If It's Too Loud...

We're back into a strong swing after the American holiday... Album of the Week : Artist : Great Grandpa Album : Plastic Cough Quick Description : More female-fronted 1990s alt-rock, nearly as good as the rest. Why You Should Listen : Hits the right nostalgia buttons while still feeling new and fresh. Overall Thoughts : A question I never asked until I heard this album was “what if Speedy Ortiz was trying to be more like a grungy version the 1990s revival we’ve been seeing lately?” The answer appears to be Great Grandpa (who have the best band name I’ve seen in some time). The lead track hit my radar some time ago, and I’ve been waiting for this release for some time. It’s very, very good, and I’m impressed by the choices and risks it takes musically – the band could have played things a little safe and worked toward a poppy indie rock record with some radio friendly songs ready and waiting for that breakout, and they instead went with some really interesting song struct...

Another solid week. 2015 is looking really good so far musically. Public Service Broadcasting - The Race for Space : So I had listened really quick to Public Service Announcement's previous stuff before this, so it didn't come as a complete surprise, but this is a really fun electronica album using audio from the early space program to really provide a pretty unique look both at the history of the program and as a unique musical entity. It's not going to be for everyone, I realize this, but if there's another group doing anything like this as a full project (as opposed to one-off individual songs), I'd love to hear it. Maybe not the best release of the week, but easily the most interesting. The Airborne Toxic Event - Dope Machines : I don't know what it is that keeps me going back to The Airborne Toxic Event. Their style typically isn't mine, and I'm continually surprised they're still an indie act every time. The new album is still some rea...