If It's Too Loud...

We've passed the Thanksgiving threshold, so now we can start bringing you Christmas music in earnest! Molly Burch released a full Christmas album in 2019, and now she's back with two brand new Christmas singles. According to an email to fans, "'Cozy Christmas' is for when you are really excited about a winter crush and 'December Baby' is for if that crush doesn't work out." The two songs play excellently back to back for that reason. "Cozy Christmas" is an overly upbeat indie pop song. It's kind of like an indie pop version of "All I Want for Christmas is You." "December Baby" is a much more downtempo song that's more like Burch's earlier indie goes crooner music. Both are stellar holiday songs perfect for all of your playlist needs. You can listen to "Cozy Christmas" and "December Baby" below. The songs are ouit now via Captured Tracks and can be purchased here . For more on Molly Burch...

Another slow week, so adding a few we missed, too. Artist : Pony Hunt Album : VAR! Quick Thoughts : We loved Pony Hunt's debut when it came out almost five years ago. The follow-up gives me a lot of Lady Lamb vibes, but it's really a nice logical extension of a sound we love here. I found so much to enjoy about this one, and I probably could have added every song to the weekly playlist if I were so inclined. It's a little bit folk, a little bit country, and a more than a little awesome. Songs of Note : "Pulse," "Stardust," "Who Are You," "Rising Sun," "Last Alive" Artist : Molly Burch Album : Romantic Images Quick Thoughts : Molly Burch is back with another winner. We both really liked First Flower , and this new one continues the trajectory of a multi-genre artist with a lot of positives going for her. This was super enjoyable on a whole, and should solidif Burch as a voice worth hearing. Songs of Note : ...

Photo via Facebook When I first saw Molly Burch was opening for Tennis, it didn't exactly make sense. Burch's blend of doo wop inspired folk adjacent indie rock didn't seem to mesh with the dance friendly indie pop of Tennis. As more new songs from Molly Burch's album get released, it makes more and more sense. "Heart of Gold" is a gorgeous disco song. There is plenty of Burch's classic sound in here, but "Heart of Gold" is a dance song, and a great one at that. It's merging the retro 60's cool that we love Burch for with disco, and that's a sound we never knew we needed as much as we apparently did. Plus, Burch's voice is one of the most captivating we've ever heard no matter what genre she's performing in. You can watch the video for "Heart of Gold" below. Romantic Images is due out July 23 on Captured Tracks. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Molly Burch, check out the artist's website .

Photo via Facebook We fanboy out pretty hard for Molly Burch around these parts. Her blend of classic doo wop meats modern folk and indie rock hits such a sweet spot, particularly for me. Her latest single changes up that sound quite a bit. "Control" keeps all of the sounds we love of Burch's, but it's decidedly more pop. What keeps this interesting is that "Control" doesn't sound anything like modern top 40. Instead, it harkens back to the top 40 of the 80's. Somehow Burch is blending sounds spanning six decades into her very own sound that is going to be impossible for us to resist. You can watch the video for "Control" below. Romantic Images is due out July 23 on Captured Tracks. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Molly Burch, check out the artist's website .

Photo via Facebook I've been completely obsessed with Molly Burch's music the past few years. Her blend of indie folk and crooner/doo wop music hits such a sweet spot for me. When I saw she had a new song out for the New Year, I was obviously thrilled. When I first heard "Emotion," I was slightly confused. Gone was the sound I have grown to love. "Emotion" is a straight up disco song. The new song sounds like that period in the 90's when people finally realized how great disco actually was, but slightly updated. "Emotion" is a collaboration between Burch and Wild Nothing, which helps explain the more dancey sound, although this song is really dancey. Luckily, it's great, and we still have Burch's magnificent vocals, which is going to elevate any song to greatness.  You can listen to "Emotion" below. The song is available now via Captured Tracks. You can get a copy here. For more on Molly Burch, check out her website . For more...

Photo via Facebook As some of you are probably aware, I'm not exactly in tune with the top 40 pop hits of today. I'm the weirdo that thought "Old Town Road" was the new "Friday" style song that we all agreed was hilarious and terrible and not the biggest song in decades. So last week I saw that one of my favorite current artists, Molly Burch, had a new song out called "needy," I was thrilled and immediately listened. It wasn't until I had heard it a few times that I saw it's an Ariana Grande cover. I'm glad I didn't know that since I'd most likely have judged the song negatively. "needy" is a killer song. It sounds like Molly Burch's trademark 60's doo wop meets modern indie rock/pop/folk, although a bigger version of that. Probably since it's a song by one of the biggest pop artists out there today. Even if you're a grumpy middle aged indie rock fan like myself, chances are you're going to ge...

With few noteworthy releases over Thanksgiving (those are at the bottom of this post; we'll have more that we missed next week) and some interesting Christmas releases, let's go holiday crazy! Nice List : Josh Rouse - The Holiday Sounds of Josh Rouse : A pleasant, low-key holiday record from a singer-songwriter who has been at it for a long time and nearly always puts out quality work. Completely inoffensive and worth taking some time. Various Artists - A Punk Rock Christmas Volume 2 : As with any compilation like this, you're going to take and leave what is worth hearing here. With that said, this has enough good to at least give it one solid spin and add the stuff you like to a playlist. Molly Burch - The Molly Burch Christmas Album : Beyond this being a truly solid entry into the holiday release schedule, Burch totally understands how silly the whole affair is and the lack of overall seriousness in this album makes it a little fun, too. * Letters to Cleo - ...

