If It's Too Loud...

So much good music this week, guys. Another two-parter for your earholes. Album of the Week : Artist : Leyla McCalla Album : A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey Quick Description : Second album of folk songs from a favorite here. Why You Should Listen : Leyla McCalla has a distinct sound you won't hear anywhere else, and the care she puts into her compositions is unlike anyone else. Overall Thoughts : Man, I didn't know this was coming until Ken sent it over, and it's as good as I would have expected. Her first album, Vari-Colored Songs , was inspired by the words of Langston Hughes, and this album is more inspired by her heritage. It creates a soundscape that I can't place anywhere else, and that I truly and invariably love from start to finish. The minute it was over, I wanted to just fire it up again, and the trajectory she is on just makes me wonder what could come next. As a history nerd, as a music nerd, what McCalla is doing is worthy of notice ...

This week marks return of both Friday Freebie and Forgotten Fridays mixed all into one! Cornelius' 1998 album, Fantasma , is one of the greatest albums recorded in the 90s. It's absolutely ridiculously great. Despite this, it's one of those albums that I seem to forget about for a year or so at a time, and then hate myself for forgetting it. It also never seems to get mentioned in any "Best of the 90s" lists, which is criminal. It's a crazy blend of electronic elements (while still being done with actual instruments). It's basically if Beck and the Beastie Boys decided to be weird. Fantasma is FINALLY being remastered and reissued on June 10. To remind people of how truly great it is, they've issued a three song sampler for free via Noisetrade. It's only three songs, but it's three absurd songs. Even if you've never heard of Cornelius, if you have kids you'll recognize "Count Five or Six" from Yo Gabba Gabba. Seriously, do...

A little late today, but here are the rest of this week's new releases! Artist : B-17 Album : Goodbye Quick Description : Garage-flavored Canadian punk. Why You Should Listen : It's brash and loud and quite good. Overall Thoughts : I liked this a lot, it's got some good melodic instincts to go along with its muddier presentation. The vocals might be the only downer for me, but that's more personal preference than anything else, and those who have a love of this genre will probably find this to be a new bright spot in your collection. Recommendation : Absolutely worth a listen. Artist : Tiger Army Album : V Quick Description : Genre-hopping alt-rock. Why You Should Listen : It's a fun, interesting album for this week. Overall Thoughts : I find that this is an album that defies a lot of description for me. A song like "Firefall" is loud and melodic, while "I Am the Moth" has a more traditional trajectory. The result is an album th...

Photo by Levi Walton Yesterday we were greeted with the news that Dinosaur Jr have a new album coming out in August. This will be the fourth since the original line up of J, Lou, and Murph reunited, which is one more than they had on their 1st run. What's truly amazing is that a new Dinosaur Jr album is something to celebrate and look forward to. Most bands that are 30 years into their career are releasing filler material at best and more often than not pure shit. So far all three of their "reunion" albums have been stellar, and their upcoming album, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not , will most likely be pretty great, too. The first song is out now. "Tiny" is a bit poppier than what you might expect from Dino Jr and is more along the lines of "Feel the Pain," but that's not a bad thing. It's still fuzzy and loud, with two killer J Mascis guitar solos, and Lou is still attacking his bass like a hardcore kid. I can't wait for more. Give a...

Ever since last July when I saw Evan Dando join Willy Mason for my last show at TT the Bear's , I've been waiting for a more formal collaboration. The pair has joined with Marciana Jones to form TSP, which stands for The Sandwich Police (either a reference to the meme or the fact that the band is based on Martha's Vineyard, part of the Cape and Islands). TSP have their debut release due out this Friday, and you can listen to the first song, "Splinters," now. "Splinters" leans much more heavily to the folk side of things. Dando has always been at his best with collaborators, and this group might have injected him with the shot of creativity he's been needing. No one truly takes lead vocals with harmonizing throughout. It's exactly what you'll want from Martha's Vineyard's very own indie folk supergroup. TSP's debut EP will be available digitally on Friday, with a physical 7" release available in June from Fat Possum....

Photo by  Courtney Brooke Hall Hallelujah the Hills released their ridiculously great A Band is Something to Figure Out  just last month. Usually a band will take some time to bask in the glory of the new album, tour it around some, and not even think about getting back into the studio. Hallelujah the Hills decided to immediately go back into the studio, and now have a new EP, Movement Scorekeepers , due out on July 8. While A Band is Something to Figure Out  is filled with anthems destined for superstardom, "Are We Failing?" is decidedly smaller and more indie. It reminds me of really early solo Lou Barlow, more Sentridoh than Sebadoh, but with better production. It's only 1:20 long, starting off with a blast of feedbacky noise, and the rest of the song is extraordinarily minimalist and sounding looped, even though I don't think it is. Movement Scorekeepers is due out July 8 on Jealous Butcher Records. You can listen to "Are We Failing?" below, and...

With a glut of new releases this week, this will be a two-parter. Album of the Week : Artist : Marissa Nadler Album : Strangers Quick Description : Latest album from the dark folkie. Why You Should Listen : Nadler is criminally underrated. Overall Thoughts : I don't know exactly when Strangers truly clicked for me, but it was midway through when I realized that this was a definite step up from her previous album and as good as anything else she's put out. There's still the ethereal tones throughout, and her airy, haunting melodies make it worthwhile, but I'll keep coming back to this because it feels a little more accessible in some ways. Will this be her breakthrough? I hope so, but this is a solid listen nonetheless. Recommendation : A great listen, best of the week. Artist : Tim Heidecker Album : In Glendale Quick Description : A rock album with some comedic undertones from the anti-comedy star. Why You Should Listen : You're a fan of Heidecker...

