If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Doves Album : Constellations for the Lonely Quick Thoughts : Doves are back with a new album that feels like what we expect from the veteran act. "Renegade" is up there with some of the best work they've put out, and it's a superlative, comfortable listen overall. Not a ton to say except that it's a highlight of the week. Songs of Note : "Renegade," "Cold Dreaming," "A Drop In the Ocean" Artist : SASAMI Album : Blood on the Silver Screen Quick Thoughts : Since going solo from Cherry Glazerr, SASAMI has carved out a pretty cool niche for herself over the course of a few albums and EPs. Each one has built upon the previous, and this latest effort, positioned in part as her "pop record," is really so much more than that. There are a lot of unforgettable, excellent songs here that straddle the line between indie pop, retrowave, and singer-songwriter stuff ("Slugger" in particular is one of the bett...

Travels with Brindle, the ukulele power pop project from Chelsea Spear, might not be the obvious choice to release a cover album of Sparks' 1979 disco album No. 1 in Heaven , but that might be why it works so well. Today sees the release of Spear's version of "The Number One Song in Heaven," which is both faithful to and a complete reworking of the original. Obviously a song featuring only vocals and ukulele is going to sound completely different from a full on disco track, but Travels with Brindle keep the spirit of the original alive even if it's a totally different tempo and mood. Plus, the backstory of the Sparks covers album is fun as it was funded by a Kickstarter and recorded at the Boston Public Library. Chelsea Spear says of her decision to record a Sparks covers album after seeing the band perform live: “Watching the joy in their performance reconnected me with why I made music. A few days later, I was listening to No. 1 in Heaven while making dinner an...

Photo by Krzystina Calderone for Vintage Girl Studios Travels With Brindle, the lo-fi ukulele-pop project from Massachusetts' Chelsea Spear, is no stranger to covers. Back in 2018, Spear covered Alex Lahey's debut album. Now she's back with a reimagining of Sparks' 1979 disco album No. 1 in Heaven. The first single from that project, "Tryouts for the Human Race," is about as different from the original as you can get. Sparks' version is a weirdo, space age sounding disco track, and Travels With Brindle's version is... well... lo-fi ukulele-pop. It's just Spear and her ukulele, and is about as stripped down as you can possibly get. As someone who really needs to spend some more time with Sparks' catalog, this is still a great listen. Spears is a compelling performer no matter what she's doing, and her version of "Tryouts for the Human Race" is more than the curiosity that a ukulele cover of a Sparks disco song could have been. Chel...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: September 6 Lady Lamb, Hannah Mohan, and Naomi Westwater at Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA Travels with Brindle at Gilman Park, Somerville, MA Linnea's Garden, TIFFY, Lipsmear, and Lover of Eve at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Haley Heynderickx and LePond at The Word Barn, Exeter, NH September 7 Sweeping Promises and Zowy at Myrtle, East Providence, RI JP Music Fest featuring Merrie Amsterberg, The Ghouls, Prateek, TELL, Travels with Brindle, and more at Pinebank Field, J...

Greater Boston's favorite uke-wielding busker Travels With Brindle is back with a new Kickstarter, this time for an EP tribute to Sparks and their breakthrough(?) album No. 1 in Heaven . The crowdfunding effort for the album, No. 1 in Heaven Starring Travels With Brindle , is a $5,000 effort appropriately titled “The Travels With Brindle Crowdfunding Effort for No. 1 in Heaven Starring Travels With Brindle ,” and brings with it a Robert Benchley attitude with a Sparksian twist. Says Chelsea: “The Travels With Brindle Crowdfunding Effort for No. 1 in Heaven Starring Travels With Brindle ” is a tribute record of sorts for [Sparks], a band often compared to sounds of furniture being thrown downstairs, dishes and spoons being clattered together, and sometimes even actual physical violence. Such activities are offensive to me, either in print or in the sung word, so you will not catch me or my ukulele putting on acts like that. This is instead a labor both of love and art. You ca...

Artist : Incentive Dry Album : Stomachville Quick Thoughts : Surprise of the week was also one of my favorites. Incentive Dry is a little shoegazey, a little grungey, and just a really great listen across the board. If you're into this sort of stuff, Incentive Dry should make it onto your radar, as it's one of the better listens in this area in some time. Songs of Note : "Lava," "Stalker," "7" Artist : Brandt Brauer Frick Album : Multi Faith Prayer Room Quick Thoughts : While I fully get that electronic music ain't for everyone, Brandt Brauer Frick is doing something a little different that's worth your time. It's not quite angular and abrasive as some of the more challenging groups out there, but it still throws some elbows and forces your attention. I loved the approach, I loved a lot of the songs on this album. It's absolutely worth a spin this week. Songs of Note : "Dotted Line," "Perpetuate" Art...

