If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Nana Yamato Album : Before Sunrise Quick Description : Your new favorite lo-fi indie artist has arrived. Why You Should Listen : This grabbed me within minutes of the first song. Overall Thoughts : I can't be more effusive about Before Sunrise than to say that this is borderline relevatory. Nana Yamato has put forward an album that both can't exist in any other time and yet feels somewhat timeless in its execution. It's indie, it's DIY, but it also feels incredibly deep, with some weight behind it. "Do You Wanna" is great, "Gaito" is great, the whole package is wonderful. I can't wait to go back to this one. Recommendation : Easily the best of the week. Artist : Editrix Album : Tell Me I'm Bad Quick Description : Loud, brash, unapologetic indie punk. Why You Should Listen : Asks a lot of the listener, but to great reward. Overall Thoughts : This was an unexpected surprise. Punk rock, on a whole, can be hit-or-miss for...

Photo by Nana Yamato Nana Yamato's musical career began in a way that's kind of a dream for many of us. She had been going between her apartment in Tokyo, her school, and her work over and over again. One day she stopped at Big Love Records to pick up and Iceage album, and started going there every day after school. Her passion became collecting every indie rock release (hello, my college years) and that led to her creating her own music. Her newest single, "Do You Wanna," is some of the most compelling underground pop you'll hear this year. I'm only calling it pop because that's the closest genre I can come up with. It's about as far away from American Top 40 as Little Hag is, but it doesn't quite fit in as rock, either. It's almost a sonic collage, if a collage can be made with each piece seamlessly melding with each other, like they always belonged together. Nana Yamato explains her new song:  “This is a song about self-transformation, what ...