If It's Too Loud...

We're a third of the way through the year already. How did this happen? With 17 new releases, we're splitting this in two Album of the Week : Artist : Kathinka Album : Kathinka Quick Description : Dreamy indie pop. Why You Should Listen : This is a gorgeous musical mix. Overall Thoughts : My biggest problem with this album is that it’s only eight songs long. I’ve had them looped in my playlists for some time, but this album so perfectly straddles the line between alt-rock and dreamy pop rock that it’s difficult to find any real problems with it. Recommendation : It’s simply a must-listen this week. Artist : Kasey Chambers and The Fireside Disciples Album : Campfire Quick Description : Deep roots music from a perpetually-underrated roots artist. Why You Should Listen : Kasey Chambers has been consistently great for decades. Overall Thoughts : With the other Kacey sucking up a lot of the country air, it’s easy to forget that another country Kasey is still maki...

So far, the line ups for the 2017 festival season have been... let's just say disappointing. With the exception of Shovels & Rope's High Water Festival , it just seems like every other festival has given up on even trying. Festivals aren't being curated anymore, it's just grab every band that you can. Plus, I don't even know half of the bands on the line ups, and even though we're old guys here, we're not THAT out of touch. Well, god bless the 2017 Boston Calling festival. Just when it seemed like they were giving up on the old guys and just going for what the kids ages 12-22 were listening to, this morning they released this line up. There are a ton of If It's Too Loud... approved bands, plus not only a mixture of old and new artists, but an actual diverse line up . No genre feels like it's just an add on: everything is equally represented (ok, maybe not country, but we can deal with that). Seriously, check out the line up below. Classic alt...

Some highlights and thoughts from this week's new releases: Sigur Rós - Kveikur : Sigur Rós is a strange band for me, and not because they do their music with lyrics that are a made-up version of Icelandic, but more because, after the beauty of their breakthrough album Ágætis byrjun and the equally awesome follow-up ( ) , my reaction to them has been somewhere between mixed to negative. The new album is definitely a shift from the most recent albums toward something more like the original stuff we fell in love with, while still having a good deal of more-accessible fare. Will almost certainly remain in my rotation for the foreseeable future. Austra - Olympia : Austra is a fairly recent band for me, they do a sort of dance-pop-alternative thing that typically falls right into my wheelhouse, but the previous Austra releases mostly toed the line between solid, mainstream dance numbers and more glitchy, difficult electronic music. This newest album, at first glance, is much mor...