If It's Too Loud...

Last weekend the schedule for the 2013 Newport Folk Festival was finally  released. As always there are major decisions to be made (Feist vs The Mountain Goats? Jason Isbell vs Father John Misty?), and we're here to help guide you. Of course, no matter how well I plan my schedule in advance, I always end up missing half of one band's set and another's entirely. This is merely a suggestion as to how to spend your day. Friday Fort Stage, 2:30-3:15 Kingsley Flood Fort Stage, 3:35-4:40 JD McPherson Harbor Stage, 4:45-5:40 The Mountain Goats Quad Stage, 6:10-7:05 John McCauley Fort Stage, 6:30-7:45 Old Crow Medicine Show Saturday Quad Stage, 11:45-12:45 Hurray for the Riff Raff Harbor Stage, 1:35-2:30 Houndmouth Quad Stage, 2:30-3:30 Shovels & Rope Harbor Stage, 4:15-5:15 Jason Isbell Harbor Stage, 5:40-6:40 Justin Townes Earle Fort Stage, 6:15-7:30 The Avett Brothers Sunday ...

The good news is that we're finally getting some good new releases again. The bad news is that they aren't so great... Editors - The Weight of Your Love : Editors started out as a British Interpol that I generally liked more than Interpol. They've somewhat branched away from that a bit, but that doesn't mean that they're still not great. The new album is quite good on the first few listens, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more press than it has. Jay-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail : I talked about this a bit last week , and my initial thoughts pretty much hold. It's Jay-Z's best effort in some time, better than Yeezus (although it's trying to accomplish something very different), and probably Jay-Z's best work in years. Yes, it's funny to hear Jay-Z tell Miley Cyrus to "twerk it." The Mother Hips - Behind Beyond : A friend got me into the Mother Hips some time ago, and I've never loved what they do, but they defi...

Tickets for Saturday and Sunday have been sold out for months, but you can win passes to the Newport Folk Festival coming up July 26-28 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI thanks to Junior Johnson's Midnight Moonshine . All you have to do is "Like" Junior Johnson's Midnight Moonshine's Facebook page  to enter. We're not associated with Junior Johnson's Midnight Moonshine, but figure if we're going to help promote the festival as much as we are, we want you guys to know about ways to get in. When we come across any other contests, we'll be sure to let you know. For more information on this year's Newport Folk Fest, be sure to check out their website .

He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister are going to get lumped into the whole freak folk thing based on their name and their look. However, they are nowhere near as cutesy as you’d think based on those two factors. They’re much closer in style to bands like David Wax Museum and Dr. Dog. Right now Noisetrade is offering the 5 song " Let It Live Free " EP sampler mostly consisting of Daytrotter and Audiotree recordings. I’m going to highly recommend you download it and take a listen. It’s good, fun folk rock with a pretty good emphasis on the rock aspect. Download "Let It Live Free" over at Noisetrade , and check out their tour dates and the video for "Can't See the Stars" below. Jul 19 2013      London UK     Somerset House with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Jul 23 2013      Manchester UK            The Castle Hotel      ...

Forgotten Fridays is a weekly 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. Once a week we go back and remind you, and help decide if they were any good. Cake Like is mostly known as the band featuring KerriKenney-Silver ( The State, Viva Variety, Reno 911 ) on bass and vocals. Before you dismiss them as another actor vanity project, keep in mind that Ric Ocasek produced their EP and then introduced them to Neil Young who signed them to his label, Vapor Records. That helps add credibility to any band. Before forming Cake Like in 1993, none of the members (Kerri Kenney-Silver, drummer Jodi Seifert, and guitarist Nina Hellman) had ever played instruments. This helps give Cake Like a truly unique sound and style. This is indie rock at its quirkiest, with erratic bursts of each instrument punctuating vocals that are usually ...

Been waiting to say this for three weeks: magna Carta holy fail. — David D. (@DavidDTSS) July 4, 2013 If you have a Samsung phone, you might have been like me and stayed up until midnight last night to get first crack at one of the million copies of Jay-Z's new album Magna Carta Holy Grail . I tried for about a half hour and then went to bed, and tried for much of the day today and had no luck, even going back and forth with tech support. I did find one workaround, however, if you're looking for the album still: 1) If you've already installed the app, uninstall the app. 2) Redownload it - your Play store, if you're working from your phone, will list it as "Update" rather than "Install." 3) Enter the app as usual, download. The other weird thing, at least for me and others, was that the app will move the album into your music player of choice, but might not give you access to the mp3s. To get the mp3s, you need to hook your phone up to you...

