If It's Too Loud...

Kind of busy this week, along with some catch-up. Artist : Chrysta Bell Album : Feels Like Love Quick Description : Latest from the artsy Lynchian chantreuse. Why You Should Listen : This is the most interesting and compelling release of the week, by far. Overall Thoughts : I’ll admit it: I got into Chysta Bell because of her appearance in the Twin Peaks revival, and I’ve come to really love her music. David Lynch has referred to Bell as his “muse,” and I have to admit that I hear a definite influence in the other direction as well here. Honestly, Chrysta Bell makes me feel the way discovering PJ Harvey almost two decades ago made me feel, and this album gives me true To Bring You My Love vibes in some regards. This album skirts the edges of weird in many ways, and songs like “Everest” and “52hz” are just off enough to be intriguing and different while also feeling fresh and familiar. This is an album I was confident I would enjoy, but this is a definite favorite this week a...

Photo by Erica Peplin We're just over a month away from the release of Lady Lamb's new album, and today we have a new song to salivate over. "Deep Love" might be Lady Lamb's most accessible song yet. It's still a Lady Lamb song (not quite indie rock, not quite folk), but towards the end it almost takes on a groovy 80's power ballad feel. Well... not quite, but maybe the demo for an 80's power ballad. If that sounds like your kind of thing, you're guaranteed to love this. Even if it's not, you probably will love it any way. Spaltro (aka Lady Lamb) has this to say about the song: I had just gone into Manhattan and I felt like an alien seeing all the workers on their lunch break.  I spent my train ride home to Queens, wondering if we’d lost our purpose.  I started singing the first line, ‘I’m not convinced we should strive for midtown,’ and by the time I got to the chorus refrain I was full of a deep, volcanic kind of love which poured out o...

Photo by Shervin Lainez We're pretty obsessed with Lady Lamb here at If It's Too Loud... In fact, she was the very first artist we ever wrote about, so we're obviously going to be thrilled with new music from her. "Even in the Tremor" fits right into Lady Lamb's previous work, even while it sounds nearly completely differently. As soon as the song starts off with just Aly Spaltro's voice and some menacing drum beats, you know we're in new territory. As the song goes on, it does take on Lady Lamb's sense of uplifting, and while this isn't an electronic song, there are some decidedly dance elements to it, making it quite possibly one of the more awkward dance songs I've ever heard. "Even in the Tremor" is an epic song that has quiet moments.  You can watch the video for "Even in the Tremor" below, and try to figure out how Lady Lamb is the only person in the entire Aztec or Mayan ruin. Even in the Tremor , the new al...

Photo by Shervin Lainez My absolute favorite time to see an artist perform live is when they are between albums. They don't feel the need to play certain songs to promote the new album, and you get what they feel like playing and what the audience wants. That's exactly what Lady Lamb's solo show at Gateway City Arts was like. It was called a solo tour, but really it was Lady Lamb playing a few northeast shows. The main difference between this recent show and her performances for Tender Warriors Club is that those shows were acoustic and this tour was electric. Saturday night's show was a packed house, and what seemed like an insanely young crowd. I'm not sure if it was all ages or not, but it certainly felt that way. But, as young as the crowd was, they were die hard fans pumped to be there. It reflected in Lady Lamb's performance, as she played loosely and was having fun on stage, which is what you really want. She went back to her first official album, R...

Photo by Ken Sears To support her latest EP, Tender Warriors Club , Lady Lamb is touring around playing acoustic shows in living rooms and other smaller, alternative, more intimate spaces. In Portsmouth, NH, she played 3S Artspace, one of the few traditional venues on the tour. Oddly enough, 3S Artspace is almost five times the size of the Portsmouth venue she played with a full band two years ago , but who can complain with a Lady Lamb show, right? Anyone who has seen a Lady Lamb live show in recent years knows that there's a point where the band goes away and Lady Lamb plays a few songs solo. This was an entire set of that. In the past four years, I've seen Lady Lamb as both a trio and as a larger ensemble that borrowed in members of Cuddle Magic, Xenia Rubinos, her dad, etc. This was my first time seeing her perform an entire set solo. While her much earlier work might be ideal for a solo act, her last few releases are much more complex and have enough multi-instrument...

This might be the last big new release week for a while, so let's dive right in! Album of the Week : Artist : Childish Gambino Album : "Awaken, My Love!" Quick Description : Donald Glover puts aside the nerd rap in favor of a funky pastiche. Why You Should Listen : Donald Glover is a must watch/listen/read no matter what. Overall Thoughts : Looking at this solely as a Childish Gambino project, it's hard not to see it as a strange diversion from what's worked. But if we look at this from Donald Glover as an artist, following his leaving Community and through the amazing FX show Atlanta , it's hard not to see this as one of those sort of essential pieces that needs more time to be unpacked. It's clear he's going for a message, similar to other R&B acts this year, but it's hard not to hear some old style funk as a message in and of itself about Glover's artistry on its own. This won't work for everyone, I understand that, but.....

