If It's Too Loud...

Artist : Young Ejecta Album : Ride Lonesome Quick Description : Latest effort from the synthy electronic duo. Why You Should Listen : Part art project, part musical project, all awesome. Overall Thoughts : I've enjoyed everything musically that we've gotten from Young Ejecta, and Leanne Macomber (perhaps better known for her work with Non Indian) exudes a presence in this project that just works really well. This is decidedly more mainstream sounding than the previous efforts, and while it's been a while, it's clear the overall conceit behind the project (think of an alien observer) has taken a backseat, the musical efforts have not. I really enjoyed this, and it's absolutely an interesting take on what many might think is a tired subgenre. Recommendation : A favorite this week. Artist : Gordi Album : Our Two Skins Quick Description : Sophomore singer-songwriter effort. Why You Should Listen : While her first effort was more direct, this is more succes...

This past Wednesday marked the anniversary of the Challenger disaster, and to mark the tragedy saw The Rentals release a tribute to the victims. "Great Big Blue" has been causing some controversy, at least in the world of YouTube comments. The main issue some people seem to have with the song is the upbeat mood. Personally, I don't have an issue with the mood of the song. It's mostly about the excitement of the astronauts as they prepared for takeoff. It's a terrific New Wave-ish song meant to remember the victims of a tragedy that's stuck in our consciousness for all time. What better way to celebrate them than with an upbeat song? You can watch the lyric video for "Great Big Blue" below and decide for yourself. Q36 , the upcoming album from The Rentals, will be out June 2. You can pre-order a copy over at Bandcamp . For more on The Rentals, check out their website .

Since The Rentals have opted to release a song off their upcoming album bi-weekly leading up to its release, I've skipped a few songs to avoid this becoming a Rentals fan blog. "Invasion Night" sucked me in enough that I feel the need to bring it to you despite the risk. "Invasion Night" has this bizarro retro-future sound that we want when we listen to The Rentals, but it doesn't sound like The Return of... or anything else we've heard from them before. If their 90's output was was the future sounded like twenty to thirty years ago, this is what that imagined future would sound like now. It's space age chic, but with some killer fuzzy guitars and an intensity The Rentals don't normally showcase. You can listen to "Invasion Night" below. Q36 , the upcoming album from The Rentals, will be out June 2. You can pre-order it here . For more on The Rentals, check out their website . Q36 by The Rentals

For those of us that first came to love The Rentals back in 1995 with the release of their debut album Return of The Rentals , their latest single "Forgotten Astronaut" will be a joy to hear. Matt Sharp has been going in a more pop/mainstream sound with his band in more recent years, and sure, "Forgotten Astronaut" is more smooth sounding than he sounded back in the 90's. But it's a return to the heavy bass and synth sound we haven't heard in a long while, which is what we first got into.  You can listen to "Forgotten Astronaut" below. Q36 , the upcoming album from The Rentals, will be out June 2. You can pre-order the album via Bandcamp. For more on The Rentals, check out their website . Q36 by The Rentals

No one would ever accuse The Rentals of being a prolific band. Matt Sharp's project released Return of The Rentals way back in 1995, and has only released three (or four, depending on if you count Resilience ). Lost in Alphaville came out in 2014, so to have a new album coming out next year seems fairly quick. "Spaceships" is the first single, and it's both completely different and exactly what we'd expect. Obviously it's very heavy on synths, as that's The Rentals thing. Maybe I'm being influenced by the song title, but "Spaceships" has a very Bowie feel. It has that futuristic sound, but what people thought the future would sound like in the 60's. That's not to say that it's a retro/throwback song. It does sound very current, and seems like Sharp has decided to dabble in the world of modern pop more than he ever has. You can watch the lyric video for "Spaceships" below. Q36 , the new album from The Rentals, will be...

Typically we have to wait an insane amount of time in between releases from The Rentals. Matt Sharp [editor's note: We're legally required to remind you that he used to be in Weezer] takes his sweet time working on new music, so since Lost in Alphaville  was released in 2014, I wasn't expecting anything new from The Rentals until at least 2020. Well... I'm in luck. The Rentals have a new single out, "Elon Musk is Making Me Sad." For those of us a little disappointed by Lost in Alphaville , "Elon Musk is Making Me Sad" is a true return to form. The best songs from The Rentals have always been equal parts sense of humor and melancholy. The song tells the tale of two boys who each received a Commodore computer back in 1982. One boy used his to "... make fake IDs and buy beer in junior high" while the other one learned everything he could about his. As you can probably guess, Matt Sharp was the one making fake IDs. Sharp does have a bit of ...

Another packed week this week. Here are the highlights: The Bad Plus - Inevitable Western : The Bad Plus made their mark outside of the jazz world with their covers of popular and classic songs, and the result is a style of jazz that, as someone who isn't a jazz fan, I can sometimes get behind. Jazz, on a whole, doesn't do much for me, and Inevitable Western is a Bad Plus album with no covers on it, which will ultimately limit its appeal. If you, like me, came on board to see what they decided to work on this time, you might not find much to like. If their style is your thing, though, you'll probably find some enjoyment here. Basement Jaxx - Junto : Of the electronic acts that have perservered over the years, Basement Jaxx has never really connected to me the way, say, Orbital or Crystal Method has. The new album, well, it sounds like Basement Jaxx. It didn't do much for me, but it sounded as I expect a Basement Jaxx album to sound, so that's something. ...