If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Album : Woodland Quick Thoughts : Gillian Welch continues to be the standard-bearer for mainstream rootsy folk music, and this latest collaboration with David Rowlings does not have the hollow, stark feel of All the Good Times (Are Past & Gone) , but still feels pure and true regardless of what her early or persistent critics may think. If anything, Welch is too good at this, and we should simply be glad we're still getting new music from her on a regular basis again. Songs of Note : "Empty Trainload of Sky," "What We Had," "North Country," "The Day the Mississippi Died," "Howdy Howdy" Artist : Little Hag Album : Now That's What I Call Little Hag Quick Thoughts : The debut release from Little Hag, with "Tetris" and "Facebook," won us over immediately. The debut, Leash , was a favorite in these parts as well. Then comes Now That's What I Call Little H...

Artist : Kalen and Aslyn Album : Back of Our Minds Quick Description : Gorgeous rootsy folk. Why You Should Listen : One of many male/female folk duos, but they're the real deal. Overall Thoughts : Ken sent this over to me, and I'm glad he did, because this was super beautiful in so many ways. The songs are fairly straightforward, but the production value feels just right and the tone of this so surprisingly pleasant. We've had a few winners as of late with these folk duos, and I'm glad this hit my radar. Recommendation : Absolutely worth the time. Artist : TJO/Tara Jane O'Neil Album : Songs for Peacock Quick Description : A minimalist electronic mixtape. Why You Should Listen : Tara Jane O'Neil has done a lot of great music so far. Overall Thoughts : Her first big release under the TJO moniker, this is a covers album with a lot of interesting... everything. As musically compelling as it is compelling in terms of the song choices being made, this...

We basically only have a couple weeks of new releases left for the 2016 calendar year, so this week has a few new releases and a few I tripped up on late. Artist : Various Artists Album : Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl Quick Description : A Polyvinyl Records celebration for their 20th birthday. Why You Should Listen : It's current Polyvinyl artists playing past Polyvinyl songs... Overall Thoughts : ...and it's predictably hit or miss. As someone who has been loving Polyvinyl stuff for most of their existence, I knew I'd love and hate some of this, and it's great for that sort of fun look back, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone but fans of Polyvinyl's catalog. And the fact that no one covered "Marry Me, Archie" is just criminal. Recommendation : Fun for fans or those into weird covers. Artist : Natalie McCool Album : The Great Unknown Quick Description : Poppy singer with a weird bent. Why You Should Listen : You like melodic pop, but w...