First Listen: New Releases for August 21

Another quicker-than-normal week as I'm coming off of another trip.

Album of the Week:

Artist: Gardens & Villa
Album: Music for Dogs
Quick Description: Strange, compelling synth rock/art pop.
Why You Should Listen: You reminisce about some of the weirder pieces of the Elephant Six Collective; you commonly say "this album would be great with more keyboard."
Overall Thoughts: I listened to this and thought it was a little weird, but not long afterward I realized how much of it stuck with me and how ambitious the entire listen was. Taken as a whole, it's a great piece. Some of the individual parts are strange, and I wouldn't recommend putting this on shuffle, but for those who enjoy the Full Album Experience, this is really solid and interesting.
Recommendation: As album of the week, it's definitely worth a listen in what's a strange week overall, but it may not be for everyone.

Artist: Drinks
Album: Hermits on Holiday
Quick Description: I honestly have no idea.
Why You Should Listen: I, again, have no idea.
Overall Thoughts: This is a weird one. A collaboration featuring Cate Le Bon, it just doesn't work. It's all over the place, stark without being interesting enough to cover for it, and just fails on all accounts.
Recommendation: Skip this.

Artist: Method Man
Album: The Meth Lab
Quick Description: Latest album from Wu-Tang legend.
Why You Should Listen: Because the Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothin' to... well, you know.
Overall Thoughts: In terms of what we've seen from Wu-Tang alumni as of late, this is on the upper end of quality for those releases. On one hand, it's solid. On the other, it feels a little dated? I haven't kept up with Method Man's releases on a whole, so more significant fans might get more out of this, but for a more casual listener, I enjoyed this.
Recommendation: Worth a listen, especially on a short release week.

Artist: The Sword
Album: High Country
Quick Description: Latest album from a modern heavy metal act.
Why You Should Listen: You feel the need to bring the rawk.
Overall Thoughts: I'm not much of a metal guy, and this album really felt like a looooong 50 minutes. I'm probably not fully equipped to give this the review it ultimately deserves, but if you're not into metal this might be one to avoid.
Recommendation: Be careful.

Artist: Barrance Whitfield and the Savages
Album: Under the Savage Sky
Quick Description: If The Darkness did rockabilly...
Why You Should Listen: ...but a serious take on it would be appealing to you.
Overall Thoughts: I had never heard of Barrance Whitfield before now, and when I mentioned what they sounded like to Ken, he said that they had been around for ages. That this is a serious take makes it even more awesome, and, while it's maybe a little overpolished, it's a fun listen.
Recommendation: Absolutely worth some time, you're bound to find something to love.

Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
Album: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
Quick Description: Brassy, punchy Americana-tinged R&B
Why You Should Listen: You're looking for something a little more fun.
Overall Thoughts: If "S.O.B." isn't getting you to groove in your seat a bit, I'm not sure what to tell you. This is a fun album from start to finish, and one can only hope it becomes a bit of a breakout.
Recommendation: Absolutely add this to your playlists this week.

Artist: Tracy Bonham
Album: Wax & Gold
Quick Description: Fifth album from the Boston rock music elder stateswoman.
Why You Should Listen: You remember songs that weren't "Mother Mother."
Overall Thoughts: I confess to not knowing where Bonham sits in the Boston-area pantheon except that "Mother Mother" was a modest hit and then we all kind of collectively forgot about her. That song was almost 20 years ago, and Bonham hasn't released a ton since then, so this is a welcome surprise even if some of it is a little weird (the first song on the album is not representative). Still, there are some pretty great alt-rock gems strewn throughout the album, so readers of this blog will almost certainly find something to like.
Recommendation: A welcome return of a familiar face, so give it a spin.

