If It's Too Loud...

Being as obsessed as I am with the music of Sallie Ford, I have no idea how this slipped by me for this long. Talkin' to Johnny is the latest musical project from Ford, featuring her on vocals and drums, Maria Kohler (aka Kitty Crimes) on guitar, and A Walker Spring playing bass. The trio released their debut EP earlier this month. Talkin' to Johnny - EP is six hard rockin' songs. While it still has the blues base of Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside and Sallie Ford, Talkin' to Johnny is straight up 70's style rock 'n' roll. This is a huge sound with much more showboating (in the best possible way) than I would expect. They're giving us killer guitar solos that sound like a lo-fi Led Zeppelin. Like I said, not what I was expecting to hear from a Sallie Ford project, but it's great to hear an artist stretch outside of their normal comfort zone like this. You can watch the video for "Man Moon" below. Talkin' to Johnny - EP  is avail...

Sallie Ford's Soul Sick has earned the distinction of being the only album both Jeff and I put on our top ten lists. By default, that most likely earns it If It's Too Loud... album of the year honors, if we did such a thing. Sallie Ford has always been an artist that plays raw and with a confessional songwriting style. It's never been more apparent than on Soul Sick . Her doo wop meets garage meets indie rock sound is kept intact, but, while her previous albums have had a sense of fun, this one is dark and decidedly uncomfortable at times. I know this makes it sound like I'm calling Soul Sick  a complete bummer, but somehow Ford keeps her songs catchy and upbeat, despite the subject matter. Songs of note: "Loneliness is Power," "Get Out," and "Failure."

While this was one of the best albums I've heard this year, it was also one of the saddest. So much pain emanates from this album, and the end result is Sallie Ford's best effort yet. The songs are a little more stark, a little more retro, but then you have "Screw Up" and "Get Out" and "Romanticized Catastrophe" and you're just kind of on board. Even looking back on this album, I could point to most of the songs as favorites here, so really just listen to the whole thing and share your hurt a bit. Songs of Note: "Record on Repeat," "Screw Up," "Get Out," "Romanticized Catastrophe"

Photo via Facebook This was my third time seeing Sallie Ford live in less than four years, and her third band I've seen her with. Interestingly enough, this was her first truly coed band (The Sound Outside had an all male line up and her first solo band was all female.) While the all female line up had a similar sound to The Sound Outside, her new band has a distinct sound of their own. Considering Soul Sick  is the only album with the new band, and it is the new album after all, the majority of the night's set list came from the new album. The crowd may have been sparse (it was a late night Tuesday show with a crowd of female hipsters in their 20s and middle aged men, after all), but they were completely into the new songs like "Loneliness is Power," "Failure," and "Get Out." The crowd seemed more into the older material, but I don't see that as a knock on her new songs. Soul Sick  might be the best thing she's ever released, but son...

A busier than normal week, so I'm splitting this into two days. Album of the Week : Artist : Sallie Ford Album : Soul Sick Quick Description : New album from a favorite here that will just have you asking "Sallie, who hurt you and how can we destroy them?" Why You Should Listen : Sallie Ford somehow improved on what she was doing, and she was already doing some amazing stuff. Overall Thoughts : Man, Sallie Ford's been through from stuff, huh? That was really my first reaction as I listened to this album, a bunch of songs that feel confessional, that drip with hurt and pain, that just feel really heavy. And yet this ends up being beautiful with a lot of inspirational tones and gorgeous music. The whole sort of bluesy thing she was doing takes a bit of a backseat here, but this isn't some sort of singer-songwritery acoustic "woe is me" record, either. It's something a lot more special than that, and it's something everyone really just n...

Photo by Emily Ulmer that dog. Title and release date TBD I've been a die hard That Dog. fan for over 20 years, to the point that I went to see them open up for the Foo Fighters way back in 1996. The band broke up in 1997, and reunited for a handful of reunion shows in 2011. Now, thanks to a Kickstarter that raised double what they were looking for, that dog. is set to release their first album in 19 years. Reunion albums, particularly ones where the band has taken almost two decades off, can be pretty iffy, but I'm staying hopeful on this one. Ryan Adams Prisoner , February 17 A new Ryan Adams album is always something we get excited for, but this one has a little more buzz for than usual. If you've ever been through a divorce, you start getting obsessed with other peoples' divorce stories. Prisoner  is Ryan Adams' divorce album, recorded written as least partly during Adams' very high profile divorce from Mandy Moore. With song titles like "D...

