If It's Too Loud...

Artist : NADINE Album : oh my Quick Description : Weird artsy folky stuff. Why You Should Listen : It's going to be different than most of this week's releases. Overall Thoughts : An interesting folkish release this week that kind of came out of nowhere for me. Nadine has an interesting voice, and the songs are well-crafted on a whole. My criticism is that there’s nothing here that makes this record stand out the way similar albums from Bedouine or Julien Baker did last year. It needs to stand out more, and this doesn’t quite get there. Don’t skip this if you like the folkier stuff, but you may end up wanting more. Recommendation : Worth your time. Artist : Silvia Kastel Album : Air Lows Quick Description : Weird, Peaks y electronic music. Why You Should Listen : You're looking for a challenge. Overall Thoughts : I don’t have a lot to say about this one, except as a fan of the esoteric electronic stuff this absolutely scratched my itch in this area this wee...

For a fan of the Boston music scene, I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with Dumptruck. Formed in 1983, the band is considered to be one of the original college rock bands (I have such a bizarre fondness for that label.) After a string of bad luck, the band broke up in 1991, and released their final album in 1994. Seth Tiven released a couple more albums under the name Dumptruck in 2000 and 2001, and Rykodisc reissued the band's first three albums, and a compilation was released in 2006. Not much has seemed to happen since then. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised today, when way down at the bottom of an email from Noisetrade I saw a link for a free live Dumptruck album. Everyone knows how much we love free music here at If It's Too Loud..., and this album is no exception. I always meant to check out the reissues when they came out, but for some reason they just slipped my mind. Live at CBGB's '86 & '88  is the perfect way to introduce yourself to th...