If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Genesis Baez One of our favorite things about Big Thief is how much the band continues to evolve their sound. Their latest single, "All Night All Day," has some of the bare bones of their earlier more folky sound, but it's mostly a departure. Instead, this new single has a 70's AM radio mixed with pop and some alt-country sounds. There is also some ethereal and dream-like instrumentation throughout, giving the listener a sense of floating while listening. The song feels like that sensation you get just as you begin to drift off to sleep but aren't quite there yet. If I needed to compare it to other artists, I'd go with Fleetwood Mac meets Wilco. You can listen to "All Night All Day" below. Double Infinity is due out September 5 on 4AD, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Big Thief, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include an October 21 date at MGM Music Hall at Fenway. Wed. Sept. ...

Photo by Dirk Leunis Belgium-based and American-born artist Tucker Zimmerman is set to release his eleventh album Friday, and we have one more song to check out before it comes out. Much like "Buried at Sea," "Lorelei" is a duet with Adrianne Lenker. This one is a fairly traditional folk and singer-songwriter track made much better by the talent involved. Zimmerman's eighty-three years can be heard in his voice, which seems to add to the depth of the song. Plus, we're never going to say no to a song that features Lenker. "Lorelei" is a laid back song that displays a great sense of beauty. This is the type of song that you're going to enjoy if you like any type of folk or Americana. Tucker Zimmerman says of his new single: “I'm turning Lorelei on her head in this song. Enough luring sailors on the river to their destruction. Time to head for the hills with a silver harp and bring some peace into the world.” You can listen to "Lorelei...

Photo by Dirk Leunis For his eleventh studio album (and first on 4AD), American-born and Belgium-based artist Tucker Zimmerman teamed with Big Thief, who produced and performed on the album. The first single, "Burial at Sea," is a duet with Adrianne Lenker, and if you like Big Thief's folkier side, you're going to love this one. It's a laid back modern folk song that rambles a little bit, but not enough to be considered ramblin'. "Burial at Sea" has the feel of people hanging out on a porch or by a fire and just playing music for the love of playing music. It's just more well polished than that. This is my personal introduction to Tucker Zimmerman, but it's more than enough to get me to spend the rest of the day exploring his back catalog. Big Thief says of working with Tucker Zimmerman" “It was an extreme honor to make a record with one of the greatest songwriters of all time. We believe in this music with all of our hearts, and we hope...

Photo by Lindsay Leslie Hailing from Ware, MA, Mary Elizabeth Remington brought in some friends for her upcoming album. The new single, "Dresser Hill," features vocals from Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief, percussion by James Krivchenia (also Big Thief), and guitar by Mat Davidson (Twain). Most of "Dresser Hill" is just Remington and Lenker's vocals. Remington takes the lead with Lenker accompanying her. The instruments are just barely there, coming in softly and occasionally. It's a traditional sounding folk song focusing on the pair harmonizing perfectly. The simplicity of the song is what is so captivating about it. It feels like you've stumbled onto friends hanging out and playing music while on a walk in the woods. You can listen to "Dresser Hill" below. In Embudo is due out February 10, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Mary Elizabeth Remington, check out the artist on Facebook and Instagram .

By my count, there were well over 30 new releases out this week. Add in a couple I missed, and I honestly bit off more than I could chew. So excuse the quick hits this week: Best of the Week : * Anamon - Purple, Green, and Yellow (great indie pop) * The Crystal Method - The Trip Home (for one of the second-level techno acts during the electronica explosion in the late 1990s, the fact is that they have put out a number of great albums in the last few years) * Kristin Hersh - Possible Dust Clouds (An all-time favorite here, this is a solid listen from someone with a catalog full of them.) * She Makes War - Brace for Impact (An act I’ve loved for a few years, this record has the urgency and interesting stuff I was hoping for) * Haerts - New Compassion (I loved their first album, and this long-awaited follow-up is exactly what I hoped for. Some evolution, lots of familiarity) * Cursive - Vitriola (Cursive was gone a while, but this might be their best effort since The Ugly...

Photo by Shervin Lainez We've both been huge fans of both of Big Thief's albums, so we're pretty excited that Adrianne Lenker is proving to be absurdly prolific and is releasing a solo album this year. "cradle" is the first single off of her solo album, and it's what I had expected in the best possible way. Big Thief's music isn't exactly hard rock, but it's definitely rock with some fantastic guitar flurries. "cradle" is decidedly more quiet and introspective. Lenker's vocals are barely a whisper above a barely plucked guitar. Harmonizing background vocalization fills out the song to give it not quite a lush sound, but definitely a fuller sound.  You can listen to "cradle" below. abysskiss , the new solo album from Adrianne Lenker, will be out October 5 on Saddle Creek. You can pre-order your copy here . For more on Adrianne Lenker, check out her website . abysskiss by Adrianne Lenker