In part two of our accidental "People Cover the Perfect Holiday Song for Them" feature today, we have Sallie Ford covering Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." Originally recorded back in 2010 with her old band The Sound Outside, Ford's enthusiasm for the song shines through. You can tell she's having an absolute rockin' [editor's note: Ugh. Sorry. I hate myself for that one] time with this one, and it features one of the greatest scat solos of all time. It's everything you want in a cover: Well chosen, perfectly true to the original, and just altered enough to make the song her own. You can get your own free download of Sallie Ford covering "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" at her PledgeMusic page (which is where you can also pre-order her forthcoming album , Soul Sick , due February 10. For more information on Sallie Ford, check out her website .

I prefer Halloween over Christmas. Christmas music is pretty much unavoidable, and most of it is pretty awful. It's either the same songs over and over every year or just top 40 pop crap you'll hopefully forget next year. That's why we bring you the If It's Too Loud... 2016 Holiday playlist. This is the second we've done (for some reason we skipped last year), and we've tried hard to not repeat from the last one. We tried to include a wide mix of everything we cover from classic country (Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn), 90s favorites (Jennifer Trynin, Letters to Cleo), classic punk (The Ramones, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Bad Religion), classic rockers (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Chuck Berry), soul (James Brown, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), current favorites (Courtney Barnett, Matt Pond PA, Sallie Ford), and, of course, "Christmas in Hollis" from Run DMC. No Christmas playlist is complete without it.

Friday Freebie is back this week with our very first triple header. We'll start off with the smallest of the three, but one we're really excited about. Absolute blog favorite Sallie Ford is offering up two songs from her upcoming album, Soul Sick , along with a previously unreleased B-side, "You're On My Mind." We've previously covered "Get Out, " so we'll stick with the two newer songs. "Failure" is doo-woppy as hell, and "You're On My Mind" is an absolute treasure. It sounds like an old blues song being played on the slowest, creepiest Victrola. You can get your copy of Sallie Ford's Soul Sick Sampler + Unreleased B-Side  over on Noisetrade . For those of you not familiar with Vic Chesnutt, you owe it to yourself to check him out. He recorded a total of 17 albums in his far too short and hard life. I guess you'd call him a singer/songwriter, but his style transcended the genre. I saw him once back in 2003 ope...

Photo via Facebook We've been following the career of Sallie Ford since before this blog existed, so anytime we can bring you new music of hers, we're pretty excited. "Get Out" is the first song released from her upcoming album, and the first with a new ensemble of musicians backing her. It's a pretty straightforward retro rocker, but it still has Ford's trademark bluesy growl. For such a basic rock song, "Get Out" just feels heavy and dark. The new album deals with Ford's struggles with anxiety and depression, as well as band breakups and wanting to quit music. This isn't exactly a party time album, but few truly great ones are. Sallie Ford's upcoming album, Soul Sick , will be released on February 10 on Vanguard Records. You can pre-order it now via PledgeMusic , along with some great extras (house shows, original artwork, hanging out with Sallie Ford in Portland, etc.) For more information on Sallie Ford, be sure to check out her...

Slap Back  confused me on the first listen. Back when Sallie Ford was with The Sound Outside, I would describe her as white girl blues for indie rockers. The bluesy sound is almost completely exorcised with The Sound Outside, and her new all girl band has a much edgier, rock sound. This might be literally the only time an act has added keyboards and ended up more rock than before. "Workin' the Job" is one of my favorite songs of the year. It's great seeing someone have the confidence to change their sound so drastically on their third album. I mean, it's not like you're not going to recognize Slap Back  as the same person to have brought you Untamed Beast  last year, but it's definitely a change. I'm very curious what she'll sound like in a year or two as she settles into her new band a bit more.

Almost a year to the date of the last time Sallie Ford played in the Boston area , I headed out to Allston on a Wednesday to see her latest band. After seeing her with The Sound Outside on what ended up being their last tour, I wanted to check out her latest incarnation on their first Boston stop. Usually when an artist adds a keyboard player to their line up, it waters down the music and gives it a more mainstream sound. Somehow, Sallie Ford comes out even more raw and dirty with her new line up, including keyboards. Of course, one of the big questions was if she would play her older songs or just stick with her new line up and album. She did break out some of her previous band's songs, including "They Told Me," which really showcased her new, more raw sound. Her earlier, more bluesy sound has been replaced with an edge that's reaching just slightly into Stooges territory. Some of this has to be credited to her new drummer, Amanda Spring. It's like taking th...

Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. There are no family obligations, you can celebrate pretty much anyway you want (including staying inside and watching movies), it's the one time of the year my fascination with the macabre isn't considered weird, and candy, candy, candy. To celebrate, here is an alternative mix of season appropriate songs. I avoided the completely obvious ones you'll hear at least 10 times today no matter what ("Monster Mash," "Werewolf of London," "Thriller"). Instead, I went with some classic hip hop (Geto Boys, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince), punk (Ramones, The Dead Milkmen), 80s and 90s favorites (Dinosaur Jr, Letters to Cleo), current favorites (Benjamin Booker, Sallie Ford), and, of course, a smidge of metal. It's longer than our normal mixes, but 31 is 13 backwards, and 2 hours is about as long as trick or treating lasts. Plus, I love Halloween. Enjoy!

Things are slower than last week, but that doesn't say too much. A lot of interesting releases this week: Sallie Ford - Slap Back : Blog favorite Sallie Ford puts out her first solo album this week, and it's actually a lot more straightforward than I personally expected. The blues/soul stuff that we've gotten used to with her Sound Outside albums is muted somewhat in this album and replaced with a more straightforward rock attitude that has a lot of interesting wrinkles to it. On first listen, I like it but I expected something different. A lot of this, much like her last album, might be a grower, and I'm more than happy to give it an opportunity. Winterpills - Echolalia : I knew I wanted to listen to this one when I saw it on the new release schedule, but I couldn't quite figure out why I remembered this band until I realized that their previous album was on constant rotation for me for quite a while. Echolalia is a covers album, and it wouldn't be im...

This site is on the verge of becoming an unofficial Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside fanpage, with my live review, Jeff's review of their latest EP, and both Jeff and I picking Untamed Beast  as our pick for #2 album of 2013. Unfortunately, this appears to be their swan song as they announced their break up on their Facebook page.  Sallie Ford has already announced and played her first show with her new all-female band under the name Sallie Ford. As excited as I am to hear her new band, I'm also a bit hesitant because I love this album so much. I never got into the white girl soul thing of Adele and Amy Winehouse. Sallie Ford adds a new indie rock twist to it. Pair that with her lyrics just dripping with unabashed sex and you get a concoction that has a little more originality. There is also a strong rockabilly touch to the songs, and I can't tell if that's Sallie Ford or guitarist Jeff Munger. "Paris" has one of my favorite lyrics in years, comparing t...

My #2 album of the year is Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside's Untamed Beast . Ken saw them live earlier this fall , and he's pretty much the reason why I'm a fan. With that said, a confession: the debut album, Dirty Radio ? Really uneven for me. "Danger" was off the charts awesome, but it didn't hold up so well for me. Part of it is because the whole jazzy/blues thing is not always my cup of tea, so my expectations for her new album were not terribly high. The album works really well for me in part because a lot of the blues parts are put in the backseat in favor of a more rockin' point of view. It results in a moodier album with a lot of attitude, and, frankly, a lot of sexuality oozing out of every pore. It means more mid-tempo songs like "She Told Me" have a significant purpose while sexy rockers like "Lip Boy" or "Do Me Right" are equal parts fun and frolicky. It's really well-crafted, and doesn't suffe...

Only one release of note: Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside - Summer EP : Man, Sallie Ford loves singing about sex. I'm not sure if these are new songs or outtakes from the excellent Untamed Beast , but this EP has three excellent songs sandwiched between a fun instrumental and another decent effort, something that is rare for an indie EP period. "Lips N Hips" in particular has been stuck in my head for two days running now.

I was beginning to think I was destined to never see Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside. I missed their set at the 2011 Newport Folk Festival, and even though they had played in Massachusetts 3 times this year, none worked out with my life. I was thrilled to see they were playing the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge . It seemed like an odd venue that would be way too small for them (it allegedly holds 80 people, but it always seems more like 30-40 to me). Sure, it was a Wednesday night, but I obviously had to go. On their Dirty Radio and Untamed Beast , Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside are an amazing amalgam of white girl soul, rockabilly, and indie rock. Live her voice is absolutely striking, with more than a hint of Eartha Kitt’s sultry purr to it. At the Lizard Lounge, there really is no stage, just an area surrounded by reserved seating tables where the band sets up. The intimate setting feels more like you’re hanging out and watching people you know play, so the few mista...