If It's Too Loud...

In what can only be described as organic indie rock synergy, Lucy Dacus has covered a Matador Records labelmates Yo La Tengo classic to celebrate the reissue of Electr-o-pura . Dacus does a solo, self-recorded electric cover of "Tom Courtenay" and posted the video on YouTube. Dacus even wrote an essay on the song and how much Yo La Tengo mean to her, which you can read below. I was born on May 2, 1995, the day that Electr-o-pura came out. Fourteen years later, I started high school and made a new friend who wore a leather jacket and boots, who expressed confident opinions about music that I had never heard. I devoured every recommendation they gave me in an effort to align my tastes. I wanted to be cool, or at least not uncool. I found out about The Stooges, Philip Glass, and Sonic Youth through my effort to win their approval. I loved it all, and my parents hated every new discovery. Cool was loud. One day my friend brought me a stack of CDs, all Yo La Tengo, and told ...

I'm shockingly unfamiliar with Yo La Tengo's song "Autumn Sweater," despite the fact that it was on 1997's I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One , which is an album I know I played a ton on my college radio show. But, when Palehound decides to cover it, I kinda need to go back and revisit it. Palehound's version is very true to the original, as you'd expect. If anything, the cover is a more straightforward song than the original. Yo La Tengo's version feels a bit dreamier and Palehound's a bit more grounded, although somehow it's the keys that give both their feel.  You can listen to Palehound's version of "Autumn Sweater" below. It's the b-side to their new single, "Your Boyfriend's Gun." You can get a copy over at their Bandcamp . For more on Palehound, check out their website . Your Boyfriend's Gun by Palehound

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. I really miss these cover song compilations from the 90's. Back in 1992,  Freedom Of Choice (Yesterday's New Wave Hits As Performed By Today's Stars)  was put together to as a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood. As the title says, it's "Yesterday's New Wave Hits As Performed By Today's Stars." Well, by stars they mean indie rock stars, and this one does have some of 1992's finest indie rockers contributing. It also has a bunch of artists I've never heard of outside of this compilation, but I'll focus on what I find to be the highlights.  I'm always going to lean towards any contribution from Sonic Youth. Here they...

Album of the Week : Artist : The Decemberists Album : I'll Be Your Girl Quick Description : New album from the veteran act. Why You Should Listen : It will likely be their most divisive listen since The Hazards of Love . Overall Thoughts : The Decemberists are a band that, at this point, are not putting out anything typical or predictable yet always sound like The Decemberists. This is always a difficult thing for bands to do, but Colin Meloy's songwriting always tends to have a poetic, theatrical flair, and the rest of the band fills in the musical gaps nicely. This is a good album, I think - there are moments of levity ("Everything is Awful"), moments to experiment ("Severed") and the result here is an album that will likely split the fanbase again. Especially after how gorgeous a return to form their previous effort was, it's both surprising and not surprising that we received this. Recommendation : Definitely the best of the week, but you ...

A really solid week for releases: Co-Album of the Week : Artist : The Weeknd Album : Beauty Behind the Madness Quick Description : Much anticipated second album by the R&B producer/star. Why You Should Listen : You miss Michael Jackson's music; "Can't Feel My Face" is your song of the summer. Overall Thoughts : I was thinking about this album yesterday when a friend on Facebook made the Michael Jackson connection I had in my head from the first listen of this. It's really apt, he even has some of the vocal stylings down pat and I can't tell if it's on purpose or not. Still, "Can't Feel My Face" is as addictive as the drug the song is about, and the album is really a great listen from start to finish. Even as someone who doesn't always like straight R&B, there's a lot to love here. Recommendation : A mandatory listen this week, as it's sure to end up on a number of best-of lists. Co-Album of the Week : Art...