Friday Freebie: Matt Pond, Chris Hansen, & Sean Hansen - Free Fall

Last week saw Matt Pond giving away his debut album, Deer Apartments, for free. At the time, he promised that he'd be delivering a new EP this week, also for free. Free Fall is available now, and it's being called an EP it's nine songs long. According to their website, Free Fall is "... a free EP dedicated to Pennsylvania, love, autumn and you!" It appears to be under the name "Matt Pond, Chris Hansen, and Sean Hansen" instead of the retired Matt Pond PA name, or the briefly used Spaceland. It's pretty safe to say that if you've liked anything Matt Pond has released previously, you're going to like Free Fall. The songs tend to be a bit mellower than Deer Apartments but right in line with more recent Matt Pond PA releases. "Outside" may be my favorite, in it's not quite folk, not quite pop, not quite rock kinda upbeat way. It wouldn't be a Matt Pond release without a cover, and they break out a brilliant version of INXS's almost forgotten classic "Don't Change." The EP closes with "When There is Doubt." It's instrumental, and typically instrumental album closers are things a listener skips over, but this one is heart meltingly gorgeous. Make sure you give it a shot.

You can listen to Matt Pond, Chris Hansen, and Sean Hansen's release below. You can get your copy of Free Fall for free here. For more on Matt Pond's latest project, check out his website.

Sive - "Quietly"

I've never truly been one for traditional Celtic music, but the latest single from Sive changes the format around just enough to make it interesting for me. Her latest single, "Quietly," will completely appeal to fans of NPR's Celtic music show. There is definitely enough of the Celtic folk tradition there. But Sive, aka Sadhbh O'Sullivan, mixes it up just enough. She brings in enough odd experimentation through jazz elements and some more classical, almost film score like instrumentation to keep the listener on their toes. Plus, "Quietly" continuously morphs throughout its four minute length. It could almost be multiple songs, but it does keep a certain thread during all the changes. "Quietly" is perfect for Celtic music die hards and anyone who loves unique music.

You can listen to "Quietly" below. The song is available now as a single via Veta Records. For more on Sive, check out her website.

Thurston Moore - Klangfarbenmelodie​.​. And The Colorist Strikes Primitiv

As inaccessible to mainstream audiences a lot of Sonic Youth's output was, there is some of their work that is just pure noise, and I mean that in the best possible way. Way back in 1995, Thurston Moore released Klangfarbenmelodie​.​. And The Colorist Strikes Primitiv only in New Zealand. It was a free noise set with free jazz drummer Tom Surgal. You'll know if you want to hear this based on that description alone, and if you do, you're in luck. Klangfarbenmelodie​.​. And The Colorist Strikes Primitiv  is being released for the first time in the States, and on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl. Thurston Moore performing with a free jazz drummer in 1995 won't be for everyone, but for those of us excited by this idea, this release is a dream come true.

You can listen to "Klangfarbenmelodie​.​. And The Colorist Strikes Primitiv (Part 2)" below. Klangfarbenmelodie​.​. And The Colorist Strikes Primitiv will be released on November 2 on Glass Modern Records. You can pre-order your copy via Bandcamp. Thurston Moore will be heading out on a noise tour soon. Dates for that can be found below the song.



NOV 2   Kingston, NY - BSP KINGSTON
NOV 3   New Haven, CT - Statehouse
NOV 4   Greenfield, MA, USA - The Root Cellar
NOV 6   Philadelphia, PA - RUBA
NOV 9   Minneapolis, MN - Thurston Moore: Moore at 60
NOV 10 Minneapolis, MN - Thurston Moore: Moore at 60
NOV 12 Chicago, IL - Art Institute of Chicago
NOV 15  Brooklyn, NY - Elsewhere

Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys - "Dino Domina"

Photo by Jon Beckley

If you've been attending Water Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys shows over the last few months, you'll be familiar with "Dino Domina." The song has been a capital "B" Beast when the band plays it live. It did make an appearance on A Little More Life, their 2018 RPM Challenge album, but compared to the live version the A Little More Life one felt like a not fully realized demo.

