If It's Too Loud...

The last two weeks because I know I'm not going to get to this. Highlights: Artist : Aesop Rock Album : I Heard It's a Mess There Too Songs of Note : "Crystals and Herbs," "Full House Pinball," "The Cut," "Opossum," "Poly Cotton Blend" Artist : Anna von Hausswolff Album : ICONOCLASTS Songs of Note : "Facing Atlas," "The Iconoclast," "The Whole Woman," "The Mouth," "Stardust," "Struggle with the Beast" Artist : Sorry Album : Cosplay Songs of Note : "Jetplane," "Antelope," "Today Might Be the Hit," "Waxwing," "JIVE" Artist : The Mountain Goats Album : Through this Fire Across from Peter Balkan Songs of Note : "Fishing Boat," "Dawn of Revelation," "Peru," "Armies of the Lord," "Broken to Begin With" Artist : Sabine McCalla Album : Don't Call Me Ba...

Artist : Silversun Pickups Album : Physical Thrills Quick Thoughts : I think it was "Well-Thought Out Twinkles" that I fell in love with way, way back (and is a fun song to drum to on Rock Band , and they've kept up appearances pretty well with their Smashing Pumpkins Without the Conspiracy Theories rock over the years. This latest album is maybe my favorite since their second record, and has a few songs that would rightfully be considered classics of theirs at this stage. I feel like this band doesn't get their alt-rock due, and they really deserve better. Give this one a listen. Songs of Note : "Hereafter (Way After)," "Scared Together," "Empty Nest" Artist : Why Bonnie Album : 90 in November Quick Thoughts : "Galveston" hit some discovery playlist a few months back and it went on constant rotation. 90 in November is a wonderful slice of indie rock with a ton of great songs and a fun presentation. If you like the s...

Artist : Hurry Album : Fake Ideas Quick Thoughts : Hurry does a lot of great alt-rock, and has a few solid albums under their belt. Fake Ideas feels like an album from a band that has figured it out, and each song feels better than the last. It's a listen where I struggled in highlighting any specific songs, because they're all great, melodic alt-rock songs. Don't miss out. Songs of Note : "It's Dangerous," "A Fake Idea," "Slogging Through Summer" Artist : Lucy Dacus Album : Home Video Quick Thoughts : I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say that both Ken and I think "Night Shift" is a near-perfect song. So Lucy Dacus, with a great debut album, has a lot to live up to, and Home Video largely delivers. There are a lot of solid listens throughout, and it's thematically linked in many ways that was unexpected but welcome. This is definitely a better cohesive album than her debut, even if there is...

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 ...

A busy release week, but also a busy weekend for me, so this is somewhat truncated. Still, some real highlights: Album of the Week : Artist : !!! Album : Shake the Shudder Quick Description : Latest from the dance-rockers. Why You Should Listen : !!! is always amazing, and they've really hit their stride as a band. Overall Thoughts : It's rare for an album to both be album of the week and for me not to have a lot to say about it, but here is the new !!!, and they've got a pretty solid sound going at this point. They're not weird anymore, and they kind of have a great type of sound that doesn't take a ton of risks anymore. So, while we don't get legendary tracks like "Pardon My Freedom," we do get songs that hook you in immediately like "Dancing is the Best Revenge." !!! are a band out of time in a way - I'm into it. Recommendation : Always wonderful, and this is a must-listen like all of their stuff. Artist : Cayetana Al...

I wasn't so fond of the latest album by The Mountain Goats, but there were a few good songs in there. One of them is "Foreign Object," which fans of professional wrestling should warm to immediately. Nowaways, with the rise and fall of ECW and an "Extreme Rules" and "Tables, Ladders, and Chairs" event yearly, the idea of worrying about foreign objects in a wrestling ring isn't so pronounced, but I remember it being a Big Deal, and so does John Darnielle. The horns give it a bit of a jaunty lift, and it ends up being a standout track.

Not the greatest week... The Mountain Goats - Beat the Champ : On the surface, this album should be my favorite thing in the world, combining The Mountain Goats with professional wrestling. The unfortunate truth is that the album peters out really quickly, with the high points being "The Legend of Chavo Guerrero" and "Foreign Object," and the rest being kind of unmemorable. I may have gone into this with higher expectations than I should have, but this is an album I wanted to love and barely like at this point. It's unfortunate. Say Lou Lou - Lucid Dreaming : Say Lou Lou (formerly Saint Lou Lou) is the project of the twin daughters of the lead singer of The Church from back in the 1980s. Lucid Dreaming is sort of the low-key electro-pop I love, and the album is generally good but never seems to take that leap into something greater throughout. I've liked what I've heard up to this point, and the album isn't bad at all (especially in a b...