If It's Too Loud...

A slightly slower new release week. Album of the Week : Artist : Liza Anne Album : Fine But Dying Quick Description : Calling this a pop record feels like it's selling it short. Why You Should Listen : Come for the apt title we can all agree with, stay for the great songs. Overall Thoughts : While the title of this album feels incredibly apt for our times, what is interesting for this is how Liza Anne deftly straddles the poppy and radio-friendly singer-songwriter angle with some interesting choices (such as the blasts of sound in “Paranoia,” a sneaky great song). I feel like if Allison Weiss found a harder edge instead of a synthesizer, it would sound like Liza Anne, but I’m finding this to be one of my favorite recent listens and is likely to battle Lucy Dacus with a lot of my listening time soon. Recommendation : Easily the favorite of the week. Artist : Smerz Album : Have fun Quick Description : An odd, lovely little indie album. Why You Should Listen : You'...

We're starting to hit the end of the year doldrums in terms of releases. There are a few more solid weeks coming up, though. Artist : Justice Album : Woman Quick Description : The indie dance act with their latest album. Why You Should Listen : Indie electronic dance music is sort of a thing right now. Overall Thoughts : People love Justice, and with good reason. For me, they've never quite connected, and I don't know how this album sits in comparison to anything else they've done, but this is a perfectly good representation of what Justice is in my brain. The songs are catchy, the beat good, and that's all I was looking for. Will it be enough for you, though? That, I don't know. Recommendation : A good listen, might not be great for longtime fans. Artist : Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats Album : A Little Something More From... Quick Description : An EP of some odds and ends following their breakthrough this year. Why You Should Lis...

The summer music festival season keeps creeping earlier and earlier every year. Some announcements just started popping up yesterday, and one of them has us ecstatic. Shovels & Rope have put together a weekend festival in their hometown of Charleston, SC (well, NORTH Charleston, but close enough) and the line up might be one of the best of the year. Besides the obvious choice of Shovels & Rope to play their own festival, they're also bringing along some of our favorites including The Avett Brothers, The Shins, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Dawes, Lucius, Margo Price, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Deer Tick, JD McPherson, The Suffers, Matthew Logan Vasquez, The Deslondes, and more! If you've been a regular reader of this blog for any amount of time this is pretty much a dream line up for all of us. It's going to be a challenge for any other festival, particularly Americana and roots based ones, to come close to matching High Water this yea...

Another quicker-than-normal week as I'm coming off of another trip. Album of the Week : Artist : Gardens & Villa Album : Music for Dogs Quick Description : Strange, compelling synth rock/art pop. Why You Should Listen : You reminisce about some of the weirder pieces of the Elephant Six Collective; you commonly say "this album would be great with more keyboard." Overall Thoughts : I listened to this and thought it was a little weird, but not long afterward I realized how much of it stuck with me and how ambitious the entire listen was. Taken as a whole, it's a great piece. Some of the individual parts are strange, and I wouldn't recommend putting this on shuffle, but for those who enjoy the Full Album Experience, this is really solid and interesting. Recommendation : As album of the week, it's definitely worth a listen in what's a strange week overall, but it may not be for everyone. Artist : Drinks Album : Hermits on Holiday Quick Descr...