Well... we finally have a full official version of "Dino Domina," and it's mind blowing. The song is pure intensity. It might just be the loudest, most aggressive of all of Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys's recordings. But, since it's Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, it's also hip destroyingly funky. It somehow melds metal, hip hop, punk, and artsy noise rock all into one of the most unique musical experiences around.

You can watch the video for "Dino Domina" below. I would highly recommend you actually watch it. For a low budget indie music video, it's fantastically well done and has a great horror element perfect for Halloween. War Gospel, the new album from Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, will be released in 2019. For more on the band, check out their Bandcamp.

Orange Hell Cover The Misfits

For whatever reason, The Misfits are a band that I've just never connected with. I've never been able to figure it out, since in theory I should adore them, but their music has just never worked for me. But, strangely, I love Misfits covers.

Obviously, I need to share this three songs release from Orange Hell. Put out by Funeral Party (naturally...), Orange Hell are a band that is anonymous, but are known outside of the name Orange Hell. Instead of aping the sound of The Misfits and cranking out yet another note for note rendition of these songs, they go in a different direction and slow them way down into fuzzed out, almost plodding, dream pop songs. You get these completely delightful, if mopey, songs that you're used to hearing fast and loud.

You can listen to Orange Hell's version of "Skull" below. You can get your own copy of Orange Hell's EP via Funeral Party's Bandcamp. For more on Funeral Party, check out the label's website.

First Listen: New Releases for 26 October

Some great stuff this week.

Album of the Week:

Artist: Antarctigo Vespucci
Album: Love in the Time of E-Mail
Quick Description: Manic, amazing power pop.
Why You Should Listen: You've loved Jeff Rosenstock up to now.
Overall Thoughts: A few years back I tripped up on Jeff Rosenstock’s album Worry and pretty much fell hard for it. Antarctigo Vespucci is a power pop duo featuring Rosenstock and Chris Farren, both of which are contemporaries/colleagues of blog favorite Laura Stevenson, and this weird incestuous mishmash of singers and styles comes up with this amazingly awesome and manic and catchy and hooky and abrasive record that is easily one of the best of the week and might just be one of the better releases of the year. We’ll see, but this shouldn’t be missed.
Recommendation: A wonderful listen this week.

Artist: Eliza Shaddad
Album: Future
Quick Description: Solid indie singer-songwriter stuff.
Why You Should Listen: This has broad appeal and some good surprises.
Overall Thoughts: This has been a long-anticipated release for me, and it generally delivered. This is mainstream-sounding singer-songwriter material with enough edge and interest to cross over to those who may be allergic to the sort of radio that might play this. There are a ton of great moments throughout this listen, and I haven’t been this excited to dive back in on a new release in a few weeks.
Recommendation: Make sure you find some time for this.

Artist: Oh Pep!
Album: I Wasn't Only Thinking About You...
Quick Description: Breakout album by some indie favorites.
Why You Should Listen: This has massive mainstream appeal and this is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor.
Overall Thoughts: It was about the point in time where “Truths” hit that I truly understood that this is an act playing for the big time, and it just might work. We enjoyed the debut, but this is definitely a more polished product with a wider appeal. This is a good listen and has a lot going for it, but if your tastes are more on the side of indie weirdness, you might be turned off.
Recommendation: Worth the effort.

Artist: Madeleine Roger
Album: Cottonwood
Quick Description: Awesome Canadian folk music.
Why You Should Listen: This came out of nowhere and it's one of the best out there right now.
Overall Thoughts: One of the great continuing joys of doing this new release thing is tripping up on great albums and artists I would have never found otherwise. Enter Madeleine Roger, who had an album cover that looked interesting in my weekly release list and it turns out this is some really gorgeous, performative Americana-tinged folk out of Canada. I was in love in the album with the very first song, and my love only grew as the album continued. Easily one of the best of the week, if not longer, and a sharp reminder as to how well Canada is exporting its best folk music out as of late.
Recommendation: A must-listen this week.

