Last year saw the end of Matt Pond PA as a musical project. Luckily for the universe as a whole, Matt Pond is still making music. For now, the project is called Spaceland but is subject to change. He's released four "rough demos" for Spaceland songs, and if these are the rough versions, I can't imagine how great the actual releases will be. The first track, "Outside," is a great, upbeat indie rock song that stops well short of being twee. This is my favorite of the batch, and still sounds like Matt Pond PA enough for fans, but different enough to warrant a new project name. It also includes a cover of INXS's "Don't Change." I loved Matt Pond PA's covers, and it looks like that will continue with Spaceland. You can listen to Spaceland's demos below via Soundcloud. To keep up with Spaceland and Matt Pond's music in general, check him out on Patreon. He's also looking to put listeners' thoughts and dreams to music. If you'd like to be considered for this aspect of his project, email him at hello@indreams.space.
Just in time for Easter, Passover, the Spring Equinox, and a full moon, MC Paul Barman has released the new single from his upcoming album (((echo chamber))). "(((commandments)))" is MC Paul Barman's take on The Ten Commandments. I can't quite tell if it's pro- or anti-religion (I have a feeling it's both maybe?) so let's just focus on the music. The track is produced by Memory Man with drums by ?uestlove, the music is reminiscent of the old Sesame Street "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9," which is hammered home by the singing of the Sesame Street song at the beginning and end of the song. Once again, not sure if it's planned or realized after the fact. It's a great song that straddles the line between classic hip hop and classic MC Paul Barman. You can listen to "(((commandments)))" below. (((echo chamber))), the new album from MC Paul Barman, will be out May 18 on Mello Music Group. It can be pre-ordered here. For more on MC Paul Barman, check out his Twitter and Facebook.
Busy week this week, apologies for the half-effort First Listen. Just WAY TOO MUCH MUSIC.
Album of the Week
* Esme Bridie - Today It Rains: Out of nowhere came this absolutely gorgeous album. A little on the pop folk side, Esme has a really strong and confident voice and presents a series of songs that remind me so much of some of my favorite folk acts. If you haven’t become enamoured with what she is doing by the time “Tower of Regret” comes along, I don’t know what to tell you. Easily the best of the week, and right at the top of my list for 2018 so far.
* Monks of Doom - The Bronte Pin: This is probably better described as prog-folk, and depending on how you react to that will likely impact how much you like this.
* Jack White - Boarding House Blues: Borderline unlistenable in my mind. As Ken put it, however, “I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it’s aggressively not good.”
Hailing from Jackson, MS, Young Valley have a traditional Southern sound that moves off in a direction I haven't quite heard before. Their latest single, "Til I Cross Your Mind" has a relaxed distinctly Southern vibe, along with some smooth multi-part harmonies, all over a traditional folk leaning version of the more mainstream side of the new fangled pop folk movement. It has some distinct feelings of artists like The Avett Brothers and Houndmouth. But they sneak in these edgier Drive-By Truckers style electric guitar riffs that you wouldn't expect and that don't quite fit in. It's this combination that gives "Til I Cross Your Mind" its own feeling. You can watch the video for "Til I Cross Your Mind" below. The newest self titled album from Young Valley will be out on 4/20 via Dial Back Sound. You can pre-order a copy here. For more on Young Valley, check out their website. Current tour dates are below the video.
