If It's Too Loud...

First Listen's new home is officially on Thursdays for the foreseeable future. Hope that works out for everyone. Meanwhile, a lighter-than-normal week with a lot of interesting options. The Orwells - Disgraceland : All hail power pop! Easily the best release of the week, The Orwells have a second album that is just a great power pop record from top to bottom. I didn't realize how much I was looking for something like this until midway through the second song on the album, and nearly everything feels like a winner so far. Really a solid listen for anyone reading this. Centro-matic - Take Pride in Your Long Odds : I feel like Centro-matic has been around for ages, and they've always existed on the fringes of my musical existence. The new album is good, it's solid indie rock as you'd expect it to be, I think. A little off-center, still melodic and interesting. I keep waiting for some sort of leap that never seems to come, which might be the only downside, ...