The Needy Sons - "Too Thin"/"Red Line"

The side project/moderate supergroup featuring Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom, Mike Gent of The Gentlemen, and Ed Valauskas of The Gravel Pit already have a new single out. This time around the A-side, "Too Thin," is sung and written by Mike Gent. It's a chilled out, mid-tempo track that's a great foil to Bill Janovitz's contribution, "Red Line." "Red Line" is a much faster, more rockin' song featuring a killer guitar solo. Both songs fit in perfectly with The Needy Sons' straightforward bar band feel. It's great seeing two established musicians and songwriters coming together to just have some fun with music on these songs. Hopefully next month will bring us some more.

You can check out The Needy Sons on Bill Janovitz's Bandcamp. You can also check out his website for all your other Bill Janovitz related needs.

Secret Lover - Secret Lover

Hailing from the greater Worecester, MA area, I'm always a supporter of the local music scene. Unfortunately, most of the Worcester music scene is made up of bad cover bands, bad metal, and Insane Clown Posse fans.

Enter Secret Lover. They're this really hard to define indie band that's part sultry 60s doo wop and crunchy psychedelic noise. I came up with that description and I absolutely hate it. Some of the best ways to describe the band's sound have nothing to do with auditory words. For example, on their Bandcamp they have "graveyard" and "spooked" as tags. And that describes them perfectly. It's both sunny and dark sounding, noisy and beautiful. You need to check them out.

For more information on Secret Lover, check out their Bandcamp and Facebook. Listen to "Sometimes My Wine Becomes My Lover" below.

Friday Freebie: Rayland Baxter - Yellow Eyes Tour EP

We've been pretty gushing in our love for Rayland Baxter's new album, Imaginary Man. In case all that love hasn't been enough to convince you to check it out, Noisetrade is currently offering the Yellow Eyes Tour EP for a free download. On it you'll get "Mr. Rodriguez" and "Yellow Eyes" off of Imaginary Man as well as two songs from his back catalog. It's a perfect primer in case you haven't trusted our immaculate taste yet.

In order to download a free copy of Yellow Eyes Tour EP, go to Noisetrade. Once you realize how fantastic it is, go to Rayland Baxter's website to order your own copy and find out when he'll be coming to a town near you.

Peaches featuring Kim Gordon - "Close Up"

Ever since she mentioned it on Marc Maron's WTF podcast back in March, I've been anxiously waiting to hear Kim Gordon's collaboration with Peaches. It's finally out in the form of the video for "Close Up." The song "Close Up" is nearly a duet between the two. Gordon mostly handles the chorus along with a little more, while the verses are Peaches' duty. The song is a bit more minimal than I would have expected, since usually Gordon is associated with walls of noise. The video shows Peaches as a wrestler battling the wrestlers of Lucha VaVoom and Gordon as her disinterested and annoyed manager. It also has some poopy humor that you probably wouldn't want co-workers seeing you watch, so NSFW. Also, I never thought I'd type "Kim Gordon" and "wrestling" in the same sentence.

Peaches' new album, Rub, is due out September 25 on I U She. Check out her website for more information.

Dead Leaf Echo - "Lemonheart"

Dead Leaf Echo has a new single coming out on September 15, and it's fantastic. On first listen it sounds like your typical neo-shoegaze that we cover the crap out of here. But "Lemonheart" is even more layered than shoegaze, with a glaze of noise over the whole thing and multiple vocals swirling around each other to hold it all together. It truly heightens a genre that's existed for decades now and really deserves a listen.

You can hear "Lemonheart" below, with tour dates below that. Make sure you pre-order the 7" on Dead Leaf Echo's Bandcamp, and check out their website. "Lemonheart" is due out September 15 on Moon Sounds Records.

