If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Vanessa Peters Album : Flying on Instruments Quick Thoughts : Vanessa Peters is arguably music's best kept secret. As of the time of this writing, she has fewer than 2,400 monthly listeners on Spotify despite putting out album after album of great, folk/country music. Flying on Instruments continues this line of success with so many memorable songs, both quiet ("Halfway Through") and rollicking ("Pinball Heart") that no one else can touch. She's amazing, this album is great, don't miss out. Songs of Note : "Beauty or Grace," "Halfway Through," "Better," "Pinball Heart," "Out to Sea" Artist : Mama Zu Album : Quilt Floor Quick Thoughts : We miss Those Darlins. They never really got their due in their time, and the passing of Jessi Zazu only magnified the loss. Quilt Floor is the culmination of music she was working on before her passing, and it's both a lovely tribute to a musician ...

Photo courtesy Mama Zu We've brought you two singles from Mama Zu, the musical project of Jessi Zazu and Linwood Regensburg from Those Darlins recorded before Zazu's death in 2017. "Lip" sounded more like the classic country style of Those Darlins, and "Safe Place to Stay" was a more pop focused/AM radio style. The latest single, "Make a Joke," comes completely out of left field compared to the first two. The new single is still somewhat pop focused, but sounds like a middle ground between Le Tigre and Bikini Kill. "Make a Joke" straight up rocks, but it also has a surprisingly dance friendly side to it. Plus, it's just overflowing with riot grrrl attitude. This is an unexpected but very welcome side of Jessi Zazu. Linwood Regensburg says of the new single: “The beginning demo of this song was sent to me via email from Jessi along with this message: ‘This song is for people who make discriminatory jokes about women who ‘don't thin...

Image courtesy of Mama Zu Last time we heard from Mama Zu, they released "Lip," was sounded like an extension of Jessi Zazu and Linwood Regenburg's time in Those Darlins. (The music from Mama Zu was recorded between Those Darlins' break up in 2016 and Zazu's death in 2017 from cervical cancer.) The latest single from the project, "Safe Place to Stay," moves in a completely different direction. This latest song has a much more pop centered feel to it than country. It's more of a modern take on alt-pop meets 70's AM radio. There's definitely an unexpected synth-heavy thing going on in "Safe Place to Stay," particularly at the beginning. It's a surprising new sound from one of our favorite artists who was taken from this world far too early. You can watch the video for "Safe Place to Stay" below. Quilt Floor is due out February 23 on Thirty Tigers, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Mama Zu, check out the p...

Image courtesy Mama Zu Mama Zu is the musical project between Jessi Zazu and Linwood Regensburg after the break up of their previous band, Those Darlins, in 2016. They began working on an album under the name Mama Zu while Zazu was battling cervical cancer, which claimed her life at age twenty-eight in September 2017. Regensburg found himself unable to finish their album, but started to be able to work on it in 2020.  The first single from Mama Zu is "Lip," and if you're a Those Darlins fan, you're going to adore this. Jessi Zazu just has one of those fantastic and distinctive voices, and "Lip" takes all of the attitude and edge from their previous bands and unleashes it into a more rock and roll based sound. The song is irresistibly catchy, and just flat out rocks. This song has a garage rock meets pop kind of sound, but rocks harder than anything this catchy has any right to.  Linwood Regensburg says of the new song: "The beauty of a 'fuck you...