If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Sam Jr. Album : Sam Jr. Quick Thoughts : As mini-albums go, Sam Jr.'s self-titled effort here is part Dandy Warhols, part Kurt Vile, part Washed Out, part Morphine, but it all works. There's a grime to these songs that just makes sense, and the grungy, sticky bar floor these songs sound like they come from is just perfect. It's loud, it's brash, and it's great. Songs of Note : "You Lock the Door I Broke the Window," "Sweet Face," "Keep It Buried" Artist : Eades Album : Delusion Spree Quick Thoughts : Eades is definitely doing the alt-rock thing well, and I think what impresses me most about Delusion Spree is that the songs that hit well hit REALLY WELL. I tripped up on "I'm Holding Back Your Hair" and checked out the album only to find song after song that just work. It's a great listen and has a lot going for it, so give it a spin. Songs of Note : "I'm Holding Back Your Hair," "A...

Two of my favorite musical genres are oldies from the 60's and noisy indie rock. It's rare that those two genres get mixed together, but luckily for me The Blog That Celebrates Itself has released yet another brilliant covers collection, this one specializing in girl groups covers. If you're looking for covers that stay true to the original, this one may not be for you. It's filled with genre shattering versions that skew towards shoegaze  and noise rock, filled with more feedback and droning guitars than most people can handle. A perfect example is include "Now You're Gone" (done here by Ceremony, originally by Bobbie Smith and the Dream Girls), which would be entirely unrecognizable without a track listing. It's a blisteringly noisy nearly 7:00 version that ignores the vocals for two full minutes, which completely defies the entire girl group genre. Ghost Transmission goes a little more traditional with their version of The Shangri-las "Rememb...