If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Jade Jackson Album : Wilderness Quick Description : Great alt-country. Why You Should Listen : Jade Jackson's debut was good, but this is amazing. Overall Thoughts : I was turned onto Jade Jackson from an old friend a few years back, and I hadn’t kept up quite close enough to know that she had a new record out. With that said, what a great album! I felt like her previous record had better parts than a whole (with “Aden” in particular a truly great song), but this album seems to pull it all together in a way I didn’t anticipate. This is the album, for me, that pushes her out of the second tier and into the spots I put women like Kathleen Edwards, Lydia Loveless, and the like. Such a great listen, and I am really hoping this has the staying power I want. Recommendation : One of the best of the week, if not the year. Artist : Thom Yorke Album : ANIMA Quick Description : Dystopian blues from the Radiohead frontman. Why You Should Listen : Do I really need to ex...

Photo by Jennifer Lewis The latest single from Sarah Bethe Nelson might be a perfect little alternative pop song. "Weird Glow" reminds me a lot of Mary Lou Lord's major label output. It's a pretty straightforward singer/songwriter track, filled with Nelson's strikingly beautiful in their simplicity vocals and just enough jangle to keep it interesting. It's the kind of song that should be a huge megahit and propel Nelson into stardom if there was any justice in the world. But there's not, so I guess on the plus side "Weird Glow" won't be haunting you in every dentist's waiting room and chain restaurant this summer. Although it should be. You can listen to "Weird Glow" below. Weird Glow  the album will be out June 28 on Burger Records. For more on Sarah Bethe Nelson, check out her website .

Photo by Jennifer Lewis San Francisco's Sarah Bethe Nelson is back with a new single and it continues her own unique version of interesting indie rock. "Paralyzed Waltz" is charmingly lo-fi and minimalist, but it has a full sound, and is as groovy as can be. It sounds like it could be a long lost demo to something out of the 60's. The minimalist feel is definitely intentional. Instead of working with a full band on her upcoming album, Weird Glow  was recorded with just her long time collaborator Rusty Miller in the studio. Nelson says about the song (and this is one of my favorite artist quotes in a long time...):   " Paralyzed Waltz  is loosely about how people perceive you so differently than you perceive yourself and how both of those perceptions are probably wrong. And part of it is just about having a crush on a guy with a broken front tooth."  You can listen to "Paralyzed Waltz" below. Weird Glow  will be out June 28 on Burger Records v...

And onto the second round! Artist : Sarah Bethe Nelson Album : Oh, Evolution Quick Description : New album from a buzzworthy singer-songwriter. Why You Should Listen : Her first album was great. Overall Thoughts : I loved Sarah Bethe Nelson’s last album, a fuzzy indie affair with some solid songwriting and some solid depth. Her new album does what we always want from a second album in that it expands on the sound and style we loved on the first album without abandoning what worked. And there is some zagging on this record, to be sure, but it all works and might be a better cohesive unit than her debut on first listen. I’m looking forward to spending more time with this one. Recommendation : Highly recommended this week. Artist : Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Album : The Tourist Quick Description : Indie act with their latest. Why You Should Listen : This is a band that's always had a solid track record. Overall Thoughts : Clap Your Hands Say Yeah pioneered the truly i...

Someday I'll have time to do more than just new releases. With that said, here are some new releases! Will Butler - Policy : Will Butler is a guitarist for Arcade Fire, and this is, technically, his debut album, but it's really more a collection of songs he did for a project with The Guardian . It's not a coherent piece on a whole in that regard, but the sum of its parts is pretty good, with some decent songs interspersed within. Definitely a must for Arcade Fire fans, not a waste of time for the rest of us. Fences - Lesser Oceans : I looked this one up mostly due to the fact that I liked their first album, especially "Girls With Accents." This second album, well, I don't know. It's a little all over the place, there's a Macklemore guest spot, and there's not really a song that jumps out at me here. I'm not really sure, but this might be something to skip. Joe Pug - Windfall : It's always fun when Ken sends albums over that I wa...