If It's Too Loud...

Photo by POND Creative Hailing from Amherst, MA, Mal Devisa (aka artist Deja Carr) has a pair of new singles our off of her upcoming album. The first, "O Ivory," is a piano ballad consisting of Devisa's vocals and piano. It's an impossibly raw and intimate with more than a little bit of jazz thrown in. It's such an intimate song that you can hear the keys being pressed down at certain points. Similar yet completely different is "To Be Unwilling." This second song is another raw and stripped down song consisting of Mal Devisa's vocals and a single instrument (apologies, but I can't place what this one is) until the drums kick in, but the vibe is quite different. This one sounds and feels more like a bedroom recording, and sounds more modern than the jazzy "O Ivory." These are two very different songs that work together as a pair and help show Carr's fantastic diversity as an artist. Deja Carr says of her two new singles: "O Ivor...

The Thing in the Spring has been a southwest New Hampshire staple for quite a while now, sporting some of the most eclectic line ups around. This is especially impressive since Keene, NH (and Peterborough before it) isn't exactly the hippest or most metropolitan of areas. They certainly know what they're doing, especially since the 2024 festival is four days of amazing music. The whole thing kicks off on Thursday night with an eight band bill that includes Modern Fools, Paper Castles, Jake McElvie, and Rick Rude. Friday is a rager that boasts The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, and Prefuse 73. Saturday gets a little weird with Earth, J. Pavone String Ensemble, The Huntress & Holder of Hands, and Sunburned Hand of the Man. Sunday is my personal favorite and features Buck Meek, Jolie Holland, Mal Devisa, and Lily Seabird. Of course, there are many, many more artists playing that all deserve our attention. The Thing in the Spring will take ...

Shakey Graves Photo by Ken Sears Here in New England, we're in the middle of a pretty terrible drought. We need rain desperately, and would take any rain that we can get. Unfortunately, rain finally came during this year's Green River Festival. Saturday was just cold and wet all day, while Sunday offered a short break before the downpour took over the day. Hooded sweatshirts aren't the usual clothing of choice at an outdoor music festival in July, but they dominated the weekend. The weather was so bad all hot air balloon rides were cancelled, which hasn't happened in decades, if ever. Luckily, the music was stellar enough to save the weekend. Here are some of the best things we saw. Leland Sundries Photo by Ken Sears Leland Sundries Leland Sundries' new album, Music for Outcasts , didn't connect with Jeff when it was released last month. To be honest, it didn't really work for me, either. I was surprised to find out that the songs work much ...

Now that we're just a month out, the Green River Festival has announced their schedule for 2016. It's a doozy of a line up, and with any all day festival with three stages, some major decisions will need to be made. Luckily for you, we're here to help you along and pick some of the must see acts of Green River 2016. (Note: We're only going to make it for Saturday and Sunday, so those are the two days we'll focus on.) Also, if past history with festivals are any indication, these plans could be completely scrapped once the music actually starts. Tickets are still available for the Green River Festival. You can get yours, and see the entire line up and schedule here . Lula Wiles The three members of Lula Wiles met at Maine Fiddle Camp, which apparently is a thing. They honed their talents at Berklee College of Music, and are now this beautiful traditional Americana group. While most Americana groups tend to be either a throw back or progressive, they really bridg...

How can I truly explain Mal Devisa's Kiid  to you? The album brings so many elements that you would never consider to mesh well into one of the most diverse offerings I've heard in years. A song like "Sea of limbs" is folk, but isn't quite as straightforward as that sounds. It's far too bass heavy, despite having no percussion, and reminds me a lot of Leyla McCalla. "In My Neighborhood" is more of an organic dance songs, with a chopped up feel like you get with Tune-Yards. Songs like "Live Again" and "Everybody Knows" have a Billie Holiday element to them without being jazz. And then out of nowhere comes "FAT" and "Dominatrix," which would make Mos Def and Public Enemy proud. Somehow Mal Devisa makes this whole thing work. Kiid is available now on DZ Tapes. You can get your copy on Mal Devisa's Bandcamp . For some more information, be sure to like her on Facebook .