April 12th- Santos (New Orleans, Louisiana) April 13th- Live @ 5 Festival (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) April 14th- Slowboat Brewing Company (Laurel, Mississippi) April 14th- Duling Hall (Jackson, Mississippi) Album Release Show! April 21st (DAY)- Cotton District Arts Festival (Starkville, Mississippi) April 21st (NIGHT)- Proud Larry’s (Oxford, Mississippi) May 4th- Hey Joe’s (Cleveland, Mississippi) May 18th- Blue Canoe (Tupelo, Mississippi) May 19th- The Local (Nashville, TN) May 24th- Thirsty Hippo (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) May 25th- Siberia (New Orleans, Louisiana) May 26th- Government St. Grocery (Ocean Springs, MS) June 1st- Georgia Theater Rooftop (Athens, GA) June 14th- White Water Tavern (Little Rock, AR) June 15th- Maxine’s (Hot Springs, AR)
If you've been following us for any length of time, you know of our undying love of cover songs. You might also know how much of a Chris Brokaw fan I am, and that he's the most underrated musician out there. His work with Come, The New Year, The Lemonheads, and his solo work has cemented himself as one of my all time favorite musicians. Somehow, it also slipped by me that he released an album of David Bowie and Prince covers back in November 2017. The back story is that he was asked to play at a friend's wedding, who requested David Bowie and Prince songs. He came up with versions on a classical guitar, and decided to record them. Instead of completely traditional covers, you get these amazing acoustic, instrumental versions of some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. For David Bowie covers, he went a little off the norm with songs like "Ashes to Ashes," "The Man Who Sold the World," "Letter to Hermoine," etc. For his Prince songs, you get "I Would Die 4 You," "Controversy," "When You Were Mine," and more. For a fan of cover songs, Prince, David Bowie, or Chris Brokaw, this is a gold mine. For fans of all four, it's perfection. You can listen to Chris Brokaw's version of "I Would Die 4 U" below. His album of Prince and David Bowie covers, The Hand That Wrote This Letter, is available now on Bandcamp. For more on Chris Brokaw, check out his website.
We're less than two weeks from the release of the new album from Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and we can check out a new single, "New Ways to Fail." "New Ways to Fail" is everything we want in a Sarah Shook & the Disarmers song. It's just about as country as can be, in that old fashioned outlaw country way. It's a little bit less punk sounding than some of her songs on Sidelong but only in the musical way. With a chorus that starts with "Cause I need this shit like I need another hole in my head," she's got the attitude of punk, and isn't punk really more of an attitude? You can listen to "New Ways to Fail" below. Years, the new album from Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, will be out April 6 on Bloodshot Records. You can pre-order your copy here. For more information on the band, check out their website. Tour dates are below the song.
4/6 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle w/ Spider Bags
4/7 Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
4/8 Knoxville, TN - Rhythm N’ Blooms
4/26 Washington, DC - Pearl Street Warehouse
4/27 Philadelphia, PA - Dawson Street Pub
4/28 New York, NY - Berlin
4/29 Cambridge, MA - Atwood’s Tavern
5/2 Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
5/3 Indianapolis, IN - Pioneer
5/4 Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle
5/5 Dubuque, IA - Vintage Torque Fest
5/8 Milwaukee, WI - Club Garibaldi
5/9 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club
5/10 Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads Saloon
5/11 St. Louis MO - Off Broadway
5/12 Evansville, IN - The Song Show Concert Series
The latest single from Glasgow's Jess Allardice will sneakily become one of your favorites. She calls her music alt-jazz, and I'd say she's spot on. "Sunday Blue" starts off in the vein of Norah Jones and Adele. Neither one of them is my favorite, so I'll implore you to stick with it a bit longer than you might normally. An odd thing happens as you listen to it: You'll very slowly get sucked in. Allardice chooses some slightly odd instruments to pop in at unexpected times. What could have been your standard song that gets played in the background at Starbucks instead becomes this surprisingly captivating song that you'll need to hear again as soon as it's finished. Her sound is far more mature than her young age of 22. You can listen to "Sunday Blue" below via Spotify. For more on Jess Allardice, be sure to check her out on Facebook.