Photo by Jen Vesp Travels With Brindle, the lo-fi ukulele pop project of Chelsea Spear, has always been kind of a niche musical taste, as lo-fi ukulele pop projects tend to go. However, Spear's latest single has a surprising amount of crossover appeal. "Switching Tracks" is still lo-fi, and wonderfully so, but the song also has a certain quality to it that is going to appeal to a much wider audience than you might expect. It's the kind of song that could sneak up on the mainstream, the way Belle & Sebastian do every so often. It has enough of a pop sensibility to appeal to (at least some of) the masses, but enough indie charm and quirk to entice us music snobs. Chelsea Spear says of her new single: “‘Switching Tracks’ is about the moment you cross paths with a crush and realize they’re not as great as you thought they were, and that realization frees you. It’s inspired by a moment at the end of The Idiot when Selin and Ivan finally talk about her feelings for him...

We agree that it's probably too early for Christmas music, but we hope you'll forgive us once you hear this one from Travels With Brindle. The lo-fi ukulele project from Chealsea Spear has released "Rudolph's Ranch," and except for the into that's borrowed from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" it's not very Christmas-y. In fact, if you're not paying much attention to the lyrics you'd probably miss out on it being a Christmas song. Plus, it's a very melancholy song, which isn't very traditionally Christmas-y... but we all know how that can work. This is a Christmas song for people that aren't really into Christmas music, or are really into Christmas music. Chelsea Spear says of her new song: “This was the second song I wrote for the project, when I decided to write an album inspired by The Idiot . I thought I wanted to write a bunch of songs that sounded like ‘Ivan’ and I knew this one had to stand out and show the listeners it...

Photo by Susan Margot Ecker An "indie pop ukulele project" is right up our alley here at If It's Too Loud..., so we're thrilled to have a new song from Travels With Brindle, Chelsea Spear's indie pop ukulele project. "Something's Wrong" is going to immediately remind you of The Magnetic Fields, especially Claudia Gonson's songs. It has that stripped down quality along with a storytelling feel to it. It's almost even more theatrical than you would get with The Magnetic Fields despite having bare instrumentation. A lyric like "I read his emails by the glow of the Coke machine" just sets a mood completely. "Something's Wrong" is going to be nearly impossible to resist for many of us. Chelsea Spear says of her new single: "'Something's Wrong' is a musical establishing shot that sets the tone for the album, the way an 'I Want' song sets up the rest of a musical. You get a snapshot of who the narrato...

Photo by Susan Margot Ecker Travels With Brindle is Chelsea Spear's "Massachusetts-based lo-fi indie-pop and ukulele project." Her latest single, "Linden Street," is going to remind you a lot of the poppier side of The Magnetic Fields. It's an odd take on power pop that's a lot more fleshed out than you would typically think of from ukulele based music. Travels With Brindle is typically known as a busking project, but "Linden Street" is more alt-pop based than anything you've heard on the streets. It's a fun song that helps cement Spear as an artist you're going to want to watch out for. Chelsea Spear says of her new song: “I wanted to write a power pop-influenced song with a catchy melody and heartbroken lyrics. While I was going through my anger and sadness, my friend saw that I was in distress and texted me: ‘Emotions are like weather. This will pass.’ Something in that phrase stuck with me and I took that energy into writing thi...

This weekend in the Boston area, and in a bunch of weekends to come, Porchfest arrives! Porchfest features local artists - musical and non-musical alike - performing in yards and porches in various Boston-area neighborhoods. I don't know if I'll be able to make any of them, but the lineups are stacked with so many acts that, if you have an afternoon to stroll around town, you're bound to find something you enjoy. Porchfest kicks off in Somerville this weekend with dozens of acts all over the place. Friend Of The Blog Travels With Brindle will be performing tracks from her Alex Lahey ukulele cover album , a video from which is below: The whole idea of a Porchfest is new to me and kind of neat, and I would personally love to see one happen in the Worcester/Central Mass area in the future. Maybe next year? Porchfest dates are below: May 13: Somerville, MA May 19: Plum Island, MA June 2: Newton, MA June 9: Arlington, MA June 9: Brookline, MA June 16: Boston F...