If It's Too Loud...

For our second Willie Nelson cover of the day, Margo Price has enlisted Particle Kid (aka Willie Nelson's son Micah) to cover the 1975 classic "Hands on the Wheel." To make it even more of a family affair, she even brings in Willie's harmonica player Mickey Raphael on the song. Price covering Nelson is a dream come true to fans of Americana, and this cover does not disappoint. The cover has the perfect stripped down country sound that makes the original so captivating. When you have a song as perfectly done as Nelson's "Hands on the Wheel," you just don't mess with the original, and Price does her version perfectly. You can listen to Margo Price and Particle Kid's version of "Hands on the Wheel" below. For more on Margo Price, check out the artist's website . You can find more on Particle Kid here .

To celebrate Willie Nelson's ninetieth birthday, Sierra Ferrell recorded a cover of his duet with Ray Charles, "Seven Spanish Angels." The original is one of Nelson's more orchestral and bigger sounding songs. Ferrell's is much more stripped down and basic. While many of Ferrell's songs are vintage country sounding, her cover of "Seven Spanish Angels" adds in more electric guitar than we're used to from her. This is her covering a vintage country classic and adding just the slightest bit of rock to the track. Sierra Ferrell is becoming one of our favorite artists to hear a cover from, and her take on Willie Nelson and Ray Charles' classic is a perfect example of that. You can listen to Sierra Ferrell's cover of "Seven Spanish Angels" below. For more on Sierra Ferrell, check out the artist's website .

Photo via Facebook One of the very few bright spots in 2020 is that artists are starting to dig through their archives and retrieving some lost gems. First Aid Kit recently discovered a seven year old recording of Willie Nelson's beyond classic "On the Road Again." Obviously the line "I just can't wait to get on the road again" means something completely different to musicians that haven't been able to tour for five months, so they've decided to release it. It's an absolutely perfect cover, staying perfectly true to the original, except maybe a little more modern sounding and with the exceptional harmonies of  Klara and Johanna Söderberg. You can watch the video for First Aid Kit's version of "On the Road Again" below. The video features cell phone footage of First Aid Kit on tour, which just heightens the new meaning of the song. First Aid Kit's proceeds from the song will be donated to Crew Nation which is supporting the...

We're a third of the way through the year already. How did this happen? With 17 new releases, we're splitting this in two Album of the Week : Artist : Kathinka Album : Kathinka Quick Description : Dreamy indie pop. Why You Should Listen : This is a gorgeous musical mix. Overall Thoughts : My biggest problem with this album is that it’s only eight songs long. I’ve had them looped in my playlists for some time, but this album so perfectly straddles the line between alt-rock and dreamy pop rock that it’s difficult to find any real problems with it. Recommendation : It’s simply a must-listen this week. Artist : Kasey Chambers and The Fireside Disciples Album : Campfire Quick Description : Deep roots music from a perpetually-underrated roots artist. Why You Should Listen : Kasey Chambers has been consistently great for decades. Overall Thoughts : With the other Kacey sucking up a lot of the country air, it’s easy to forget that another country Kasey is still maki...

Forgotten Fridays is an occasional feature here at If It’s Too Loud... where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mix tapes, and then forgot they existed. We go back and remind you of their existence, and help decide if they were any good. Oh, the mid 1990's. It was the glory days of the compilation album, where labels would just throw a bunch of bands on a cd, knowing that as long as you liked two or three of the bands, you'd but the entire album since there was no way you'd ever have any other way to get a copy of the exclusive songs. One of their favorite ways to put one of these together was a tribute album. You'd get a bunch of bands that would usually never be associated together, often covering an artist you'd never expect.  One of these tribute albums was Twisted Willie , which is a mostly alternative tribute to Willie Nelson. Including Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings ...

And the rest! Artist : Airling Album : Hard to Sleep, Easy to Dream Quick Description : Light and airy poppy singer-songwriter stuff. Why You Should Listen : Comfortable and pleasant is the name of the game here. Overall Thoughts : Airling was a pleasant surprise for me. Coming from Australia, this is an album that feels light and airy with some electronic instrumentation to go along with solid vocals. The result is a really pretty album that, on one hand, isn’t really breaking any ground, but is still quite a worthwhile listen on the other. While this might not blow your mind... Recommendation : ...I absolutely recommend finding some time for it this week. Artist : Juliana Hatfield Album : Pussycat Quick Description : The first major protest album of 2017. Why You Should Listen : Juliana Hatfield is certainly expressing a point of view here, but it doesn't detract from the music. Overall Thoughts : This is Juliana Hatfield’s anti-Trump protest record. If you’re ...

A surprisingly great week this week. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - The High Country : I confess to not having followed SSLYBY all that closely, but when did they become a fun power pop band? This is a breath of fresh air from this band - it's very straightforward yet has enough interesting wrinkles to throw some curveballs your way. A really solid album. Girlpool - Before the World Was Big : I love this Girlpool album. It's like a weird, interesting mix of early-aughts anti-folk and Tune-Yards mixed with some real pop sensibility. I found this to be an utterly compelling listen from start to finish, and I'm really looking forward to getting back to it. It's not the best release of the week, but it's absolutely the one everyone should be listening to. Barenaked Ladies - Silverball : It's been roughly a decade since I've really enjoyed much that BNL has done, and especially since Steven Page left, it hasn't really been something intere...

Another slow week as we enter the summer, but there are a few new highlights out there. The Two Man Gentlemen Band - Enthusiastic Attempts at Hot Swing & String Band Favorites : Blog favorite The Two Man Gentlemen Band is back with a new album of "Hot Swing and String Band Favorites," which is something they've done live for a while now. It's the typical high quality from The Gentlemen we've expected, and it's also nice to know that scoring Disney cartoons hasn't really impacted the band on a whole. Definitely another solid release from one of my favorite groups. Yuko Yuko - Babes : I only heard about Yuko Yuko from some other music blogs. It's lo-fi Casio-style electronic music, and almost feels ironic to a fault. I don't hate this, mind you, but I can see it being pretty grating to some listeners. With that said, if you can accept the premise, there are some solid songs on here worth hearing. Say Hi - Endless Wonder : Say Hi is a b...