Photo via Facebook Maybe it's the upcoming film of the same name, or maybe people are just discovering that it is in fact the greatest song ever recorded, but w e're barely in November and we're already on our second cover of "Last Christmas."  This one is from Molly Burch's upcoming Christmas album, and for her version she's enlisted comedians Kate Berlant and John Early to help her out. Having comedians on a song shows that Burch is having a bit of fun on her cover of the Wham! holiday classic, which is possibly the best way to perform this one. This is one of the best of the many covers of "Last Christmas" I've heard, most likely because you can tell how much fun they're having with it. You can listen to Molly Burch's version of "Last Christmas" below. The Molly Burch Christmas Album will be out November 15. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Molly Burch, check out her website .

Photo via Facebook We've huge fans of Molly Burch's old fashioned doo wop meets current indie rock/folk sound. Personally, it hits such a sweet spot I didn't even know I had until I heard her. Since we had a new album from her in October, I assumed it would be a long time before we heard anything new. Luckily she's already back with a new single. "Only One" is classic Molly Burch. It's a laid back, kinda groovy, strikingly beautiful doo wop/folk/indie rock song. It's not reaching out in any new bizarre or unexpected directions, which isn't a bad thing. Burch does her sound to perfection, and while experimentation will always be welcome, there's nothing wrong with her sticking to what we love from her. If you've loved her work in the past, there's no way you're not going to enjoy "Only One." And if you've never given her a shot, now's a great time to. You can listen to "Only One" below. The song wi...

It's very rare that two artists with two of my favorite albums of the year tour together, but when that happens I know I have to go out, even if it's a late night show on a work night. Obviously this is what happened when I saw that Molly Burch and Olden Yolk were playing together at the ultra-tiny Lilypad. Olden Yolk played first as a duo. They invited the crowd to move forward and sit on the floor, creating an even more intimate experience. Olden Yolk are a quiet, mellow band, and are even more so as a duo, so luckily the crowd was impeccably attentive without any chatter. I forgot just how great their debut album from earlier this year was. "Gamblers On a Dime" and "Vital Sign" could not have sounded more perfect. Sometimes quieter indie rock/folk doesn't translate live, but for Olden Yolk it couldn't have been more of an ideal setting. I saw Molly Burch back in 2017 opening for Sallie Ford. The past year has seen her grow as a performer. On...

Photo via Facebook Molly Burch's Please Be Mine  was one of my favorite albums of 2017, so I'm thrilled that we'll have the follow up this year! The first single, "Wild," continues Burch's fabulous 60's soul meets modern Americana movement, but it's a little bit tweaked. Somehow Burch has added a slightly off kilter quality to the song, bringing it a little away from the oldies sound and has also made it a bit more mainstream. She also adds in some current indie rock vibes, particularly in the chorus. The result is a more modern sound that still hearkens back to a classic sound (both Burch's and pop music in general) while looking more forward and ahead. You can watch the video for "Wild" below. First Flower , Molly Burch's follow up to Please Be Mine , will be available October 5 on Captured Tracks. You can pre-order your copy here . For more on Molly Burch, check out her website .

When I was a kid, I gravitated to oldies. It was most likely since that's the music that was always in my house growing up. My parents didn't listen to much of anything that could be considered current, so most of what I heard were bands like The Coasters and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. In my middle age, I lean towards music that could be defined mostly as roots/Americana. This is probably why I've loved the debut album from Molly Burch so much. It's this absolute perfect mix of 60's soul and the current roots movement. Please Be Mine  is a collection of these perfect little pop nuggets that exist in their own genre and time. Songs of note: "Downhearted," "Torn to Pieces," and "Not Today."

Photo via Facebook This was my third time seeing Sallie Ford live in less than four years, and her third band I've seen her with. Interestingly enough, this was her first truly coed band (The Sound Outside had an all male line up and her first solo band was all female.) While the all female line up had a similar sound to The Sound Outside, her new band has a distinct sound of their own. Considering Soul Sick  is the only album with the new band, and it is the new album after all, the majority of the night's set list came from the new album. The crowd may have been sparse (it was a late night Tuesday show with a crowd of female hipsters in their 20s and middle aged men, after all), but they were completely into the new songs like "Loneliness is Power," "Failure," and "Get Out." The crowd seemed more into the older material, but I don't see that as a knock on her new songs. Soul Sick  might be the best thing she's ever released, but son...

Another crazy release week, but a lot of middle-of-the-road stuff. So we'll cover the real highlights, and do quick hits on the rest. Album of the Week : Artist : Molly Burch Album : Please Be Mine Quick Description : Singer-songwritery roots-ish goodness from a Sallie Ford tourmate. Why You Should Listen : Come for the Ford connection, stay for the great music. Overall Thoughts : This might have stayed well below our radar had she not been listed as the opener on Sallie Ford's upcoming tour. Ken sent this over, and I knew it would be something I'd like, but I didn't expect it to be something I'd love. The songs themselves are hooky and musically interesting, but still sound challenging and strange at the same time. There's a retro feel to a lot of it, like "Wrong For You," a more traditional feel with "Why," but this album is probably going to catch your attention quickly and not let go like it did with us. And now when you inev...