If It's Too Loud...

Photo via Facebook I wrote about Funeral Advantage last month when they played the Harvard Square Mayfair, mentioning that their songs sounded like Smiths covers. After hearing "Sisters," the first song off their upcoming album, I may be wrong. "Sisters" is a lovely dream-pop song, and far too summery too ever be compared to The Smiths. It's very light and synth heavy and reminds me of a more ethereal version of The Anniversary. After hearing their previous material, this is a huge step forward for them song and production wise. Expect huge things from their debut. Funeral Advantage's debut album, Body Is Dead, is due out August 25 on The Native Sound. You can pre-order it now on the label's Bandcamp or iTunes . For more on Funeral Advantage, including previous releases, check out their Bandcamp  or Facebook . If you're in the Boston area, they have a show coming up July 23 at The Middle East in Cambridge. 

Photo by Ken Sears After realizing I haven't seen Mission of Burma since 2004, and since I don't want to shell out the prices to see them open for Foo Fighters at Fenway Park next month, I had no other option but to road trip up to Portsmouth, NH on a Wednesday night. Luckily, there was also a brand new music venue to check out when I got there.  3S Artspace has been open for about three months. It's a combination restaurant/gallery/performance space. Seeing a show at a "performance space" is always a bit iffy, but these guys seem to have it together. The diamond shape of the space and the chairs lining the walls gave off a bit of a rec center vibe, but once the show started that was all forgotten. Great sound, great lighting, and an air conditioned room made this one of my new favorite venues. Their calendar tells me I'll be heading up to Portsmouth more often than not from now on. Photo by Ken Sears Guerilla Toss opened the show, and I wasn...

Some minor housecleaning notes - with the music industry moving to a universal Friday release date, the current plan is to move First Listen to Monday or Tuesday (Monday preferred, but the real world gets in the way and all that). With it will be a slightly different format as well, so stay tuned. The understanding is that the first Friday release day will be July 10, so either the July 6 or July 13 releases will be impacted by the change, and I still haven't seen a straight answer. Either way, stay tuned. New releases are afoot! Four Tet - Morning/Evening : Four Tet had a surprise release this week with Morning/Evening , a solid listen for sure but one that is unliekly to excite people who aren't already inclined to be into Four Tet. I really liked it, perhaps even more than the previous effort, but this won't be for everyone. Richard Thompson - Still : Richard Thompson is one of those classic acts (" Wall of Death " is still an awesome song, and I...

Phil Cook appears to be one of the few producers that can actually become a great artist himself. A Wisconsin native, he's spent the last ten years in the south (currently calling Durham, NC home) and has been embraced by that music scene. He's played on, produced, or written for The Blind Boys of Alabama, Hiss Golden Messenger, Amy Ray, and more. Now, it's his turn in the spotlight. "Great Tide" is the first song off his upcoming album, Southland Mission. It's the perfect blend of mainstream and alt-country, perfect for fans of Jason Isbell and Justin Townes Earle. The song takes maybe a minute to get going, but once it does it's a laid back down home country song with an energetic, sing-a-long chorus. There's also just a hint of psychedelia and jam band in there, but don't let that deter you. Southland Mission is due out September 11 on Thirty Tigers and Middle West. For now, you can listen to "Great Tide" below, and check out Phi...

Gwenno, aka Gwenno Saunders, used to be in The Pipettes from 2005-2010. Knowing The Pipettes, her solo work seems to come out of nowhere. While her previous band was a fun throwback to 60s girl groups (Gwenno sang lead on the hit " Pull Shapes "), Y DYDD OLAF (The Last Day) is a political concept album that was inspired by a 1976 Welsh sci-fi novel of the same name. The album's first single, "Patriarchaeth," is kraut-pop. It's still a throwback sound slightly updated, but more 80s than 60s this time around. Y DYDD OLAF (The Last Day) is due out July 24 on Heavenly Recordings. For more information on Gwenno, check out her Facebook , Twitter , and website . Listen to "Patriarchaeth" below, and find her current tour dates below that. Saturday 4th July  - CARDIFF - Tafwyl   Sunday  5 th  July - LIVERPOOL - Heavenly 25 @ Kazimier   Sunday  19 th  July - SOUTHWOLD - Latitude   Friday   31st July  - CORNWALL - Port Eli...

We're three days away from the final Mean Creek show, and to celebrate (?) the band has released a best of compilation on their Bandcamp. The compilation features " Forgotten Streets ," which seemed to be the band's final song when it was released along with the announcement that they were breaking up. Turns out they have one more for us: "September Moon." Maybe it's because the news has time to settle in a bit more with "September Moon," but the song seems like more of a downer than "Forgotten Streets" did. "September Moon" is more loud and raucous as opposed to the pure anthem that is "Forgotten Streets." We should just be happy to get yet another final shot at music by our beloved Mean Creek, but this one hurts a little more. Mean Creek are playing their final show opening for Soul Asylum and Meat Puppets at The Middle East in Cambridge on Thursday, June 25. You can get tickets here  (although I am hoping fo...

I first became aware of Rayland Baxter back when he was playing Newport Folk Festival in 2013, and I just couldn't get into him. I kept trying and trying to get into his album, but I just couldn't. It just didn't speak to me, and somehow seemed almost like a novelty record. With the release of the first song off his upcoming album, everything has changed. "Yellow Eyes" is fantastic. It's indie folk/country at its absolute apex. Fragile and catchy vocals, laid back instrumentation with a beautiful guitar riff along with the chorus, the perfect amount of polish on the production... this song would be the hit of the summer if there was any justice in the world. With one song, Rayland Baxter has turned me into dismissing him to a raving fan. Imaginary Man  will be out August 14 on ATO Records. You can listen to "Yellow Eyes" below. For more information on Rayland Baxter, check out his website  and Facebook or Twitter . His current tour dates are a...

