If It's Too Loud...

Photo courtesy of The Pretty Graves The Pretty Graves released their excellent self-titled debut album back in May, and before they head into the studio for their second, they're releasing a collection of songs from that album's sessions. The first single from that release is "Bluebird," an absolutely rockin' track steeped in blues. This latest song has a certain timeless quality that great blues rock songs have. It has elements that are both modern and vintage, and is impossibly groovy. The groovier and more bluesy aspects of the song have more of a 60's or 70's vibe (especially the organ), while the guitar solos are pure 90's. There's also a modern feel to the vocals, which all help give "Bluebird" its timeless quality. Once you hear this latest single, it will amaze you that it didn't make the cut for The Pretty Graves' recent album. Frontman Christopher M. Lisorti says of his band's latest single: “‘Bluebird’ is about an e...

Artist : Social Distortion Album : Born to Kill Quick Thoughts : Often, when an old or longtime wrestler comes out and does well, the crowd starts a "you still got it!" chant. While I don't know if that implies Social Distortion ever lost it, never mind needing to qualify "it" with "still," the reality is that Born to Kill is exactly what I wanted from a Social Distortion album in 2026. We're coming up on 50 years of Social Distortion and they're still consistent and interesting, and still unafraid to drop an unexpected cover song. Sure, it took 15 years to get here, but Born to Kill was ultimately worth the wait for me. Songs of Note : "No Way Out," "Tonight," "Wicked Game," "Never Goin' Back Again" Artist : India Ramey Album : Villain Era Quick Thoughts : There are plenty of women doing the classic country thing, and some are more successful than others. I place India Ramey fully...

Photo courtesy of The Pretty Graves When a press release compares a new song to artists like Elliott Smith, The Dandy Warhols, The Velvet Underground, Pavement, and Wilco, it's guaranteed I'm going to listen to it. The only problem is that I'm going to be hypercritical of it as I expect not to hear any of those bands' influence. Luckily, you can hear every one of those artists in "Bending Reeds," the latest from The Pretty Graves. The Connecticut band have created a groovy and hypnotic art rock track for their new single. The wonderfully weird thing about it is that as you listen, if you think about any of the above bands, you'll start to hear them. It has the psychedelic groove of The Dandy Warhols, which morphs into the alt-country/dad rock of Wilco, and then the psych-drone of The Velvet Underground, and so on. Plus, Christopher M. Lisorti's vocals somehow sound like Jeff Tweedy, Lou Reed, and Courtney Taylor-Taylor all at once. The Pretty Graves...