Artist: Kaia Kater
Album: Grenades
Quick Description: Latest from a blog folk favorite.
Why You Should Listen: Even with a shift in sound, Kater shows why she's such a great musician.
Overall Thoughts: We’re big fans of Kaia Kater here, as all right-thinking people are, and this new album is another gorgeous, compelling effort. It is absolutely a change of tone, with more significant instrumentation and more complicated songs, but it still feels like a Kaia Kater album at the end. If you a bigger fan of her general aesthetic, you may struggle with this a bit, but if you embrace this as the next step in what has already been a great run of music, you’ll come away happy.
Recommendation: A solid listen this week.

Artist: Laura Gibson
Album: Goners
Quick Description: Latest from another folky singer-songwriter.
Why You Should Listen: Laura Gibson writes really deliberate songs that stick with you.
Overall Thoughts: I loved her last album, “The Cause” was a legit jam, and this album continues with the sound songwriting even if the end result may not give you that song that hits you immediately on first listen. This is another one I really want to revisit, because there are a lot of cool moments throughout that should give this some great staying power.
Recommendation: Give this a listen.

Artist: The Ting Tings
Album: The Black Light
Quick Description: A return to form for the electro-rockers.
Why You Should Listen: It's more modern and dancey while retaining a lot of their flair.
Overall Thoughts: I'll hold that the only reason the Ting Tings aren't a massive act is because they've only released four albums over this long time period they've been around and one was almost completely forgettable. The follow up to their first album was not a disappointment but also didn't quite hit the same marks of their debut, but this latest effort feels more of the current time while also having some legitimate great moments like "Earthquake" and the opener, "Estranged." I've wanted to love a new Ting Tings record for more than a decade now, and this might do it for me on a whole.
Recommendation: Add this to the rotation.

Artist: Julia Holter
Album: Aviary
Quick Description: Latest from the ambitious artist.
Why You Should Listen: In many ways, it defies description. That's reason enough to fire it up.
Overall Thoughts: This is absolutely the most ambitious release in recent memory, with so many layers to the entire package that I couldn't even begin to figure it all out on first listen. With that said, it is weird and definitely off-center, and this may be too much of a challenge for many. If you're game for it, though, you have the opportunity to be rewarded with some incredibly interesting music on this one.
Recommendation: Give it a shot.

Of note:

* Our Girl - Bedroom Record(stripped down versions from the excellent debut)
* Miya Folick - Premonitions (a fun, slightly strange listen.)
* Robyn - Honey (has its moments, but is a bit of a disappointment)
* Jon Hatchett Band - Mother Nature Wins Again (very straightforward, risk-free country music. Good but not groundbreaking)
* The Berries - Start All Over Again (very retro 90s roots rock. Didn’t work for me but would almost certainly work for many readers)
* Ty Segall - Fudge Sandwich (covers album, mixed results)
* Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want
* Mr Twin Sister - Salt
* Apollo Brown and Joell Ortiz - Mona Lisa
* Calvin Love - Highway Dancer

Seven song albums:

* Say Lou Lou - Immortelle (a truly great listen this week)
* Unknown Mortal Orchestra - IC-01 Hanoi

EPs:

* boygenius - boygenius (indie supergroup of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus)
* The Pom-Poms - The Pom-Poms (electronic supergroup of Kitty and Ricky Eat Acid)
* pronoun - you didn't even make the bed
* Carla dal Forno - Top of the Pops
* Jessica Moss - Entanglement
* Azure Ray - Waves
* Heather Leigh - Throne
* Kimbra - Songs from Primal Heart: Reimagined
*

Also out:

* Saves the Day - 9
* Stand Atlantic - Skinny Dipping
* Boy George and Culture Club - Life
* Glenn Kotche - Sticks, Skins, Metal, and Stone
* Demille - Go
* Ian Sweet - Crush Crusher
* Thom Yorke - Suspiria (Music from the film)

Karla Kane - "Goodguy Sun"

Photo by Khoi Huynh

The latest single from San Francisco's Karla Kane was co-written by one of her musical heroes, Martin Newell. "Goodguy Sun" combines the feel of sunny California and the melancholia of England. It has a very orchestral, almost show tune quality to it, and reminds me a ton of Ben Folds (particularly his collaboration with Nick Hornby) and Nellie McKay. "Goodguy Sun" has a wistful, melodic feel, and just enough darkness hidden inside of optimistic melodies to keep it interesting.

