If It's Too Loud...

I'm not sure if I'm cheating or not with including this, but I don't really care. I knew Bo Burnham was a YouTuber back in the day, I liked Eighth Grade , but my familiarity with him on a whole was pretty much zero. Then everyone went nuts over his comedy special, we threw it on, and were blown away. I've written before/elsewhere that this is likely the most brilliant pandemic-era piece of art we've gotten up to now, but it's also similarly brilliant in its execution of how it handles the current state of discourse and behavior in this country. That the music is incredible only adds to the brilliance, because weaker songs probably would have worked as well and we still got some crazy great songs out of this. It's witty, it's fun, it's current, it's consistent, and it's addictive. I catch myself singing "How the World Works" constantly, "All Eyes on Me" appears to be the award choice and I hope it wins everything, and ...

Artist : COWBOY BOY Album : GOOD GIRL Quick Thoughts : While I don't know how I tripped up on COWBOY BOY, but it takes a lot for me not to be into a power pop band, and thus they charmed me from the very start. This is a quick hit album without any real negatives to point out - the vocals are great, the songs are fun while still being somewhat serious, and the whole package is a really solid listen from beginning to end. Songs of Note : "DREAM DREAM DREAM," "PET," "SHRINK," "INCONVENIENT" Artist : St. Lenox Album : Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times Quick Thoughts : St. Lenox does some earnest folk rock/indie pop, and this album does what it says on the tin: it's music about religion, but it's not religious music, if that makes any sense. St. Lenox lays it all out on the table, though - grappling with faith, belief (and the lack thereof), family... it's a heavy record in spite of its light presentatio...