If It's Too Loud...

It may be the B-side to "Christmas on Coral Island," but we're obviously going to focus on a song called "She Died on Christmas Day." The Coral's latest single, and first Christmas release, has a much darker tone than the vast majority of holiday songs. There's something very 60's psychedelic about this latest song. It has that dark and groovy feel that a lot of story songs did back then, both haunting and oddly upbeat. I wouldn't say "She Died on Christmas Day" fully sounds like a forgotten 60's psychedelic garage rock song. It's a little to dirty sounding for that distinction. But, if you love your holiday songs on the dark and dreary side, or have a love for 60's psychedelic bands, the latest from The Coral is for you. Nick Power says of his band's latest single: “We love fifties and early sixties rock n’roll, especially the British stuff.  To us, it’s the sound of where we grew up: New Brighton and the fair, the lost...

Another crazy busy week, so another two parter for you all. Co-Album of the Week : Artist : Nada Surf Album : You Know Who You Are Quick Description : Latest album from the veteran rock act. Why You Should Listen : Nada Surf has been perpetually underrated for decades now. Overall Thoughts : You might still only know them via "Popular," which is fine. The issue with that is you've missed out on a ton of great music, including their really amazing album from about a decade ago, The Weight is a Gift . This album? It's absolutely their best since then, maybe even better musically, and just one of the most solid recent listens in a while. In an era where power pop isn't really getting its due, it's interesting to listen to this and really hear a band that's basically mastered what they do. From top to bottom, this is a superlative album and I can't wait to spend more time with it. It's so good, guys. So good. Recommendation : A must lis...

I really don't know what to make of this week: Lagwagon - Hang : Our 90s-tastic release week begins with a new album from Lagwagon, their first in nearly a decade. My teen years had a ska phase, but I could never really embrace the punk side, and Lagwagon is firmly there. If you've been missing out, there might be a lot here for you to love, but for me, this wasn't quite it. The Twilight Sad - Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave : An album I queued up because I thought they were a different band (probably the Twilight Singers), this was actually a pretty high quality dour indie rock record. The vocals are really distinctive and the songs memorable as they sort of lodged themselves into my brain. I will definitely seek out more of their stuff, but for now, this new album deserves a listen in a somewhat thin week. Lily & Madeleine - Fumes : Lily & Madeleine are fairly prolific, with their third album they definitely expand their sound a little ...