If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Brendan Nakahara Tanukichan may be the project of Bay Area musician Hannah van Loon, it is also a collaboration between van Loon and Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi. The project's newest single, "Don't Give Up," is this odd mixture of chillwave, shoegaze, and nu metal. (I honestly didn't pick up the nu metal until I saw it mentioned in the press release, but now I can't unhear it...) "Don't Give Up" has the unmistakable electronic chill of bands like Massive Attack and Stereolab, the fuzz of shoegaze, and the oddly aggressive riffs of nu metal. This song should not work at all, but Tanukichan pull off this unique sound masterfully. It's one of the more unique and familiar sounding songs we've brought you in a while. Hannah van Loon says of the new single: "This song is about feeling I haven’t done anything with my life, but also knowing that I’ve accomplished a lot and it’s only getting better. I started writing the lyrics when I wa...

Artist : Trombone Shorty Album : Lifted Quick Thoughts : Trombone Shorty is legendary in his own right, but I admit that not a lot of his stuff has grabbed me. It's not him, it's me. With that said? Lifted is absolutely incredible, with a lot of great songs and excellent hooks. I loved so much of this album, it's a true unexpected delight. This is a super busy week, but this absolutely and unequivocally deserves your time. Songs of Note : "Lie to Me," "I'm Standing Here," "Everybody in the World," "Lifted" Artist : Erika Lewis Album : A Walk Around the Sun Quick Thoughts : This album was a pleasant surprise. A very rootsy, very folky affair with some gorgeous instrumentation and melodies, it's one of the better Americana releases in a week full of good ones. Give this a listen. Songs of Note : "A Thousand Miles," "Love Song," "Unsatisfied" Artist : Particle Kid Album : Time Caps...

We're back into a strong swing after the American holiday... Album of the Week : Artist : Great Grandpa Album : Plastic Cough Quick Description : More female-fronted 1990s alt-rock, nearly as good as the rest. Why You Should Listen : Hits the right nostalgia buttons while still feeling new and fresh. Overall Thoughts : A question I never asked until I heard this album was “what if Speedy Ortiz was trying to be more like a grungy version the 1990s revival we’ve been seeing lately?” The answer appears to be Great Grandpa (who have the best band name I’ve seen in some time). The lead track hit my radar some time ago, and I’ve been waiting for this release for some time. It’s very, very good, and I’m impressed by the choices and risks it takes musically – the band could have played things a little safe and worked toward a poppy indie rock record with some radio friendly songs ready and waiting for that breakout, and they instead went with some really interesting song struct...

  I haven't ever really been able to get into Toro Y Moi, mainly because he tends to veer more toward the experimental for my liking. I heard this one on Song Exploder , however, and it turns out that at least this song works for me in a lot of good ways. It's very Of Montreal-esque in parts, breezy but still a little weird, well-produced while still feeling a little lo-fi. Definitely one I've kept in my rotation for a while now.