If It's Too Loud...

Let's just get this out of the way - this sort of emo revivial, pop-punk thing should not be this good. It just shouldn't. It is, but it really shouldn't be. Teenage Retirement is the band's first full length after an EP that I sadly missed out on last year. There's a little bit of Velocity Girl, a little bit of Superchunk, and just a lot of fun from start to finish on the album. While I know I tend to gravitate toward female lead singers, it doesn't hurt that the rest of the music on this beyond the vocals are just rock solid from start to finish. It's a throwback with some modern flair, and it has the immediacy that a lot of the music from this year missed out on. Don't sleep on this one. Stream it below: Song highlights: "December is the Longest Month," "Hot 97 Summer Jams."

A solid week of new releases overall, even as we're getting toward the end of the year. Chumped - Teenage Retirement : It's hard to say which release this week is my favorite, but the extremely pleasant surprise that is Chumped's first full-length album is certainly a contender. If you liked the Field Mouse album but thought it should have been poppier or heavier, this is absolutely something you should give a listen to, as it's equal parts The Reputation/Sarge/Velocity Girl and some of the more indie pop punk that's been hitting the new releases as of late. An absolutely excellent album that should take some room in your playlists this week. Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons - Take Yo Time : The other contender for album release of the week is this one by Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons. I only knew of this through Ken, and it's a great bluegrassy collaboration, both stark and musically solid. One of my favorite albums of the last few years was the collaboration be...