If It's Too Loud...

Artist : PACKS Album : Take the Cake Quick Thoughts : This is so great, guys. It's fuzzy, slacked-out alt-rock with a ton going for it. PACKS is an indie act that had some lo-fi stuff out over last summer, and this proper first album is just a delight. I love everything about this, and I'm really looking forward to spending more time with the album. Songs of Note : "Silvertongue," "Hangman," "New TV" Artist : Bachelor Album : Doomin' Sun Quick Thoughts : A collaborative effort with Palehound and Jay Som, this is the sort of indie stuff you love to hear. There are a lot of great highlights throughout the record, but what I was most impressed with is how well the two acts complement each other. Some parts are better than others, but on a whole? There's a lot to love here, and a lot to look forward to on future listens. Songs of Note : "Stay in the Car," "Sick of Spiraling" Artist : Dispatch Album : Break Our...

Somehow we missed the debut single of Bachelor, the collaborative project of Melina Duterte of Jay Som and Ellen Kempner of Palehound, but luckily we're on top of the second single. I don't know why, but I didn't expect "Stay in the Car" to rock quite as hard as it does. Sure, there's quite a bit of the modern indie rock blended with pop sound we'd expect from this duo, but "Stay in the Car" is quite obviously very Pixies inspired. From the loud/quiet/loud song structure perfected by the Pixies to the fact that the guitar just sounds like some killer Joey Santiago riff. On this song, Bachelor sounds like the Pixies leaned into the mainstream a bit more but kept their edge and sound fully intact.  Ellen Kempner explains the story behind the song: “I wrote the lyrics to ‘Stay In the Car’ back in December of 2019 when I was in Florida for my partner’s top surgery. I had run out one afternoon, post op, while he was healing to grab lunch for us and as...