08.22 New Haven CT @ Cafe Nine w/ Landing

08.23 Brooklyn NY @ Alphaville w/ Single Lash

09.19 New York NY @ Berlin 7" Release / Desert Stars Pre-Party

09.25 Pioneertown CA @ Desert Stars w/ The Lemonheads

09.26 Pioneertown CA @ Desert Stars w/ Swervedriver

09.27 San Diego CA @ The Hideout

09.28 Fullerton CA @ The Continental Room

09.30 San Francisco CA @ Hemlock Tavern w/ Cruel Summer

10.01 Seattle WA @ Highline Bar w/ VibraGun, Black Nite Crash

10.02 Vancouver BC @ Hindenburg w/ Did You Die

10.03 Portland OR @ Doug Fir Lounge w/ The Prids

10.14 New York NY @ CMJ Festival

10.15 New York NY @ CMJ Festival

10.16 New York NY @ CMJ Festival

11.07 Boston MA @ TBA w/ Magic Shoppe

11.08 Albany NY @ TBA

11.14 Mexico City @ Festival Ajusco

11.15 Mexico City @ TBA

Bikini Kill - "Playground"

With the upcoming re-release of Bikini Kill's debut album, Revolution Girl Style Now!, we were promised three previously unheard songs. One of them can now be listened to! "Playground" starts off slow and ultra-sludgy, more like Dinosaur Jr's first album or Mudhoney than Bikini Kill. Around the 2:30 mark things really kick in with a thirty second blast of hardcore. It all ends after 3:33 seconds, and legend has it that's because the tape ran out, which is the punkest thing I've ever heard. And, of course, it has Kathleen Hanna's brilliant vocals throughout.

The reissue of Revolution Girl Style Now! is due out on September 22, which is the old school Tuesday album release date. You can pre-order it now in various packages on bikinikill.com. 

Grey Season - Undercover

There are two things we truly love here at If It's Too Loud...: Free music and covers. That means when a band releases a free album of covers we're all over that. Boston's folky quartet Grey Season just released one, and it's pretty terrific. For a folk band, there are some pretty obvious and classic choices like Bob Dylan and The Band, along with some other classic artists not usually associated with folk, such as The Rolling Stones ("Sweet Virginia," one of my personal favorites) and The Doors. They also selected some newer, contemporary covers (Father John Misty and Iron & Wine). For folk purists, they even do some traditional folk covers like "Moonshiner." Grey Season has that more mainstream rock-ready folk sound you hear from bands like Houndmouth and The Felice Brothers, but that's meant in the best possible way.

You can get your very own copy of Undercover by joining Grey Season's mailing list. To try it out before you make such a serious commitment, you can listen below.

Talib Kweli - Fuck the Money

Over the weekend, Talib Kweli joined the ranks of legacy artists releasing surprise free albums. It's been a great move for longstanding artists who may have fallen out of the public eye a bit and haven't really had much excitement surrounding their last couple albums, like Nine Inch Nails and Wilco. Plus, the album is called Fuck the Money, so it kinda needs to be free.

Fuck the Money isn't a great album. "Echoes" and "Baby Girl" delve a little too far into R&B territory with their choruses. But it's a really good album, particularly for free. It's too bad what's dull is really dull, because what is good is really good. "Leslie Knope" is just pure minimalist rape gold. "Fuck the Money" starts off with this odd autotune blast of the phrase "Fuck the Money," but redeems itself with fantastic verses by Kweli and Cassper Nyovest. "Fall Back" reminds me of vintage Public Enemy, but an ultra-chill party version. 

The true victory of Fuck the Money will be bringing fans back that have dropped off as work and family intervene. It will also get Kweli some attention from younger fans that might not have heard of him before. He pretty much invented backpack rap (I hate that phrase, but what can you do?), and with the current success of the genre, he really deserves some much due attention.

You can download Fuck the Money for free at kweliclub.com. You have to go through Paypal, which is odd, but hey, it's free!

First Listen: New Releases for August 14

A very interesting week. This will be quicker than normal, though.

Album of the Week:

Artist: Rayland Baxter
Album: Imaginary Man
Quick Description: Well-crafted Americana/folk music.
Why You Should Listen: When Ken praised two of the songs on this album, he wasn't kidding - the rest of the album is just as good.
Overall Thoughts: Seriously, I can't say enough good things about this album. Whether it's an album of the year candidate remains to be seen, but it's a pretty perfect piece of work and I've listened to a lot of folk music this year.
Recommendation: If you listen to one album this week, make it this one.

