If It's Too Loud...

Poster by Daykamp Creative It takes a lot to get me to go out in Boston on St. Patrick's Day. Literally every stereotype about Boston becomes true that day, and I've made the extra drive to Providence for shows on work nights to avoid seeing a band play on St. Patrick's Day. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and I couldn't imagine that Sleater-Kinney fans would be a drunken, obnoxious crowd, especially at this point in all of our lives, so I headed out to the Paradise to finally see Sleater-Kinney for the first time. I was definitely right about the crowd. Out of a sold out crowd of about one thousand, I only spotted two people doing the funny green hat/green beads/green shirt thing, which is a near miracle in Boston. Nobody was there to party or booze it up. Everyone was there for Sleater-Kinney. Sleater-Kinney are at the point in the career where they can do virtually whatever they want, and Sunday night's show at the Paradise proved that. The setlist f...

Artist : Lizzie No Album : Halfsies Quick Thoughts : I tripped up on Lizzie No in 2019's Vanity , which I really enjoyed across the board. Halfsies feels both stripped down and more forward, if that's a thing, as it's an album that puts forward a lot of really great songs while seemingly simplifying the presentation. I fell for "Lagunita" in particular hard , but the whole album is full of great folk-rock highlights like it. Do not skip this one. Songs of Note : "Lagunita," "The Heartbreak Store," "Getaway Car" Artist : Brown Horse Album : Reservoir Quick Thoughts : Brown Horse gave me big Jason Isbell/Drive-by Truckers vibes, which bodes well for this alt-countryish act that plays around in the darker moods throughout Reservoir . It's an album that wears what it is on its sleeve, and when a song absolutely nails it (like "Stealing Horses" and "Shoot Back") it's among the best of the week. Giv...

Photo by Chris Hornbecker "Untidy Creature" continues Sleater-Kinney's musical evolution into a new, unexpected direction. This new single sounds nothing like the iconic band's classic 90's albums, but it also doesn't sound anything like their more recent pop/electronic focused albums, either. Instead, "Untidy Creature" follows previous singles "Hell" and "Say It Like You Mean It" into a new territory. If The Center Won't Hold and Path of Wellness showed a band in transition and trying out a new sound, the singles off their upcoming album show a band figuring out that new sound. "Untidy Creature" may be more pop than we would have expected Sleater-Kinney to get, but this feels like a natural progression for them to have gone in. This one is a power ballad, but a power ballad bursting out of classic Sleater-Kinney. Sleater-Kinney say of their new single: “‘ Untidy Creature’ was the first song we wrote for Little Rope,...

Photo by Chris Hornbecker As someone who didn't like the last two Sleater-Kinney albums but loved their single released last month ("Hell"), I was nervous to check out the second single from their upcoming album. "Hell" could have been a fluke, and I'd end up hating "Say It Like You Mean It." I'm both relieved and thrilled to say this new single is also fantastic. With "Say It Like You Mean It," Sleater-Kinney have found this new ground that isn't anything like their 90's classics but still fresh enough to keep even their most snobby middle-aged indie rock fans (aka me) happy with a thrilling new sound. The Center Won't Hold and Path of Wellness were them trying out a brand new sound, and so far Little Rope appears to be them mastering it. Carrie Brownstein says of her band's new video, which she directed: “ The video tells the story of a woman who's lost all sense of what's appropriate .  Sick with the alienat...

Photo by Chris Hornbecker I'm going to be possibly too honest here. I didn't like Sleater-Kinney's The Center Won't Hold or Path of Wellness. And not because their new pop-leaning sound isn't what I want from Sleater-Kinney. Songs from those albums would end up on Spotify playlists, and I would dislike them before I knew who it was by. When I saw they had a new single out, I listened more of out a sense of obligation than excitement. But it turns out "Hell" is a great song. It's in no way a return to form for Sleater-Kinney. This isn't a throwback to their classic 90's sound. Instead, "Hell" stays in their more pop oriented sound, but it's more of a rock based sound than they've had since 2015's comeback album No Cities to Love . It's also more of a dark version of pop, and what I would have hoped for if someone told me Sleater-Kinney would toy with alt-pop more. This is a solid indie rock meets alt-pop song, and I...

Photo via Facebook There's an upcoming tribute album for Sleater-Kinney's iconic album Dig Me Out  due this Friday, and the latest single is one I've been waiting for since the project was announced. Neo-country icon Margo Price is covering "Turn It On." What would Margo Price sound like covering a riot grrl classic? Turns out she sounds a lot like Margo Price. This is the kind of cover that shows an artist reworking a song into their own style. "Turn It On" sounds like Price's current musical output. It has more of a rock base with just the slightest hints of her country sound. Sure, Price rocks a little harder than we've heard her rock before, at least on record. If you've seen Price live, you know that her show has at least one jam session with the band reaching this level of heaviness. But if you think you want to hear Margo Price covering Sleater-Kinney, you have no idea how much you're going to dig this one. You can watch the lyric ...

Photo by Shervin Iainez Melissa Ferrick is a legendary singer/songwriter based out of Boston. They are a Berklee trained musician who is currently a Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University and a former Associate Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music. Ferrick isn't an obvious choice for a Sleater-Kinney cover, but they've recorded a version of "You're No Rock N' Roll Fun" as part of Kill Rock Stars' thirtieth anniversary covers series Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars). While I said they weren't an obvious choice to cover Sleater-Kinney, now that you know it exists it is kind of a dream cover, isn't it? Ferrick takes more of a traditional folk/rock look at the Sleater-Kinney classic, but since it is Ferrick it does have their non-traditional take on the standard classic singer/songwriter thing. Both Melissa Ferrick and Sleater-Kinney are wonderfully unique artists, and this cover reflects that. You can listen to Melissa Ferrick...

Artist : COWBOY BOY Album : GOOD GIRL Quick Thoughts : While I don't know how I tripped up on COWBOY BOY, but it takes a lot for me not to be into a power pop band, and thus they charmed me from the very start. This is a quick hit album without any real negatives to point out - the vocals are great, the songs are fun while still being somewhat serious, and the whole package is a really solid listen from beginning to end. Songs of Note : "DREAM DREAM DREAM," "PET," "SHRINK," "INCONVENIENT" Artist : St. Lenox Album : Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times Quick Thoughts : St. Lenox does some earnest folk rock/indie pop, and this album does what it says on the tin: it's music about religion, but it's not religious music, if that makes any sense. St. Lenox lays it all out on the table, though - grappling with faith, belief (and the lack thereof), family... it's a heavy record in spite of its light presentatio...

Artist : Field Mouse Album : Meaning Quick Description : New album from indie favorites in these parts. Why You Should Listen : This is a much more introspective, quiet record in many regards. Overall Thoughts : Field Mouse has been a favorite of ours since we tripped up on them. Their first album was in constant rotation, their second a nice sidestep into a more robust, mature sound, and this new album continues that evolutionary trend. Equal parts witty and introspective (not that the ideas are exclusive to each other), the more prominent acoustic guitar combined with a continued separation from the more dreamy alt-rock that put FM on the radar makes for an interesting listen that I fully enjoyed on first listen while wondering what else it will uncover in future rotations. Definitely one of the better releases of the week. Recommendation : A must-listen this week. Artist : Lillie Mae Album : Other Girls Quick Description : Expertly crafted roots music. Why You Should Li...