If It's Too Loud...

This one came to me as a surprise. While I've been a fan of Abigail Washburn for some time, Wu Fei was new to me. Boy, did I miss the boat. This is as much a beautiful music history lesson as it is a goreous cultural exchange. It's high art for folkies, and it's just so pretty. Every time I listened to this, I felt transported. That's rare in the event of many albums, but as someone who is just as likely to reach for a pop album or some three chord punk, I shouldn't love the sort of interplay between American and Chinese folk standards. Yet I still find something new in each listen. I really love this record, and if you haven't heard it yet, you should, too. Songs of note: "Water is Wide / Wusuli Boat Song (乌苏里船歌)," "The Roving Cowboy / Avarguli (阿瓦尔古丽)."

Artist : Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn Album : Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn Quick Description : A great cross-cultural musical endeavor. Why You Should Listen : Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei are both virtuosos in their own right. Overall Thoughts : There's good music, there's important music, and then you get albums like this that are both good and important. Just a great work of art on its own with a lot of moments that really work great on their own, and the former college music major in me senses a lot of little bites of things to explore on future listens. There's no flaw in this at all, and it's something you should absolutely find time for. Recommendation : A must-listen. Artist : Parsonsfield Album : Happy Hour on the Floor Quick Description : Folk rock done right. Why You Should Listen : Perfect mix of folk, rock, and country elements. Overall Thoughts : This feels fun. It feels fun in the way that early Dawes and Avett Brothers records were, in that ...

A ridiculous amount of music came out this week, so let's not waste any time. Flying Lotus - You're Dead! : This is my first exposure to Flying Lotus and his brand of electronic jazz/hip-hop. It's not an album I feel like I can give a fair shake to, as it's way outside my areas of knowledge and typical listening, but I will say that I was grooving at a number of points during my initial listen. It's worth tossing in your rotation just to see what the fuss is about. O'Death - Out of Hands We Go : O'Death's third full length album continues to send them along the trajectory of this gothic-style alt-country that they do so well. Filled with a number of memorable songs and providing a bit of a unique atmosphere, this is an album that sounds unlike anything I've heard as of late, and really fits in well with a lot of what we tend to highlight here. Definitely worth a listen. Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap : I remember when Vashti Bunyan's second ...