If It's Too Loud...

Not gonna lie, guys - this was a disappointing release week. Album of the Week : Artist : Mogwai Album : Every Country's Sun Quick Description : Latest from the ochestrally(?) tailored rock act. Why You Should Listen : Is it really post-rock? Who knows, but Mogwai is good and this is good. Overall Thoughts : Yes, this is probably my favorite album of the week in a very weak one, but that’s not to say Mogwai isn’t still as good as they typically are here. If you’re a fan, you’re getting more of the same here, and that’s certainly worthwhile. What they do is so unique and so solid that you don't want to miss it. Recommendation : Worth a listen even in a busy week. Artist : The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Album : The Echo of Pleasure Quick Description : A departure from the standard from these indie favorites. Why You Should Listen : You wanted more 80s throwback in your life. Overall Thoughts : One of the first bands both Ken and I fell for at the same time wh...

The good news is that the new releases were a day early this week and have a lot of fun nuggets. The bad news is that at least three of them are well over two hours long. Ah well. R.E.M. - Unplugged 1991/2001: The Complete Sessions : R.E.M. is far and away my favorite band of all time. Previously only available in bootleg form, and R.E.M.'s contribution to Record Store Day this year, the Unplugged collection is one of those completest things that will be of interest to R.E.M. fans and perhaps fans of the now-basically-useless Unplugged brand, but beyond that it's going to be filled with a lot of songs you probably don't know on the first disc, and a lot of songs you only know if you're a hardcore fan on the second. One thing I always enjoyed about the Unplugged shows were the ways they kind of exposed the songs for what they were - a reason the 10,000 Maniacs session was so solid was because their songs translated well to an acoustic landscape. While the 1991 U...