Photo by Shervin Lainez Our fandom of Lady Lamb has been extremely well documented here at If It's Too Loud..., so we're thrilled to be able to share a new song with you. "See You," from the forthcoming Tender Warriors Club  EP is a throwback for Lady Lamb, of sorts. It's much closer to her more stripped down self released albums back when you could only get her music at shows or Bandcamp. It's not quite as stripped down as her home and video store recordings, though. That seems to be the theme of the entire EP, as it's main focus is on intimacy and vulnerability. That intimacy seems to be stretching to Lady Lamb's touring, as well. She's just announced dates for her Living Room Tour (although it does include proper club dates as well), and is taking submissions to be a part of it. She's not sticking with just living rooms, so if you have a space that can hold 40-75 people, go here are see if you can host a show! You can listen to ...

My love for Lady Lamb's music is very well established here. Ripely Pine, from back when she went by Lady Lamb the Beekeeper,   was my favorite album of 2013 , plus I've reviewed two live shows just this year alone .  After  is a bit more accessible than Ripely Pine , but that's not a bad thing. There are still the layers within songs that made me love Ripely Pine , plus multiple tempo changes and complete swerves halfway through a song. But this album feels like something everyone but your most top 40 listening friends could appreciate. Just listen to "Violet Clementine" for an example of this. It just keeps progressively changing from a quirky folk song to a bizarro indie rocker. Plus, if you know anyone that can hear "Billions of Eyes" without instantly loving it, you need to stop talking to that person.  If you haven't, please check out Lady Lamb's After  below.

Photo by Shervin Lainez With TT the Bear's closing forever this Saturday, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the iconic Cambridge rock club. Some of my most cherished musical memories took place within its walls. It is going to be missed greatly. I almost didn't go to this show. It was on a Friday the same week I started a new job after a couple months of unemployment. I really shouldn't have been spending the extra money on a concert. But then I heard Ripely Pine , which came out the same week. I hadn't had such a strong reaction to a brand new album in years. I was completely blown away by how unique it all sounded, and how every song veered off in completely unexpected directions. I knew I had to finally get out and see her live. And what a show. The show opened in complete darkness, with her opening with "Up in the Rafters," an a cappella song first heard on Mammoth Swoon. The few people in the audience that were still chattering awa...

Photo by Ken Sears My days of going to see the same tour multiple dates are pretty much over. I just saw Lady Lamb at one of her album release parties back in March , so normally I wouldn't feel the need to see her two months later. But this is Lady Lamb we're talking about, and the Press Room holds 85 people. The last venue I saw her in, The Sinclair, holds 525 and she sold that out easily. There won't be many more chances to see her in such an intimate venue, so I had to make the trip up to Portsmouth to see her again. The Press Room has a very odd set up. Shows here take place upstairs from the restaurant, but the upstairs still has tables with people eating. If you get there before the show starts, you either sit at the bar or mill about awkwardly between tables where people are eating while you are constantly in the way of the waitstaff. But the venue is extremely intimate. There really isn't a typical stage. There is a small ledge at the very back of the roo...

As you can probably tell by now, we love Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. She was celebrating the release of her new record, the absolutely amazing After , this weekend with a trio of shows in her 3 hometowns. Luckily enough, one of them was at my favorite venue, The Sinclair.  Currently touring as a three piece, Lady Lamb opened with "You Are the Apple" from Ripely Pine. I've always heard other music obsessives talk about getting chills and goosebumps from hearing certain songs or artists. As someone who follows music with a compulsion as I do, I never understood that. Seeing Lady Lamb live is the only time I ever have experienced that, and it started right off with the first song. The band went right into the first single off After, "Billions of Eyes," next, and that might just become my song of 2015. It's just an uptempo Dylan-esque ramble with the catchiest chorus of "da da da da da da da da da" that can ever exist. Another highlight off After was ...

Some blog favorites have releases this week, and there's yet another situation where there's not a bad album in the bunch. Why waste any more time? Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - After : Lady Lamb's previous album, Ripely Pine , was a top 10 album for both Ken and I a couple years ago, so to say this album was long-awaited would be an understatement. What I didn't expect is to like this one even more than Ripely Pine . The album is still left of center, to be sure, but the music itself has shifted toward a more accessible tone without sacrificing what makes it great. The first two songs alone really won me over, but it's the whole album, and the continued maturity growth of the songwriting that's ultimately going to make it continue being an album I listen to repeatedly. Far and away the album of the week, it will probably be discussed a few more times before this year is out at the very least. Purity Ring - Another Eternity : The indie electropop entry of t...