Bad news for everyone: Eddie Spaghetti of The Supersuckers has been diagnosed with stage 3 oropharynx cancer. This summer he will undergo surgery and treatment to fight the cancer. This completely cancels the band's planned summer European tour, and put the upcoming Supersuckers album in jeopardy.  As you probably know, musicians don't always have the best health care providers, and don't exactly have medical leave. There's a YouCaring page set up to help Eddie's family with medical expenses and to offset the loss of income from the cancelled tour. The Supersuckers aren't exactly a top 40 act, so the majority of their income comes from touring. As of this writing, $17,000+ of the $50,000 goal has been raised to help Eddie out. If you're looking to help, head over to the YouCaring page that's been set up. In better Supersuckers news, Eddie Vedder showed up at the band's show at the Tractor in Seattle on 6/18 to perform the Ramones' "I ...

Dean Sabatino (aka Dean Clean) of the Dead Milkmen recently released his 3rd collection of "ambient electronic minimalist music." It's not quite the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Dead Milkmen, but all the members seem to play with other genres with side projects, so it makes sense. Dean's solo project is this eerie, creepy music that is so minimalistic that you'll almost forget it's on and it just blends in with whatever your surroundings are. It's not exactly music you supposed to listen to in the background at work, and it's probably not the best music to sooth you to sleep. According to his Bandcamp: "   Listen in the car on a highway drive, or while walking in the woods. Try turning off all the lights and listening in a dark house at one in the morning. Put some nice headphones on and immerse yourself in these sounds."  That sums it up pretty perfectly. To check out Augmenta Memoria, head over to Dean Sabatino...

Christopher Paul Stelling - Labor Against Waste : One of this year's Newport Folk acts, Labor Against Waste definitely feels like a standard folk album, and sometimes delves into Mumford-style driving musical moments. It's a pretty good album, fairly able to be overlooked given the quality of music out this week, but still a pretty decent listen on a whole. The Lonesome Trio - The Lonesome Trio : Album of the week, and true contender for album of the year, is the debut album by The Lonesome Trio. I looked this up for one reason, and that's because Ed Helms of The Office is one of the members of the band. It turns out that it's one of the better roots records of recent memory, and would be absolutely worthy even if one of the members wasn't famous. Just really great from start to finish, and highly recommended. Lenka - The Bright Side : Lenka's fourth album sounds a lot like Lenka. It's poppy yet sparse, feels happy but nothing is terribly sticky. ...

Normally, something called 90s Fest would have any music fan in their late 30s thrilled with even the mere possibility. But the recently announced 90s Fest taking place September 12 in Williamsburg is disappointing and more than a bit confusing. The main problem seems to be that it doesn't know what it is. It's as if it's trying to be both a tribute to 90s culture and also be tongue in cheek kitschy at the same time, which is nearly impossible to pull off. First of all, the headliner is whatever the fuck passes for Blind Melon in 2015. You can't really explore the fun side of a band that was derailed by the singer's tragic death 20 years ago. Maybe their just trying to cater to kids that have no idea Shannon Hoon died, or even who Shannon Hoon is. Then there's Lisa Loeb. It may be 21 years since she hit it huge with "Stay (I Missed You)" and she seems to have a sense of humor about it, but she's also had a perfectly respectable career as a sing...

Bad Religion are one of my favorite live bands. Once I realized I haven't seen them since the 2002 Warped Tour, I realized I had to see them. Mainly because they've been hinting for the last few years that they could retire at any moment, but also because the Paradise is a fraction of the size of the venues they normally play when they come around. Also, this was part of their "Battle of the Centuries" where they play two nights in a city: The first is all music from the 20th century, the second is all from the 21st century. The first night is definitely the more popular of the pair, selling out far in advance while tickets for tonight are currently still available. No Trigger opened the show, and once they announced they were from Worcester, MA I assumed they were just some newfangled local opener. Turns out they have 21,000 Facebook followers as opposed to Plague Vendor's 7000 followers. Never having heard of them made me feel old. Then again, they are part ...

The Green River Festival is now less than 4 weeks away, and they've announced their daily schedule, and as always, there are some decisions to be made. While I love the multiple stages of festivals, and I love having options for when there's an artist on I can't get into, I hate  having to decide between two favorite artists. The biggest for me is deciding between J Mascis and Lydia Loveless. J Mascis is a decades long favorite of mine, and Lydia Loveless is a year long absolute obsession. I've seen Mascis solo a handful of times, and I've never seen Loveless, so you'd think this would be an easy choice. But this is J Mascis  we're talking about. Luckily, they only have a 15 minute overlap so it'll just have to be a last minute decision on what to miss.  Of course, there's also the overlap between Polaris and Langhorne Slim & The Law, which is almost a complete time for time overlap. I discovered The Adventures of Pete and Pete  in my 30s, ...

I pulled up a playlist of Hefner/Darren Hayman songs on Sunday and forgot how much I really loved Hefner back in the day. While some of my favorites when I first got wind of the band were the more risque fare like "May God Protect Your Home" and "Seafaring," I still find myself going back to "Christian Girls," to "Hymn for the Cigarettes," to "She Can't Sleep No More" today. Hayman has transitioned into a fairly good solo career as well as a number of different collaborations, but this is definitely stuff you'll have wanted to hear if you haven't had the opportunity yet. Even as I was putting this quick post together, I was substituting different songs out to keep things under 20 songs. Hopefully you find a couple gems to enjoy here.

Photo by Rachel Cassels The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing,  on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't. Goes Missing  is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook . Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin. Sat. Sept. 5 - Portlan...