If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Ride Album : Interplay Quick Thoughts : Ride, the legendary shoegaze band, offers a new album, their second since coming back from an extended hiatus. As wrestling fans say, "they still got it," because this is just a glorious reverb-heavy spectacle that makes you realize that shoegaze is generally always good, but when it's great it's almost transcendant. Don't miss this. Songs of Note : "Light in a Quiet Room," "Stay Free," "Portland Rocks" Artist : gglum Album : The Garden Dream Quick Thoughts : "SPLAT!" hit my playlists a while back and I really (and still) fell for it, so the debut album from gglum is more fuzzy buzzy indie rock that just works well. It's drenched in the sort of distortion that we love here, and they're a band that deserves to be better known than they are. Songs of Note : "Easy Fun," "SPLAT!," "Glue," "He Laid His 97's Neatly By the Doo...

Photo by Hermione Sylvester London's gglum (aka Ella Smoker) has released a new single that starts off as bedroom pop and then evolves into a much more epic sound. "Eating Rust" begins as an intimate and personal sounding song. Smoker's vocal delivery in particular makes the song sound almost confessional, like a discussion between close friends. And then the sound just opens up into more of a giant alt-pop track. It still sounds personal and intimate, just on a grander scale. "Eating Rust" is a lush and gorgeous track that has us wanting to pay closer attention to gglum. Ella Smoker says her new single "...  was the first song I made while writing the album that felt like it summed up the album's sound for me.  It's all about a period of my life where I was desperate for one person's love and approval which I would never get (yet i'd keep on trying anyway). It's about what inspired the dream that inspired the album.” You can watch t...

Photo by Sam Smoker gglum is London born singer-songwriter Ella Smoker. Her new single, "Do You See Me Different?," is a dream-like track that is a little pop, and also a little indie rock and folk. The song is lush yet feels sparse. It's the kind of song that sucks you in from the opening guitar, and then pulls you even deeper in once Smoker starts singing. "Do You See Me Different?" sound like if dream pop went folk, and is going to appeal to fans of artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Blondshell. gglum has crafted a song that is cheerily hypnotic, and delightfully mesmerizing. And that's even before Kamal's engaging guest spot. Ella Smoker says of her upcoming debut album: “ At the time of writing it, I was having so many nightmares, just straight-up graphic and disturbing stuff. I think it was my subconscious telling me I had shit I needed to deal with, a lot of the mistrust I’ve had since I was a teenager. It was weirdly good timing, because I'm at...

Artist : Mapache Album : Roscoe's Dream Quick Thoughts : We were a little late to the Mapache party, but we're ultimately glad we showed up. Roscoe's Dream is a gorgeous slice of roots music, and it's especially solid in the way that it doesn't mind being a little fun or cheeky along the way. Mapache understands the value of joyful music, and there's plenty of it here that ultimately sets the act apart from so many other musicians in this space. In an odd release week on a whole, this is more than worth the time. Songs of Note : "I Love My Dog," "Man and Woman," "Diana," "Light My Fire," "Love Can't Hold Me" Artist : gglum Album : Weak Teeth Quick Thoughts : I do not know how I tripped up on gglum or even how to say their name, but Weak Teeth is such a great indie record that it's difficult to ignore. Judged by its cover, you'd expect something louder or more frenetic, but this really borrws ...