If It's Too Loud...

Nostalgia can be weird. of Montreal were never one of the bands I was obsessed with in the mid 00's, but I always liked them. They always seemed like they'd be a fun band to see live, but I never quite got around to it. 2025 is the twentieth anniversary of their hit album The Sundlandic Twins , and as soon as they announced their current tour would be a full album performance, I knew I wanted to go when it hit Boston. Being an indie rock snob, I typically see shows but not performances. Tuesday night was a performance. There were video screens throughout Royale showing moving images made up of The Sunlandic Twins ' cover artwork, and before singer/guitarist Kevin Barnes took the stage, a pair clad in white skintight costumes took the stage with the images of the figures on the album cover projected onto them. The band including Barnes were wearing mostly pink and red, giving the entire evening the feel of being more of an affair than a concert. (A number of people in attend...

Artist : AJJ Album : Good Luck Everybody Quick Description : Andrew Jackson Jihad gets political (or, well, moreso than usual). Why You Should Listen : AJJ is always a good time. Overall Thoughts : Been a fan for a while now, and this is probably the most overtly political album they’ve done, which is interesting that it feels very restrained musically while being fairly unsubtle in its messaging. Does it work? As a fan of AJJ, it feels like a lighter AJJ album. A someone who is not a Trump fan, but not really a protest music guy, I suppose I appreciate how on-the-nose it is? It’s not likely to age too well on a whole, but that’s not the point at the end of it all. Recommendation : Worth a listen, but still has some interesting choices. Artist : Aoife Nessa Frances Album : Land of No Junction Quick Description : Gorgeous singer-songwriter music from an up-and-coming Irish songstress. Why You Should Listen : This is not the typical thing you expect, while still feeling f...

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'...

I'm hoping this week is evidence that we're out of the summer slump! Album of the Week : Artist : Ruby the RabbitFoot Album : Divorce Party Quick Description : New album from folkie-turned-pop artist. Why You Should Listen : A shift in sound works out really well. Overall Thoughts : We first got a hint of Ruby the RabbitFoot's change in approach with her cover of Madonna's "Take a Bow" from last year , and I found the early songs released from this to be a little jarring. But hearing the album in full, I was feeling like this is sort of like what we might expect Madonna to sound like if she were just starting out now (and that's before getting to album highlight "Wild Cherry Chapstick," which opens with a declaration from Ruby where she admits to having a "sex dream about your brother"). This is a really solid listen and one I'm really looking forward to spending a lot more time with, it's a fun one. Might be jarring ...

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...

This might be the biggest new release week of the fall for me, personally, with a lot of long-awaited albums on the docket. Let's get right to it: Lorde - Pure Heroine : By now, you've almost certainly heard "Royals" (which I raved about back in August ), and 16-year-old Lorde's debut album releases today. What I find interesting about Pure Heroine is how quiet and understated it is. It's not a bad album at all, far from it - instead, it's a lot more stark than you might think given the lush vocals in "Royals." I expected a more mainstream Bjork sound, or perhaps some Portishead-style vocals, and instead it's a little safer (being so young and being a mainstream release, this isn't a surprise). It's worth a listen for sure, if only because it's probably the album of the fall, but temper your expectations. V V Brown - Samson and Delilah : V V Brown's first album, Travelling Like the Light , was a revelation in many w...