If It's Too Loud...

Artist : ScHoolboy Q Album : BLUE LIPS Quick Thoughts : I'm like a lot of people where I got on board with Q thanks to "Druggys WitH Hoes Again" and "Hands on the Wheel," and his latest is still high quality and cements him as one of the more underrated rappers currently working. Lots of great tracks here, and one of the better rap albums of the year thus far. Songs of Note : "Pop," "THank god 4 me," "Yeern 101," "Pig feet," "Foux" Artist : Faye Webster Album : Underdressed at the Symphony Quick Thoughts : Faye Webster has a delivery that always catches me off-guard. Her voice floats above the music, which gives a timeless quality to her sound that's missing from even some of the best retro acts. "He Loves Me Yeah!" is an earworm and a half, and the title track is a real highlight, but there's a ton of great stuff in here in a busy week. Check it out. Songs of Note : "Wanna Qui...

Photo by Phoebe Fox We loved Yard Act's debut album The Overload , and now the Leeds post-punk band is back with a new single. "Dream Job" expands on their post-punk sound with a heavy and somewhat unexpected dose of funk. It sounds a little bit sunnier than what we've become accustomed to from them. "Dream Job" is an odd mixture of Cake, Britpop keys, and some 80's futuristic effects along with Yard Act's traditional song. It sounds like they're throwing everything they can at this one, and somehow it works out perfectly. This new single is a ton of fun, and has us very curious what they'll be up to next. Vocalist James Smith says of the new single: “In part, I was scrutinizing and mocking myself for being a moaning ungrateful little brat, whilst also trying to address how the music industry is this rather uncontrollable beast that hurtles forward unthinkingly and every single person involved in it plays their part. Myself included, obviousl...

Photo by Phoebe Fox This past weekend was a bit of a crazy one for live music in Boston. There were multiple shows all three nights with Squid, Crowfeeder and SkyTigers, Thao, and a bunch of others all having shows scheduled. I chose to see Yard Act who had the hard task of erasing my FOMO for other shows. The night started off fairly strangely. Bad Waitress had to drop off the bill due to a positive COVID test the night before and weren't replaced. Doors still opened a little after 8:00, and Yard Act went on at 10:00 which meant a lot of the crowd was there for two hours with nothing to really do. The night started off with the disappointment of a band I was looking forward to seeing and then extra time waiting, which is never a good place to start off from. Yard Act acknowledged the situation from the stage, referring to the emergency exits announcement as their opener. Luckily, Yard Act are a great live band. They chose to play their new album from start to finish in its entiret...

Artist : Logan Lynn Album : New Money Quick Thoughts : This has no business being as good as it is. It's electro-pop with a sort of anti-folk bent, but I loved it over and over and then got to the Liz Phair cover, which is perfect . Logan Lynn won't be for everybody, but if you're looking for a Marc Rebillet-ish danceable record this week, check this out. Songs of Note : "It's Been Forever," "Fuck and Run" Artist : Che Noir Album : Food For Thought Quick Thoughts : This is a really great rap album this week. Che Noir offers up a record with some excellent low-key backing beats and one great song after another. She's more Sa-Roc than Nicki, and that's to her benefit as well. The whole thing is great, and is definitely my favorite rap album this week. Songs of Note : Artist : Artsick Album : Fingers Crossed Quick Thoughts : Sometimes Ken sends me things I've never heard of, and they're so good that I shoot him the "hol...

Photo by Phoebe Fox The more I hear Yard Act the more I enjoy them. The Leeds, UK band re-imagine Parklife- era Blur as a post punk band instead of Brit pop. So far their vocals have been much more along the lines of spoken word or ranting than actual singing. Their latest single, "Rich," has this blistering building intensity that goes in stark contrast to the cheerfulness at the beginning of the song. Very slowly the song gets angrier and drips with more and more attitude the further you get into the song. "Rich" starts off as an almost accessible song and then devolves into a much noisier and discordant one towards the end. A+. Frontman James Smith says of the new song: “ ‘Rich’ is the natural successor to ‘Payday’. That’s the end of the story right? Success! Status! Security! Except, there’s always more money to be made, and you’re deemed a failure if your life starts to head back in the direction it came from. It’s about being so lost you’re sure you know exact...

Photo by James Brown Hailing from Leeds, Yard Act are threatening to become the next huge thing out of England. The band's new single, "Payday," imagines a bizarre world where Blur skipped out on the whole Britpop thing around the time of Parklife to become an experimental post punk band that also was really into funk. Needless to say, "Payday" has a wonderfully unique sound with buzzing and swirling guitars and all sorts of odd little twists and turns. We've been late to jump on this bandwagon, so you're going to want to jump on and join us ASAP. Singer James Smith says of the new song: “ ‘Payday’ was one of the few tracks on the record we had to rebuild completely in the studio because the first demo was recorded on my computer and the hard drive corrupted. We spent about TWO hours trying to figure out that stupid keyboard part I'd put on it and couldn't remember how to play. It was boring but worth it. It's about gentrification, class feti...

Photo by James Brown Yard Act may have only formed in 2019, but the Leeds based band has already built up quite a loyal following. Their debut 7" sold out of its five hundred copy pressing in one day, and their latest sold out one thousand copies in two hours. That song, "Dark Days," shows why. "Dark Days" has this killer post punk sound, and while it has the dark vibes that permeate most post punk, this new song is almost bouncy with a bizarro sense of fun. The vocals, particularly the chorus, add an almost cartoony vibe to the disjointed guitars throughout the song. You can watch the video for "Dark Days" below. The song is available via the band's own Zen F.C. label. You can get a copy here . For more on Yard Act, check them out on Facebook and Twitter .