If It's Too Loud...

Artist : John Davis Album : JINX Quick Thoughts : "Sucked Out" by Superdrag is basically the quintessential alt-rock song of my high school years. I associate it with the station tag for WBCN, I probably sing the opening verse once a week, and so on. The band had a few great albums before breaking up, and have done the requisite reunion stuff, but lead singer and songwriter John Davis has kept busy throughout it all. JINX was apparently meant to be a new Superdrag record, but it's released under his name and it's honestly and truly an amazing throwback. Loved everything about this, it's power pop the way it's meant to be, and I'm really looking forward to more time with it. Songs of Note : "The Future," "Please Be My Love," "Already Drowned," "Free to Fall," "In Between the Waves," "I'm Sorry" Artist : JD McPherson Album : Nite Owls Quick Thoughts : I don't always gel with blu...

JD McPherson isn't shy about performing cover songs, but typically it's a classic rock and roller like Chuck Berry. He just released a medley cover of Iggy Pop's iconic "Lust for Life" and a little of "Sixteen," and it doesn't quite sound anything like what you'd expect. It's far too mellow and groovy to be fully true to the original, and it's not exactly the original rock 'n' roll or rockabilly sound McPherson is known for. Instead, it's a new sound rooted in classic rock and roll and a little psychedelia. It's more 60's than McPherson's 50's sound or the 70's early punk sound of Iggy Pop. McPherson has been working the rockabilly thing for well over a decade, so it's nice to see him stretch out into a new sound. You can listen to JD McPherson's cover of "Lust for Life" below. For more on JD McPherson, check out the artist'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...

The Green River Festival is always a highlight of any year. They've just released the line-up for the 2021 edition, and somehow this is just the initial line up. It's safe to say that this is by far their most exciting line-up ever! As always it skews heavily towards folk/Americana, but they've truly outdone themselves this year. Headliners for the three days are Jon Bastiste, Shakey Graves, and Ani Difraco, which would be thrilling enough. The other announced bands include long time If It's Too Loud... favorites like Drive-By Truckers, Deer Tick, and JD McPherson, alongside more newly discovered favorites like Sierra Ferrell, Twisted Pine, Rachel Baiman, and Bella White (who I just discovered over the weekend and haven't even had a chance to post about yet!) Plus, there are other artists we're big on like Valerie June, Mandolin Orange, Bonny Light Horseman, Charlie Parr, and Rebirth Brass Band that are all playing.  Green River Festival will run August 27-29 at...

I've wanted to do this for years, but I'm finally getting to it this year. There are new Christmas albums out, and of those of interest? Well... The Nice List Ingrid Michaelson's Songs for the Season is basically exactly what I look for in traditional holiday fare. Far too many singers, when going for the more typical songs, make it more about them than make it about the music. Michaelson wisely gives us a presentation of Christmas music that has her identity stamped on it without overpowering the whole production. There may not be a better pop singer to do this these days, so make sure this hits your rotation. JD McPherson's Socks is a great set of Christmas originals by someone who has kept his music in the retro side of things for years now. I've loved a lot of his music, and Socks just has that old time radio feel to it that feels appropriate for the season. The Old 97's Love The Holidays is an appropriately goofy and fun Christmas album...

A busy week, so we're splitting this in two: Album of the Week : Artist : Alex Lahey Album : I Love You Like a Brother Quick Description : Debut full-length from someone who we've come to love very quickly here. Why You Should Listen : This is the best mix of indie, alt-rock, and an older aesthetic I've heard in a while. Overall Thoughts : Ken’s spent a lot of time raving about Lahey, and both of us had very high expectations for her debut full-length. Somehow she didn’t just meet them, she exceeded them easily. Sing-along choruses, a nice wall of sound that both hits hard and doesn’t overwhelm, an instrumental aesthetic that seems fully rooted in current times while still borrowing heavily from 80s and 90s soundscapes? There’s no flaw in this record at all, and it’s easily my favorite of the week. Unless you’re really, really anti-alt-rock, this has to get into your rotation this week, because Alex Lahey will probably end up being your favorite new musician on ...

This song had to grow on me a bit, but by the time it did, I had trouble deciding which parts were my favorite. The reverb guitar in the beginning? The bass line and handclaps in the middle? It's hard to say, but I've ultimately come to love this song from his most recent album. Definitely worth a listen and it might get you on board.

As if the organizers of the Green River Festival weren't absurdly busy enough putting together one of the best line ups we've seen in years (Steve Earle! Lydia Loveless! J Mascis! Polaris!), they've announced a brand new one day mini-festival called Amourasaurus! Basically, they took a bunch of bands that they wanted for Green River but couldn't book, and booked them for August 30 instead. Amourasaurus will feature Lake Street Dive, JD McPherson, Parsonsfield, Winterpills, and And the Kids. It's perfect if you've already made plans for the weekend of July 10-12, or just want to keep the fun going.  The inaugural Amourasaurus will take place August 30 at Pines Theater at Look Park, Florence, MA. You can get more details and tickets here . Today is also the final day for Early Bird tickets for this year's Green River Festival . You know you're going to want to go, so you should just suck it up and buy them now.

A fairly busy week with some interesting releases within: The Vespers - Sisters and Brothers : The Vespers had a truly great album a few years back that stayed in fairly heavy rotation for me, and hearing that this new album was on the docket got me excited. The group has certainly expanded out their sound, and that's often a mixed bag, but, for the most part, the band seems a lot more polished and mature than in past efforts. The downside to such maturity and polish is that the songs don't quite have the same oomph on first listen. I definitely reserve the right to change my mind on this, but, on first listen, this is a good album with a lot of potential to be truly great. The Dreaming - Rise Again : I was not aware Stabbing Westward had more or less reformed as a new band, but this is their third album and it basically takes what was interesting about Stabbing Westward, removes it, and leaves the rest. Not really worth your time unless you're super nostalgic for S...

Things are slower than last week, but that doesn't say too much. A lot of interesting releases this week: Sallie Ford - Slap Back : Blog favorite Sallie Ford puts out her first solo album this week, and it's actually a lot more straightforward than I personally expected. The blues/soul stuff that we've gotten used to with her Sound Outside albums is muted somewhat in this album and replaced with a more straightforward rock attitude that has a lot of interesting wrinkles to it. On first listen, I like it but I expected something different. A lot of this, much like her last album, might be a grower, and I'm more than happy to give it an opportunity. Winterpills - Echolalia : I knew I wanted to listen to this one when I saw it on the new release schedule, but I couldn't quite figure out why I remembered this band until I realized that their previous album was on constant rotation for me for quite a while. Echolalia is a covers album, and it wouldn't be im...