If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Soccer Mommy Album : Sometimes, Forever Quick Thoughts : Soccer Mommy continues to get better with every release she puts out. The fidelity is higher, but the songwriting is such a significant step forward that this demands attention. I love love love this album and I'm definitely looking forward to getting back to it. Songs of Note : "Bones," "With U," "Shotgun," "Don't Ask Me," "Fire in the Driveway," "Feel It All the Time" Artist : Boy Jr. Album : Pay Attention to Meee Quick Thoughts : Boy Jr. has, somewhat suddenly, started killing it on TikTok, and while those words might be incomprehensible to a lot of our readers, it's a big deal. Her previous EP, Starter Pack , has a few of my favorites from her, but this album shows that she's capable of a lot of interesting songwriting. "Meet Me In the Middle" in particular highlights her unique songwriting abilities in perhaps the best w...

Photo by Cloud Bobby Hackensaw Boys have been around since 1999 and are back with new music after a six year hiatus which saw songwriter and guitarist David Sickmen undergo surgery for vocal polyps. Their first new single, "Mary Shelley," is modern neo-folk done to perfection. They've been around long enough to go from alt-country to Americana, and "Mary Shelley" seems to be more Americana, with maybe a little bit of alt-country attitude poking out. It's the kind of country-ish folk that sounds exactly like their home state of Virginia. Plus, it's catchy enough that it's almost a pop song masked as a folk tune.  David Sickmen says of the band's new song: “As soon as we talked about making a new record the guys all asked if we could record the Mary Shelley song, so I realized that these experiences I’ve been living for years are the Hackensaw Boys sound”. You can listen to "Mary Shelley" below. Hackensaw Boys' self-titled album is du...

A busy week of new music, which seems to be typical for the moment! 1 of 2 as has been the case for a while. Album of the Week : Artist : Sturgill Simpson Album : A Sailor's Guide to Earth Quick Description : Latest album from the buzzed-about country act. Why You Should Listen : If his previous album was his roots breakthrough, this might end up being his mainstream one. Overall Thoughts : We've, to this point, not been on the Sturgill bandwagon here. It's not that he's not good at what he does, but I haven't personally felt the connection to his work the way a lot of other people have. Metamodern Sounds felt very sterile to me in particular, and I was expecting more of the same from this new album this week, and I didn't get it. His sound is still classic (the cover of "In Bloom" absolutely nails it), but there's a little bit of a layer of something here that I felt was missing before, and it makes it much more interesting. Thi...