If It's Too Loud...

This was probably one of the more consequential release weeks of the year. Album of the Week : Artist : Neko Case Album : Hell-On Quick Description : Latest from the alt-country favorite. Why You Should Listen : Neko Case has been required listening for 15+ years already. Overall Thoughts : My favorite album from Neko Case is probably Middle Cyclone , which is weird because I was into her for the alt-country stuff and that album might have been the diversion that fully sent her into her own personal genre. Case has released plenty of music since 2009, but this new album is so ridiculously good and so far beyond anything else that she has done that it is absolutely stunning that an artist entering her third decade of recording music as a solo artist can put something together like this. The album got me from the starting track, but the Crooked Fingers cover to the opening song all span that sort of connection those of us who listen to hours of music a day seek out. Best album...

Our newest favorite Australian export, Gabriella Cohen, has released the latest single off of her upcoming album. "Music Machine" isn't quite as much fun as "Baby" was, but we're still digging it. Cohen's 90's slacker style vocals are even more monotonous on "Music Machine," and we mean that in the most complimentary way possible. The part that will suck you in is when the backing vocals, which have been merely peeking in here and there throughout the song, come in full force in the second half of the song. I could describe the song in more detail, but I think Cohen's words about the song basically nail the vibe: "'Music Machine' was born about the time when I came back from my first U.S tour and found myself down and out crashing on a friends couch in West Brunswick, Melbourne. It was a strange patch of time, where I felt comically displaced, coming from the glitz and glamour of New York straight to desolate suburbia...

I'm having the hardest time describing the newest song from Australia's Gabriella Cohen. The only word I can think of using is "cool." "Baby" has this amazing groove throughout. Cohen has crafted this amazing pop rock song, leaning more heavily on the rock side. Her voice has this great 90's slacker vibe in the style of Evan Dando and Courtney Barnett. It includes an almost ska guitar throughout, and is just this super chilled out song reminiscent of a less jokey Pavement. Plus, it's a positive, upbeat song about heartache, so we're pretty sure you'll become as obsessed with it as we are. (Not to spoil it for you, but it has one of the greatest false endings of all time, one of my personal favorite elements in a song.) You can watch the video for "Baby" below. Gabriella Cohen's new album, Pink Is the Colour of Unconditional Love , will be out June 1 on Captured Tracks. You can pre-order it here . For more on Gabriella Cohe...