If It's Too Loud...

One of the weirder weeks for new music since we started this project up. Away we go! Octagrape - Emotional Oil : Ken knew of this band because they opened for Sebadoh (and wrote about them here ), and I can totally understand why they did. If one was to think about what "indie grunge" might sound like in 2014, this EP would almost certainly take the bill. I'll be honest - I didn't love this, but it definitely has an interesting take and could absolutely find the right audience even if it isn't me. At under 20 minutes, it's not much of an investment and you'll know how you feel about it almost immediately. Orenda Fink - Blue Dream : Orenda Fink's third solo album, and first since the reformation of Azure Ray, sounds a lot like an Azure Ray record, and that's not a bad thing. Putting aside the dream pop in favor of a more dreamy folk atmosphere, the album, on first listen, seems more successful than her previous solo efforts in a number of r...

Monday night shows are always iffy, especially for “classic” bands. Most of my Sebadoh loving friends (ok, ALL of my Sebadoh loving friends) have passed the no going out that early in a work week stage, and I was curious how the show would go, especially after hearing about a Fountains of Wayne/Soul Asylum/Evan Dando triple bill back on a Monday night in September that ended up being ½ full. All 3 of those acts had more commercial success than Sebadoh, but apparently Sebadoh breeds more loyalty since The Sinclair was roughly ¾ full, with the majority being older fans, so luckily the Creepy Old Guy Factor was non-existent. I had never heard of Octagrape before seeing that they were opening for Sebadoh. I meant to pop into The Sinclair maybe half way through their set just to check them out, but ended up in the area earlier than I expected, so I wandered in early while they were still setting up. Seeing as how they sometimes write out their name as “Octa#grape,” I assumed they ...