If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Quasi Album : Breaking the Balls of History Quick Thoughts : The first Quasi record in some time, and the first since Janet Weiss's departure from Sleater-Kinney, feels like a Quasi record in all the right ways. It's a little profane, a little angular, but still incredibly compelling. If you're a fan, you'll find a lot to love here, especially in songs like "Doomscrollers" that somehow nail the current mood perfectly. Worth your time for sure. Songs of Note : "Queen of Ears," "Shitty is Pretty," "Doomscrollers," "Nowheresville" Artist : Pearla Album : Oh Glistening Onion, the Nighttime is Coming Quick Thoughts : I think I was midway through the second song of this one and texted Ken to let him know how outstanding this was. It's a super polished roots-laden record that doesn't take its foot off the pedal from the very start. "Strong" is an early song of the year candidate for me in par...

Photo by John Clark Pacific Northwest legends Quasi are back with a new single ahead of their upcoming album. Following the previously released "Doomscrollers" and "Queen of Ears," "Nowheresville" gets surprisingly funky. It's a bizarro indie rock version of funky, but this one is a little unexpected in just how funky it is. It still has that discordant version of pop thing going for it, but "Nowheresville" grooves harder than the previous singles. Not to mention it has some killer guitar and keyboard solos going for it, and it's just dripping with its own version of harmony. You can watch the video for "Nowheresville" below. Breaking the Balls of History is due out February 10 on Sub Pop Records. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on Quasi, check out the band's Twitter and Facebook . 

Photo by John Clark Quasi (which we all know is the collaboration of Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss) have a new single that is exactly what we expect from them and a refreshing change at the same time. "Doomscrollers" is an upbeat, happy alt-rock/pop song, but it's also shockingly dark at the same time. The song is called "Doomscrollers," so you're going to expect some level of darkness, but tying this level of dark with this level of upbeat is almost whiplash inducing. It's also a straight up alt-rocker for the most part, but at times there are added strings that give the song a cinematic feel. Quasi's upcoming album will be their tenth, so it's great to see a band with that much music still finding ways to surprise us. You can watch the video for "Doomscrollers" below. Breaking the Balls of History is due out February 10 via Sub Pop, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Quasi, check out their Facebook and Twitter . Upcoming tour dat...

Photo by John Clark Quasi, the project of Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss, assumed their 2013 album Mole City  would be their last album. Then 2020 happened, and without much else to do, Coomes and Weiss decided to play music together every day as if they were on tour. Now they're back with a new upcoming album (which will be their tenth) due out next year (their thirtieth as a band).  The first single off of that album is "Queen of Ears," and it's quite simply perfect. It's equal parts melodic and noisy. It's rare to find a song that is as discordant as it is poppy, but that's the beauty of Quasi. It's pure, abrasive indie rock mixed with the kind of pop you would get in the 1960's. It's a fun song with charming harmonies and a drilling indie rock guitar sound. And who doesn't want that? You can watch the video for "Queen of Ears" below. Breaking the Balls of History  is due out February 10 on Sub Pop. The album can be pre-ordered her...

Nothing long-awaited outside of Haim's debut album has dropped this week, but it's still a surprisingly robust week for new releases. Let's dive in: Tired Pony - The Ghost of the Mountain : Tired Pony is a side project/supergroup headed up by Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, and including members of Belle & Sebastian, producer Jackknife Lee, and so on. The first album was a quieter, folksy affair that didn't exactly fit in with anything any of the members have done, and The Ghost of the Mountain certainly feels more complete, but still suffers from that same sort of quiet quality where nothing catches your ear enough to really give it full attention. As a complete unabashed R.E.M. fanboy, I will give this more of a shot, but it's not really catching my ear. Moby - Innocents : I hate to say this, but I didn't realize Moby was still making albums. The last I had recalled was 2005's Hotel , and he apparently has a few a...