You can listen to "Goodguy Sun" below. The song can be purchased as a single via Bandcamp. For more on Karla Kane, check out her website.

Live Shows: Descendents, Palladium, Worcester, MA 10/27/18

I first discovered the Descendents way back in 1997. I was in college, and their video for "I'm the One" was on 120 Minutes. I saw them in Northampton, MA at that year's Warped Tour, completely oblivious to the fact that I was seeing legends, and that I'd go twenty one years without seeing them again. Since Milo returned to the band full time in 2016, I couldn't get in when they played their show at the Sinclair for Converse, the show at Royale sold out too fast, and their Providence show just didn't work out. When I saw they were playing Worcester, the city in MA closest to my home that has shows, I knew I had to go.

Saturday night at the Palladium in Worcester brought out a diverse crowd. I don't believe there were original fans from the 80's, but lots of people that discovered them in the 90's were there. Plus, there were a lot of kids that probably consider Blink 182 to be old school punk. Being over forty, I situated myself at the back of the floor. I wanted to be close enough to be close to the action and feel part of the show, but I'm over forty. Obviously no moshing for me.

But then they played "Hope" for their third song. By the time the song ended, I was in the second row. Oops. But you forget how deep the Descendents's catalog actually goes. Songs like "I Like Food," "Van," "I Don't Want to Grow Up," and "Coffee Mug" are absolute classics. They even busted out "Weinerschnitzel," which I discovered in the Christian Slater classic Pump Up the Volume. What's shocking is how great the new material holds up with the thirty year old classics. "'Merican" seems more timely now then when it was released in 2004. (Also, notice I'm calling a fourteen year old song one of the new ones... I'm old.) They played seven songs off 2016's Hypercaffium Spazzinate, and I don't think anyone minded in the slightest. And yes, they played "I'm the One," making twenty year old Ken very happy.

Also, side note to Milo... No one hated your National Zoo shirt. Everyone loves the National Zoo. They have pandas.

Store Front - "Go for Broke"

Store Front either met in the most or least punk rock way, depending on your perspective. Back in 2013, Peggy Wang was working an office job while playing bass in The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. She heard someone in the office singing The Replacements and met writer Amy Rose Spiegel. The two started writing songs together, and five years later have formed Store Front and are releasing their debut single. 

To keep the band forming in an office vibe going, "Go for Broke" is about living in New York City and trying to pay your rent while still having a creative outlet. Musically, "Go for Broke" reminds me of 90's bands that are now reclassified as dream pop like Belly or Lush, but a more upbeat version of those bands. Plus, even before I read their bio and saw that Spegel was a writer the song had a literary feel to it.

You can listen to "Go for Broke" below. The single is available now on Store Front's Bandcamp. For more on Store Front, check out their Twitter.

Monday Mix (on a Friday): Halloween 2018

I love Halloween, but even I think I may have gone a bit too far on this year's If It's Too Loud... Halloween playlist. Starting on November 1, 2017, I started a playlist and tossed just about any song I thought would be good for a Halloween playlist on it. What we end up with is a forty five song, nearly three hour playlist. Just about every style of music we cover is included on this. You get indie rock legends (Luna, Buffalo Tom, Lee Ranaldo), heavier artists (The Jesus Lizard, Clutch, Faith No More), Americana/roots (Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Lucero, Murder By Death), current indie rockers (Caroline Rose, Melkbelly, A Place to Bury Strangers), some hip hop (Mr. Lif, Cypress Hill), and a whole lot more. It's perfect for this weekend's Halloween parties (which is why we aren't waiting until Monday) and to listen to while you hand out candy on Wednesday. Enjoy!