If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Ken Sears Drive-By Truckers are probably my favorite active band, and I try to get out to see them as much as possible. Their not currently touring, but Patterson Hood is behind his excellent album Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams , released just last month. With Lydia Loveless as his opener, there was no way I could miss it. I wasn't originally sure if he would have a band or not on this tour, but earlier this week I saw it was going to be Patterson Hood and the Sensurrounders, so I was very curious who that would actually be. Lydia Loveless opened the show with a great solo electric set. She focused on newer songs like "Sex and Money" from 2023's Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again  and the just released Bandcamp exclusive "Accolades," but did go back to 2014's Somewhere Else for "Verlaine Shot Rimbaud." The crowd was definitely a Patterson Hood/Drive-By Truckers crowd, but there were pockets of Loveless fans that were th...

Photo by Jason Thrasher Just when you think it's impossible to be more excited about a new solo song from Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers, turns out the song also features Waxahatchee. "The Forks of Cypress" is exactly what we want and expect to hear from a Patterson Hood solo song. It's much more quiet and folky than the vast majority of what Drive-By Truckers have released, but this is going to land right into what you love if you're already a fan. Of course, as with anything Hood does musically, "The Forks of Cypress" doesn't quite fit into any specific category. At first listen, it seems like a fairly standard and straightforward alt-country meets folk song, but the more you listen the more you start hearing. We can't wait to hear Patterson Hood's first solo album in twelve years, especially after hearing "The Forks of Cypress." Patterson Hood says of his latest single: “ The Forks of Cypress a real place, a few miles just n...

Photo by Danny Clinch I typically hate reissued albums. For the most part, they're just quick cash grabs with maybe a few songs that didn't make the album, and I've never been enough of an audiophile to hear the read difference. But now there's Drive-By Truckers' reissue of The Dirty South. The Complete Dirty South promises three bonus tracks, four remixed songs, and two with updated vocals. We can hear a song with updated vocals now, "Puttin' People on the Moon." This new version is much closer to the one we've come to love from DBT's live shows. Patterson Hood sounds completely different here, with more of a growl to his vocals than the previous version. There's more age to his voice now, but it fits the song much more. I've always loved "Puttin' People on the Moon," but I think I love this one even more. In a press release, Patterson Hood says of the new version of the song: “I wrote ‘Puttin’ People on the Moon’ in the ...

Artist : Angel Olsen Album : Big Time Quick Thoughts : We've been fans of Angel Olsen for some time here, but this new album... wow. It's got a 70s-era folk feel to it that somehow understates the incredible songwriting across the whole album. This is an absolutely brilliant listen, and is one of the better releases of the year and of the week. If you're not on the bandwagon yet, not sure what you're waiting for. Songs of Note : "All the Good Times," "Big Time," "Ghost On," "Chasing the Sun" Artist : S.G. Goodman Album : Teeth Marks Quick Thoughts : I know I listened to S.G. Goodman's debut when it came out a few years ago, but Ken sent over this follow-up and holy crap is it good. It has hints of indie and alt-rock singer-songwriting, and the overall pastiche makes something truly memorable and ultimately sets it apart from a lot of other music. Another brilliant listen in a busy week, and one I'm looking forward...

Photo by Ken Sears Despite Drive-By Truckers being my favorite active band, I almost skipped this show. I already had a lot going on in April, including a ticket to see Guerilla Toss the night before. I had just seen Drive-By Truckers back in August at Green River Festival. I'm not a huge fan of Royale, as it's more of a dance club that sometimes has bands instead of live music venue. I obviously wanted to go, but I was on the fence. Finally I decided I'd go if they added an artist that I really, really wanted to see to the show, and I gave myself the example of Lydia Loveless. Well... they added Lydia Loveless, so I went. And I'm glad I did, or I would have missed one of the best nights of music of my life. Except for singing a couple of songs after a screening of Who is Lydia Loveless? (Coincidentally five years ago almost to the day of this show), I hadn't seen Lydia Loveless live since a glorious weekend of two shows in a row in 2015. A lot has changed for Lovel...

It's been a while since Drive-By Truckers released a fun single. Their recent singles have been overtly political. No complaints, as I've enjoyed them all, but sometimes you just want DBT to release a rock song. "Welcome 2 Club XIII" is DBT's ode to a club they used to play back in their Muscle Shoals days. My favorite songs of theirs tend to be very personal ones about their past, and "Welcome 2 Club XIII" fits that. It's a rollicking song that even almost edges into dance territory. This one is just meant to be a fun song, and considering how dark things have been lately, we can use it. You can watch the video for "Welcome 2 Club XIII" below. Welcome 2 Club XIII , the album, is due out June 3 on ATO Records, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Drive-By Truckers, check out the band's website .

Sierra Ferrell Photo by Ken Sears This weekend saw the triumphant return of the Green River Festival after the obvious year off. It was a month later than it has been in the past and at a brand new location, but you never would have known based on how smoothly things ran. It was a weekend of fantastic music filled with respectful, joyous music fans. Nothing could have run more smoothly, with the exception of a little too much sound overlap between some of the stages. Here were my musical highlights for the weekend! (Note: I was unable to attend Friday night, and I'm not including any artist I only saw a few songs of). Bella White This one can't be a surprise to anyone who has been reading If It's Too Loud... over the past few months. I've gone fully into rabid fan mode on Bella White, but with good reason. At only twenty years old, her stage presence and banter makes it feel like she's been doing this for decades longer than she's been alive. While last year...

I know, I know. The whole point of these Festival Fridays has been to highlight lesser known artists playing this year's Green River Festival. The band closing out the main stage of the entire weekend isn't exactly lesser known, but they are my favorite active band so how could I resist? The Drive-By Truckers' blend of southern rock with punk guitars is going to blow everyone who sticks around to the end away, and here are the reasons I'm beyond excited to see them this Sunday night. 1. They only have ninety minutes. A typical Drive-By Truckers show lasts from anywhere between two and three hours. Hell, they usually take the first hour to get warmed up before the performance reaches transcendence. What will they be like with a shortened set? 2. I've never seen them at a big, outdoor festival before. I've only ever seen them in clubs and theaters. While clubs are the kind of shows I love the most, sometimes you just want to see certain bands play in front of the ...