If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Destroy Boys Album : Funeral Soundtrack #4 Quick Thoughts : What a surprisingly awesome alt-punk album from a band we're really starting to love around here. Their first three albums were memorable, to be certain, but this has all the hallmarks of a breakout effort for the band. They've found their footing on songs like "Plucked" and "Shadow (I'm Breaking Down)," and there's a lot of heart and honesty that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle for other bands. Make some time for this. Songs of Note : "Plucked," "Amor divino," "Shadow (I'm Breaking Down)," "Shedding Skin," "Should've Been Me," "You Don't Know," "You Hear Yes" Artist : Amos Lee Album : Transmissions Quick Thoughts : Amos Lee specializes in a soulful roots sound, and Transmissions has a "back to basics" flair to it that feels refreshing. With more than 10 albums under his belt...

Some solid listens this week: Album of the Week : Artist : Charly Bliss Album : Young Enough Quick Description : Sophomore effort from a favorite here. Why You Should Listen : Charly Bliss had one of the best records of the last few years, and this one has similar potential. Overall Thoughts : Their debut, Guppy , was my favorite album of a couple years ago, so this follow-up has been a true highly-anticipated release for me. The early singles showed a lot of extra reliance on some keyboard/synth stuff that I didn’t love (given how much I loved their early sound), but still felt interested in, and the full album? It absolutely works. As a cohesive unit, the slight shift in sound lends itself to a different atmosphere in a full album that worked really well. So yeah, lead singles like “Chatroom” and “Capacity” get the added weight they seemed to lack in isolation, and “Fighting in the Dark” and “The Truth” act as counterbalances in a way that brought the whole thing full-circ...

This is apparently the week that every single major festival is going to announce their line ups, and most have been rather... underwhelming. I know that middle aged dads aren't exactly the target audience for music festivals, but we like to think we're "with it" here. Regardless, I've only seen about 3-5 artists per festival that I've cared about, and that has gone down as I realize that the Belly they've booked is the wrong Belly. That's why we're excited about Boston Calling this year. The headliners aren't all that thrilling (pretty sure Eminem is playing every festival this year, but yay for Jack White!) and of course The National are playing,  but as you go down the poster we start getting more intrigued. Fleet Foxes, St. Vincent, and The Decemberists are beloved by young and aging hipsters, plus they booked the right Belly and Pussy Riot. You go even further down and find Big Thief and Charly Bliss, who have been two of our favorites...

Every so often, you hear an album and say "yep, this is the one I'll be addicted to for a while." With Charly Bliss, I've been into them ever since I first tripped up on "Ruby" however long ago. This debut album gives some sleek production to the sometimes power-pop, sometimes 90s alt-rock record that dominated by listening all year. It's not so serious in comparison to Diet Cig - lyrics about smoking bad weed and accidentally peeing a trampoline don't necessarily have the same gravitas - but it more than makes up for it with a party-like atmosphere and having hooks for days. I won't even do a "songs of note" for this one because they're all so amazing: "Westermarck" with its great instrumentation, "Scare U" being a straightforward rock radio play, "Black Hole" being that sort of confessional song that makes you fall in love with a band over and over. I definitely had a musical type this year, as ...

A busy week! Album of the Week : Artist : Charly Bliss Album : Guppy Quick Description : Much-anticipated debut album. Why You Should Listen : You love that late-1990s indie alt-rock sound. Overall Thoughts : I’ve been obsessed with “Ruby” since it came out, so Guppy has been on my “most anticipated” list for quite some time now. My expectations for a debut album like this were probably higher than they should have been, but the reality? This is a really, really great record. I sent it over to Ken almost immediately, and he asked if they were a Letters to Cleo cover band which is a pretty appropriate comparison on a whole – the sort of female-led alternative rock of the 1990s is alive in Charly Bliss, and I’m very excited to spend more time with this one. Not a bad song on the album... Recommendation : ...and it’s absolutely one of the best releases of the year so far. Artist : Emily Bell Album : Kali Quick Description : Austin-area singer-songwriter's new EP. ...