If It's Too Loud...

I first discovered Funeral Advantage at the 2015 Harvard Square Mayfair .  Back then, I described them as sounding like just about every song was a Smiths cover, and since I've compared their recorded output to The Cure. They have a new song out, which is going to lead to some new comparisons. "Black House" might be their peppiest song to date, which may be strange since it's from a band called Funeral Advantage and the song is called "Black House." There is a strong early 80's New Wave sound to the song reminiscent of early Depeche Mode and really early Ministry. This is definitely a dance song that has some throwback elements but still sounds fresh and current. The vocal effects, which are very Autotune-esque at some points, help add to that. It's an interesting slight change of sound, which makes the upcoming album that much more intriguing.  You can listen to "Black House" below. Nectarine , the new album from Funeral Advant...

SO MANY NEW RELEASES. As a quick note, I am keeping up with the Future albums. I delayed it last week because he was putting out an album this week, and now I'm delaying this week because he apparently has ANOTHER album coming out Friday of this week. So yeah, I'm aware of it. Album of the Week Artist : Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge Album : Mount Royal Quick Description : Gorgeous rootsy folk music. Why You Should Listen : If you like the sort of stuff we get excited about here, you need to listen to this. Overall Thoughts : The one problem with the amount of folk-style music we cover here is that there does tend to be a lot of sameness to the music. This isn't a bad thing at all, but when an album jumps out at you the way Mount Royal does, it forces you to pay attention. For me, the guitar playing is sneaky gorgeous, and the vocals are just as solid (especially as a music listener who tends to struggle with male folk voices). Lead track "Bone Collect...

With the new EP from Funeral Advantage coming out later this month, we can now hear the title track, "Please Help Me." "Please Help Me" might be my favorite Funeral Advantage song yet. It's the absolute pinnacle of their dream pop meets 80s synth pop sound that they've perfected, and is just beautiful. It might not sound like The Cure, but it has that Cure feel to it. It's a sad little song that just makes you happy.  You can listen to "Please Help Me" below (along with their previously heard song "CEOT7K"). You can pre-order Please Help Me here . It will be available on February 24 via The Native Sound. For more on Funeral Advantage, check out their website .

We were pretty big fans of Funeral Advantage's 2015 release Body Is Dead , and judging by the first single of their upcoming album, Please Help Me , this is an early candidate for album of the year. "CEOT7K" isn't a huge departure from The Smiths meets The Stratford 4 dream pop sound of Body Is Dead. In fact, it's not a departure at all, but instead a giant leap forward. "CEOT7K" is gorgeously lush. I have always had a connection to music that sounds light and pretty but is actually sad and dark. Please Help Me comes from a much darker place than Body Is Dead . Allow me to quote Funeral Advantage's Bandcamp page for the album: If 'Body Is Dead' came from a place of hope, 'Please Help Me' comes from a place of desolation and confusion. Written during the disintegration of a long term relationship, the record works through the existential feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness that followed.  Please Help Me will be availabl...

Friday Freebie is back this week with our very first triple header. We'll start off with the smallest of the three, but one we're really excited about. Absolute blog favorite Sallie Ford is offering up two songs from her upcoming album, Soul Sick , along with a previously unreleased B-side, "You're On My Mind." We've previously covered "Get Out, " so we'll stick with the two newer songs. "Failure" is doo-woppy as hell, and "You're On My Mind" is an absolute treasure. It sounds like an old blues song being played on the slowest, creepiest Victrola. You can get your copy of Sallie Ford's Soul Sick Sampler + Unreleased B-Side  over on Noisetrade . For those of you not familiar with Vic Chesnutt, you owe it to yourself to check him out. He recorded a total of 17 albums in his far too short and hard life. I guess you'd call him a singer/songwriter, but his style transcended the genre. I saw him once back in 2003 ope...

Jeff and I have been loving the debut album from Funeral Advantage, Body is Dead. For a limited time, Funeral Advantage has made the demos for the album free to download. The actual album is full of lush, rich production and sounds. So are the demos, but in a slightly stripped down way. I've always been a fan of hearing the demo along with an album I love, since it's fascinating to hear the songs as they were originally written. It's obviously more lo-fi than the album, but this could have stood on its own as is. Body is Dead (Demos) is available as a free download until September 30. You can get your copy here . And be sure to check out Funeral Advantage's Bandcamp to get an actual copy of Body is Dead, and follow them on Facebook to keep track of their doings. 

A really solid week for releases: Co-Album of the Week : Artist : The Weeknd Album : Beauty Behind the Madness Quick Description : Much anticipated second album by the R&B producer/star. Why You Should Listen : You miss Michael Jackson's music; "Can't Feel My Face" is your song of the summer. Overall Thoughts : I was thinking about this album yesterday when a friend on Facebook made the Michael Jackson connection I had in my head from the first listen of this. It's really apt, he even has some of the vocal stylings down pat and I can't tell if it's on purpose or not. Still, "Can't Feel My Face" is as addictive as the drug the song is about, and the album is really a great listen from start to finish. Even as someone who doesn't always like straight R&B, there's a lot to love here. Recommendation : A mandatory listen this week, as it's sure to end up on a number of best-of lists. Co-Album of the Week : Art...

Photo via Facebook I wrote about Funeral Advantage last month when they played the Harvard Square Mayfair, mentioning that their songs sounded like Smiths covers. After hearing "Sisters," the first song off their upcoming album, I may be wrong. "Sisters" is a lovely dream-pop song, and far too summery too ever be compared to The Smiths. It's very light and synth heavy and reminds me of a more ethereal version of The Anniversary. After hearing their previous material, this is a huge step forward for them song and production wise. Expect huge things from their debut. Funeral Advantage's debut album, Body Is Dead, is due out August 25 on The Native Sound. You can pre-order it now on the label's Bandcamp or iTunes . For more on Funeral Advantage, including previous releases, check out their Bandcamp  or Facebook . If you're in the Boston area, they have a show coming up July 23 at The Middle East in Cambridge. 

Besides free music, we also love free concerts. Luckily, being in the Boston area offers a ton of choices. This weekend was the first truly nice weekend since October, and it just happened to be the Harvard Square Mayfair. Harvard Square gets shut down, and they set up vendors and artisans, and multiple live music stages. Club Passim has always had a curated stage, and this year the Sinclair set up 2. It's a great day of street food and live music. Here are some of the musical highlights from 2015 (watched in between shoveling Indian food, barbecue, and ice cream into my face). Photo by Ken Sears The Funeral Advantage I only caught a few of theirs songs, but holy heavily influenced by the Smiths. I don't mean that as a dig at all, just stating an observation. They sounded so much like the Smiths I kept wondering if they were covering the Smiths, which they weren't. Even when they covered the Cure's "Just Like Heaven," it sounded like the Smiths coverin...