This week marks the release of My Dearest Darkest Neighbor, the latest release from Hurray for the Riff Raff. Lead by Alynda Lee Segarra, Hurray for the Riff Raff have a blues-tinged indie folk sound that invokes a more stripped down Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside or Alabama Shakes. My Dearest Darkest Neighbor is a collection of mostly covers along with two originals. The songs run the gamut of influences, from the more obvious folk and blues of Bob Dylan’s “Black Jack Davey” and Joni Mitchell’s “River,” to the classic country of Townes Van Zandt’s “Delta Momma Blues” and Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” She also has more contemporary influences like Gillian Welch’s “My Morphine.” The tracks drawing the most attention are her pair of solo Beatles covers: John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” and George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord.” The fact that on her previous album, 2012’s Look Out Mama, she had a song titled “Ode to John and Yoko” shows that she wears her love of The Beatl...

An epically slow week for new releases with the holiday. I can only find two releases that might be of any interest, neither of which I've heard or are available on Spotify. So check these out if you're inclined, or check back next week: * The Fall - Re-Mit * CHVRCHES - EP

Maybe 10-15 years ago, all the 80s hair metal bands started banding together in package tours, where 4-5 bands well past their prime would reunite (some with only one original member) and head out on the road together. This was done because Poison and Ratt might not be reason enough to shell out for tickets, a babysitter, parking, etc., but Poison, Ratt, Winger, AND White Lion? Now, that’s a bargain! Well, get ready aging Gen-Xers, because we’re now at the age when bands feel the need to do this. I present to you this summer’s 90s package tours.                                                       Summerland 2013: Alternative Guitars Everclear, Live, Filter, and Sponge Probably one of the oddest sets to tour togeth...

Every month, Amazon.com puts up 100 albums for $5 each. Ones that may be of interest to readers: * Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Here We Rest * Ellie Goulding - Halycon * Steve Martin & Edie Brickell - Love Has Come For You * Rhye - Woman * Radiohead - Amnesiac (can you believe this album is 13 years old?) * Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes - Baby Caught the Bus * The Decemberists - The Crane Wife * Robyn - Body Talk * The National - The National * The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth * Hole - Live Through This (can you believe this album is 19 years old?) * The Dandy Warhols - This Machine * Superchunk - Majesty Shredding

Seemingly out of nowhere comes the brand new song by the Kim Deal-less Pixies, called “Bagboy.” The song and video came out on Friday, but I wanted to give it some time before I made a final decision. Well… it’s awful. First off, it doesn’t even sound like a Pixies song. I get that they need to change up their sound a bit so they’re not just rehashing their late 80s/early 90s indie sound, but they’ve updated it to sound like a late 90s Fun Lovin’ Criminals throwaway song. It features a bizarre chant alongside Frank Black’s talk-singing style previously heard in “Subbaculture.” At no point does the tempo change from its mid-tempo plod, and drives straight into boredom. Kim leaving is a huge deal, so the absolute last thing they would want to do is bring in someone to sing who sounds just like Kim, right? So they do, bringing in Frank Black’s friend Jeremy Dubs for the chorus. Black says it’s a coincidence, but he sounds enough like Kim that Black had to address the internet reports...

Forgotten Fridays is a weekly 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. Once a week we go back and remind you, and help decide if they were any good. In 1996, Salt came out of Sweden and became the next Nirvana… for maybe a month. Inspired by the strength of their single “Bluster” off of the album Auscultate , modern rock DJs and music journalists gave them the highest praise imaginable. Their show at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge , MA , was touted as a “must see” show, your only chance to see them before they became megastars. After the show, it was reported that they didn’t address the audience until just before the last song, saying, “We’re Salt, and we don’t do encores,” which is the most and least rock star thing you can say at the same time. After that… pretty much nothing. Listening to Auscultate in 2013, I’m ...

To celebrate their signing with Acetate Records, Supersuckers are releasing a free 6 song EP with selections from their back catalog, kind of a mini greatest hits package. The band is about to head down to Willie Nelson’s Arlyn Studio in Austin , TX to record their ninth studio album, their first since 2008’s Get It Together . Arlyn Studio is where Supersuckers recorded their classic Sacrilicious album for SubPop back in 1995, so expect some magic. The self-proclaimed Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band In the World” are expected to release the new album by the end of the year. To download the “50,000 Middle Fingers Can’t Be Wrong ” EP filled with cowpunk classics, click here . Also, check out the video for “Born With a Tail” below, as well as dates for their upcoming fall tour. 09/01/13          Providence , RI                      ...