Photo Credit: Sasha Arutyunova As we're now a week away from the release of Big Thief's debut album, Masterpiece , we're getting whipped into a frenzy of anticipation. Luckily, we have a third song off the album to obsess about.  "Humans" starts off with some pretty straight forward Americana laced rock n roll, the kind that Tom Petty has spent the last 30 years perfecting. Then, it slips into some distorted 90s style indie rock. All the while Adrianne Lenker's voice just sucks you fully in, with a feel of lilting vulnerability masking a power that could come out at any moment. "Humans" is pretty much just perfect. Big Thief's debut album, Masterpiece , will be out May 27 on Saddle Creek. You can listen to it below. To pre-order Masterpiece, head over to Saddle Creek's website . You can get more information on Big Thief here . We're also including some tour dates way down at the bottom.  Wed. June 1 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 ...

Photo via Facebook Pretty much anything Kathleen Hanna does musically will get mentioned here, and when she does a cover song, it will definitely get mentioned. For the upcoming soundtrack for Maggie's Plan , Kathleen Hanna covers Springsteen's iconic "Dancing in the Dark." First of all, who knew soundtrack albums were still a thing? Second, this cover is interesting. Since Hanna makes a cameo in the film, and since she's joined by actor Tommy Buck who also appears in the film, I'm pretty sure this is a 100% Kathleen Hanna cover. Listening to the track, it seems more like it's their characters that are performing the song. Hanna doesn't really sound like she normally does when she sings, and Buck's voice seems fairly affected. Plus, it ends with a group of people singing along and clapping at the end. But, hey, it's still Kathleen Hanna singing Springsteen! You can listen to Kathleen Hanna and Tom Buck's version of "Dancing in th...

Since I co-run a music blog, it's obvious I love music, especially discovering new artists. If you've been reading this blog with any regularity, you'll know that I particularly love the Boston music scene. My other huge obsession is discovering abandoned crap way out in the woods. Atlas Obscura has guided far too many weekends and day trips of mine. Apparently I'm not the only one with these two obsessions. Live From Nowhere is a new video series where they take an artist and have them perform out in the middle of nowhere, usually at an abandoned site. So far we've been promised videos at an abandoned railroad tunnel, an abandoned state hospital, and an abandoned railroad bridge. They've just premiered their debut video which features experimental collective Bent Knee performing in the snow at an abandoned 17th century stone house. I had no idea I wanted this series until today. You can watch Bent Knee's performance below. For more information on Live...

A pretty solid week this week: Co-Albums of the Week : Artist : Kaia Kater Album : Nine Pin Quick Description : Latest album from the Canadian folkie. Why You Should Listen : Kaia Kater has been good so far, but this is a big step forward. Overall Thoughts : I liked her previous album, Sorrow Bound , and I did end up continuing to spend time with it and enjoyed it. Nine Pin , as a comparison, feels like a significant step forward both in terms of songwriting and in sound. The album really grabbed me from the start and it's the rare album that, once I finished it, I just wanted to fire it up again immediately. If you like folk music in any form, this is a must-listen, but I'll go as far as to say this might be one of my favorites in this space since Leyla McCalla's a couple years ago. Just absolutely brilliant. Recommendation : A must listen for everyone. Artist : Adia Victoria Album : Beyond the Bloodhounds Quick Description : Blog favorite finally has an ...

Normally we post about new releases and music you might not have heard. We don't usually cover live performances of music we've already reviewed. But this is a pretty special recording. Quilt did their official release show for Plaza  at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The album is ridiculously good, so you should really check it out. Shows at the MFA are always unique and special, and based on these videos they shared, this one was no exception. Three performances (for "Padova," "Hissing My Plea," and "Your Island") have been posted as a series on YouTube. It's going to make you wish you were there, or at least immediately check to see the next time they're playing near you. The videos also include some really good interview footage with the band, or you can just skip forward right to the performances.  You can watch Quilt's video series below. After that are their current tour dates. For more information on Quilt, including the...

Let's face it. Nobody you know got into the Newport Folk Festival. Putting tickets on sale just before Christmas pretty much guarantees anyone with kids or over the age of 30 got shut out. Plus, while there are some fantastic artists playing this year, some of the announced bands seem kinda questionable. Unfortunately, some other festivals are out this year: Tweed River called it quits, Gathering of the Vibes is taking the year off, Solid Sound only runs on odd years. So what else can you do with your festival going time this summer? One Providence Experience Where: Providence, RI Dates: June 4 Tickets: Free! Why you should go: First of all, it's free, and we all love free! It takes place in the "shadows of the ruins of the Providence National Bank," which is about the most Providence way you can describe a venue. For a free show the line up is ridiculous, with Screaming Females, What Cheer? Brigade, Rough Francis, Last Good Tooth, The Low Anthem, Death Vesse...

This is starting to look like a very heavy covers week for us. Galaxie 500 are a pretty underrated band. Sure, they're beloved by most people who know them, but I always feel like they should be Neutral Milk Hotel level beloved. This is why I'm pretty excited about Blue Thunder, a Tribute to Galaxie 500. It's a free tribute album put out by The Blog That Celebrates Itself . To be honest, I'm not very familiar with the vast majority of bands on the album (some have great names, though: Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, Slow Down Molasses, The John Candy, etc), but Brilliant Beast are one of our favorites here, and they're doing "Another Day," which is one of my favorite Galaxie 500 songs. It's a pretty faithful version, with maybe a little more noise and aggression than the original. Maybe the bass is a bit heavier? Regardless, it's pretty great. You can listen to Brilliant Beast's version of "Another Day" below. To get your very own cop...