmas viewings of Home Alone  comes the first video for The Pizza Underground, his pizza themed Velvet Underground tribute band. Basically, they take classic Velvet Underground and Lou Reed songs and change the lyrics much like "Weird Al" Yanlkovic so they are about pizza instead of heroin. It's obviously not meant to be taken seriously, but it just makes me wonder how this whole thing got started. They've already played an actual live show, which means they have to be somewhat serious even if it's a novelty act. Plus, where on earth do you get that pizza wallpaper?

Not only is this the best album of 2013, it might be the best album released in the past 15-20 years. The fact that Jeff only listed Ripely Pine at #9 has made me stop speaking to him. It's by far the most unique and wonderfully unexpected album of this century. I had high expectations based on Aly Sparrow's previous, self-released work (which you can check out on her Bandcamp page ). While some songs on Ripely Pine  were previously released, this album completely reimagines and rearranges them into fully realized, brilliant offerings. It's like if someone handed you acoustic demos, and then a year later they became Pet Sounds. Yes, that may seem like absurdly high praise, but it's truly warranted. I've been making a joke that this album inspired Neutral Milk Hotel to reform. My favorite part is how every song just shocks you with complete tempo and stylistic changes, and usually multiple times. Just as you get used to a song and start to categorize it, it will ju...

This site is on the verge of becoming an unofficial Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside fanpage, with my live review, Jeff's review of their latest EP, and both Jeff and I picking Untamed Beast  as our pick for #2 album of 2013. Unfortunately, this appears to be their swan song as they announced their break up on their Facebook page.  Sallie Ford has already announced and played her first show with her new all-female band under the name Sallie Ford. As excited as I am to hear her new band, I'm also a bit hesitant because I love this album so much. I never got into the white girl soul thing of Adele and Amy Winehouse. Sallie Ford adds a new indie rock twist to it. Pair that with her lyrics just dripping with unabashed sex and you get a concoction that has a little more originality. There is also a strong rockabilly touch to the songs, and I can't tell if that's Sallie Ford or guitarist Jeff Munger. "Paris" has one of my favorite lyrics in years, comparing t...

What I find most interesting about each member of Sonic Youth's post Sonic Youth output is how diverse, yet still within the Sonic Youth universe it all is. Thurston's Chelsea Light Moving is the heavier, more punk side. Kim Gordon's Body/Head is more experiemental element, much more like their SYR series. Lee Ranaldo's first album with The Dust (which features SY's Steve Shelley on drums) takes and expands on the more psychedelic output SY had been playing with. There is still some of the noise and aggression, but he adds a melody little seen before. Given my own personal taste, I'm surprised I like this more than the other two Sonic Youth releases this year. Maybe since Lee always had kind of a third songwriter role in Sonic Youth that he feels less obligated by or bound to a previous style.  Head on over to Lee Ranaldo's website to get some more information, including current tour dates. You can also listen to the full album Lecce, Leaving  below. ...