Artist: FKA Twigs
Album: M3LL155X
Quick Description: New EP by strange off-center artist FKA Twigs
Why You Should Listen: You liked her previous album; you enjoy challenging music.
Overall Thoughts: I mean, it's an FKA Twigs EP, so you know what you're getting. It's weird and different and it deserves a lot of time, but this is true of everything she releases.
Recommendation: Demands a listen anyway, but a good quick EP regardless.

Artist: Grace Potter
Album: Midnight
Quick Description: First proper solo album from the singer-songwriter.
Why You Should Listen: You're a fan of Grace Potter or mainstream pop-rock in general.
Overall Thoughts: I really liked "Ah Mary" from a few years back and I confess to not having kept up with Grace Potter since then. Her first solo album has a definite possible starmaking quality to it that will appeal to a pretty wide audience that, ultimately, won't include me. Heavily polished and pretty straightforward.
Recommendation: It's probably not for you if you read this blog, but it's not bad for what it is. Proceed with caution.

Artist: All Walls
Album: All Walls
Quick Description: Quick hit indie rock album.
Why You Should Listen: You have nostalgia for 15 years ago, you want something complete and short.
Overall Thoughts: This album is something I enjoyed as I listened. The first song felt sort of like early Beulah, the rest more standard indie rock, but at 26 minutes it's still worth your time.
Recommendation: Worth a listen as a pretty solid album.

Artist: Gangrene
Album: You Disgust Me
Quick Description: A collaboration that includes iconic producer The Alchemist.
Why You Should Listen: You appreciate good hip-hop and don't mind a reliance on interesting samples.
Overall Thoughts: This is good, but not great. It's better than a lot of the rap/hip-hop features as of late, but some might be turned off by how this is produced. The Alchemist in particular has been deep in with Eminem's label and I haven't listened to him in years, so I can't say much else about it in terms of how it compares.
Recommendation: Worth a listen if you're into this genre.

Artist: Palehound
Album: Dry Food
Quick Description: Boston-area indie rock in the vein of Speedy Ortiz, but more straightforward.
Why You Should Listen: The indie rock revivalists are your jam; female lead singers are something you look out for.
Overall Thoughts: I feel like I've heard this band before, but it might just be that they have a super-familiar feel to them. It's a great record in any regard, so I'm really in favor of it.
Recommendation: One of the best of the week, so give it a spin.

Artist: Various
Album: Wondaland Presents: The Eephus
Quick Description: A quick EP of Wondaland Records acts.
Why You Should Listen: Janelle Monae is awesome and you want to see if her labelmates are, too.
Overall Thoughts: It's an EP meant to showcase some new artists, so treating this as a cohesive whole is probably an error. I found some new things I liked here, though.
Recommendation: Definitely should listen and take what you like from it.

Artist: Flesh World
Album: The Wild Animals In My Life
Quick Description: Modern punk with a bit of other genres mixed in.
Why You Should Listen: You like modern punk but wish it was more interesting.
Overall Thoughts: Songwriting feels good but this wasn't entirely my cup of tea on first listen. It's an interesting piece of work in any regard.
Recommendation: Worth it for a try, you may love it.

Artist: The Waifs
Album: Beautiful You
Quick Description: A pleasant, mainstream folk record.
Why You Should Listen: You want a good, unchallenging folk record; you like things a lot more straightforward.
Overall Thoughts: I almost wish this album didn't come out at the same time as Rayland Baxter's, because the differences are fairly stark here. The Waifs, however, have been around for years and the polish and experience shines through. It's a good record, for sure, but nothing stands out that doesn't feel like it might be trying a little too hard.
Recommendation: Definitely listen to it, but it's not the first thing you should pick up.


Also out this week:

* Sweet Baboo - The Boombox Ballads