I've only made it out to the Freshgrass Festival once, way back in 2012, but it looks like I'm going to have to get out there again this year since their always great line up is extra fantastic this year! Set on the grounds of Mass MoCA, which is one of my favorite museums around, Freshgrass is a niche festival specializing in bluegrass and roots music, but definitely pushing the boundaries of what is considered either. The festival features such If It's Too Loud... approved artists like Trampled By Turtles, Yonder Mountain String Band, Rhiannon Giddens, Steep Canyon Rangers, Alison Brown, Della Mae, Molly Tuttle (performing with Keith Little), and Leyla McCalla, who I discovered at Freshgrass 2012. One of the headliners are the absolutely legendary Indigo Girls, who I normally wouldn't see on my own but I'm thrilled to have the chance. Plus, they have artists they haven't announced yet, which doesn't seem possible. Besides just music, the festival features workshops and silent films scored by live performances. Plus, the museum itself is open to all attendees, so if you find yourself wanting to take a break from the music you can have your mind blown in the galleries. And you'll probably find a performer or two while you're in there. Tickets for the 2018 Freshgrass Festival are available now. Fortickets and more information, check out www.freshgrass.com.
We're back with Friday Freebie, a collection of free music downloads we've recently discovered. We have four truly great groups of offerings for you, and I think you'll all agree and love them all. As always, if you do download these releases for free, be sure to at least track them down on social media and give them a follow.
New Aura - New Aura Hailing from Boston, New Aura have recently released their debut self-titled EP. We noticed them since they share at least one member of another of our Boston favorites, The Magic Shoppe. While they share a psychedelic sound with The Magic Shoppe, they have a self-described sound that is a throwback to "...the old 'Bosstown' sounds that dominated the city's radio waves in the late 60's and 70's." What's great about them is they're psychedelic without being weighed down by the hippie label, and they're not part of the hard rock leaning psychedelic sound you hear a lot of in modern music. It's a truly unique vibe that they seem to have mastered in their first EP. You can get New Aura for free on the band's Bandcamp.
Ed Balloon - Flourish For someone who spent the majority of his junior high and early high school listening to (and obsessed with) top 40 and R&B, I listen to virtually none of it nowadays. Anything that could be considered R&B now sounds exactly as it did back in the late 90's. Even when I hear about someone who is considered "dark" or "edgy," I just hear Britney Spears when I try to listen to it. Ed Balloon breaks all of that. The Boston up and coming alt-R&B artist, has this incredibly original sound that merges the edge of 90's alternative rock with a modern nearly top 40, if top 40 had the minimalism of post punk. It's not ballads and it's not dance music. It's not smooth and pretty, but it's not completely discordant. This is 100% worth your time, even if you think it might not be for you. You can get Flourish for free on Ed Balloon's Bandcamp.
Damon & Naomi - Complete discography (?) Part of my feels like I should give this one it's own post, but I wanted to get this one out there ASAP. Damon & Naomi are Boston music scene legends, ever since forming Galaxie 500 over 30 years ago. If you're like me and have been a Galaxie 500 fan for years but weren't quite sure where to start since they've been making music since 1991 and have at least ten official releases, Bandcamp might be the place to start. I somehow stumbled on theirs recently, where they have thirteen releases available for free. Some are live albums (Everything Quieter Than Everything Else (Live in Japan), Song to the Siren (Live in San Sebastian) and a B-sides collection (Spirit of Love), but you also get releases like More Sad Hits and The Earth is Blue. Like I said, I'm pretty sure this is everything they've ever released, all on their Bandcamp for free.
It's been almost a year since we've heard from the UK's Bad Breeding. Luckily, they release a new EP next month, and we can listen to the first single, "Abandonment." It probably comes to no surprise to anyone familiar with Bad Breeding that "Abandonment" is loud. Really loud. It's an incredibly fast and intense mix of punk and metal that is pure chaos and noise. "Abandonment" is two minutes and thirty seconds long, although it feels much longer... and I love the song. Anything from Bad Breeding will split the audience into two camps: Those that love it and those that can't stand the noise. There will be no one in the middle. You can listen to "Abandonment" below. The Abandonment EP will be released on April 27 via One Little Indian Records. It can be pre-ordered here. For more on Bad Breeding, check them out on Facebook.
