If It's Too Loud...

I was never an emo kid. Or at least not the type of indie kid that gravitated toward the sort of Bright Eyes/Dashboard Confessional/Saves the Day-style stuff (although they all have their moments). And while "midwest emo" is getting a bit of a tongue-in-cheek resurgance as of late, that was more my speed: heavily melodic, less screamy, not married to just one flavor of music. This also means that I missed the heyday of a lot of truly great bands I'm only discovering in recent years. While I was busy going through every Elephant Six band I could find in the early aughts, it means I missed out on Jawbreaker, on hey Mercedes, on Rainer Maria, Braid, Dismemberment Plan... you get the picture. It also means that a lot of these bands are either reforming recently (Rainer Maria and Dismemberment Plan being noteworthy examples of this) or putting out new music now , and I'm not only experiencing them for the first time, but hearing about them for the first time. Tha...

Artist : Glen Phillips Album : There is So Much Here Quick Thoughts : I recognize that I am a little biased when it comes to Glen Phillips, as Toad the Wet Sprocket is a top five band for me and the frontman has put together a formidable solo career as well. This latest album shows us a singer-songwriter that just knows how to put a song together, and the outcome here is a bold and bright affair that might be his best solo effort since Winter Pays for Summer . Just a rock solid listen overall, and something that I am super psyched about. Songs of Note : "Stone Throat," "I Was a Riot," "Big Changes" Artist : Pohgoh Album : Du Und Ich Quick Thoughts : I did not know who Pohgoh was prior to this week, and apparently I've been missing out, as this is by far my favorite album of the week and has a very strong case to being one of the better albums of the year. While I know the old souls around us might find the "midwest emo" mockery to be ...