If It's Too Loud...

Artist : The Beths Album : Expert in a Dying Field Quick Thoughts : The Beths are the best indie/alternative rock band going right now. I said it because it's true. Experts is another incredible entry in a discography of what is now three great releases, and the band shows no signs of slowing down. There's not a bad song on here, and they know how to make a tight rock song. One of the best of the summer. Songs of Note : "Silence is Golden," "Knees Deep," "Head in the Clouds," "I Told You That I Was Afraid" Artist : Tysk Tysk Task Album : You're Sorry More Quick Thoughts : There's not much I can say about Tysk Tysk Task that Ken hasn't said better in his many live reviews and song highlights. What I will add is that the band walks a fine line between careful and chaotic in a way other bands would fail, and what it means is a memorable record that has all the dark horse qualities for an album that will stick with you...

Artist : Fiona Apple Album : Fetch the Bolt Cutters Quick Description : New album from the alt-singer-songwriter. Why You Should Listen : A lot of people are arguing that this may be the best album of the year. Overall Thoughts : Internet chatter this weekend focused a lot on Pitchfork's perfect score for this album, Apple's first since 2012. Apple doesn't produce new music very often, and she is very much an artist's artist with everything that goes along with that. This album? It's definitely an achievement, probably her best since Extraordinary Machine , and it's 100% the album from this week that I will be going back to first. Best of the year? A transcendent experience? That remains to be seen, but this is an album with a lot of layers and is absolutely worth listening to whether you're a fan or not. It's rare, in 2020, for an album to not only be the topic of conversation but also be worthy of it, and Fetch the Bolt Cutters ultimately ...