If It's Too Loud...

It's been 15 years since his last solo album, but next month Jason Lowenstein will finally follow up 2002's At Sixes and Sevens with his second solo album, Spooky Action.  You will probably know Lowenstein best as being the other longstanding member of Sebadoh. While many artists will stretch out and try new sounds or entire new genres on a solo album, At Sixes and Sevens  is more of what you wanted from Lowenstein. It still sounded like Sebadoh, but the louder, more rock side of the band. If "Superstitious" is any indication, Spooky Action will be even more of the same. It's loud, with a killer opening riff, and is heavy on the lo-fi rock. It's exactly what you want it to be, and that's not a bad thing. You can listen to "Superstitious" below. Spooky Action  will be out on June 16 on Joyful Noise Recordings. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on Jason Lowenstein, check him out on Facebook and his website .

With 27 new releases this week to highlight (and yes, I listened to all of them), I honestly have no idea how to approach this. Half this many often results in a two day post. So I’m just going to highlight some stuff with quick hits and recommendations this week. It’s the only way. Great Albums This Week : Rogue + Jaye - Pent Up (Rogue Wave + Courtney Jaye collaboration is the best stuff either of them have put out on their own) Soley - Endless Summer (absolutely gorgeous Icelandic singer-songwriter music) Asgeir - Afterglow (I didn’t think I’d dig something that appears to be trying to the Bon Iver template, but it works really well. Excellent follow-up to his last album) Littler - Bad Hand (solid EP of signs of things to come) Solid Listens : Angel Snow - Magnetic (haunting folk music) Brother Ali - All the Beauty in This Whole Life (solid, positive-sounding rap music. Different style than the current crop of popular stuff, really liked this) Joan Shelley...

Neither Jeff or I could get fully into Lydia Loveless's 2016 album Real . It was just a change in style that didn't work for us. One of the bigger disappointments for me was that the album didn't include "Desire," a song that featured prominently in the documentary Who is Lydia Loveless? Luckily, we can finally get a copy ourselves since "Desire" has been released as a digital single. It's a great mid-tempo song that fits snugly in between her older country rockers and her newer, more pop sound. The B-side of "Desire" is "Sorry," which is apparently a Justin Bieber cover. I may have heard the original version of "Sorry" since I do go out in public every so often, but I've never knowingly heard the song. I'll assume it's an overproduced pop nightmare, but in Loveless's hands it's an intense acoustic rock song, sung with a heartbreaking intensity. It reminds me of the way Evan Dando can take the mos...

Photo by Matt Guevara The Eagles are most likely my least favorite band of all time. No, I don't mean that. The Eagles are my least favorite band of all time. I only bring that up to show how much we love Tristen here at If It's Too Loud... since I'm willing to look past my dislike of The Eagles to listen to new music from her. Tristen recorded a cover of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" as part of the Instant Love project. The Instant Love project takes love songs written by men about women and re-imagines them as being sung by women. Tristen's version of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" is even more laid back than the original and is a stunning cover. She brings a peaceful, dreamlike quality of the song that strips away the pretentious vibe that makes me truly despise the original. It takes an absurd level of talent to make me like an Eagles cover. Tristen has that talent. You can listen to Tristen's cover of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" below. You ca...

Photo by Christopher Newell The newest single from Boston's The I Want You is going to break your heart. We're all getting older, and that's fine. But as we get older, relationships fall to the side. We all have friends that we used to see every single day, and not just our college roommates. We used to go out and do fun things. Hell, we'd even meet new people when we went out and become friends with them, at least for one night. Now... we're older. I go to most shows alone now. Maybe at a really good show I might talk to the person next to me for a minute or two. I only see my friends at our kid's birthday parties, if even then. That's the general idea of "Dying Scene." It's this great power pop song in the vein of Big Star. And as with every great Big Star song, it's equal parts pop joy and melancholy. Plus, it has this great feel of effortlessness that power pop should have. It might be the catchiest song of 2017. You can watch t...

Photo by Donald Bruno Philadelphia's Taiwan Housing Project are a tough band to describe. That's because as a music critic, we tend to like to say that a band is like Band X combined with Band Y. I know I do that probably too much. But, it's a good way to describe a band's sound to someone to let them know if they should listen to it or not. "Authentic Alien Perfume" doesn't sound like any other band. I'm not going to say they sound like Lightning Bolt or Guerilla Toss, but the comparison is the excitement I felt the first time I heard either of those bands. "Authentic Alien Perfume" is pure noise and intensity, but it's not this fast out of control song. It's almost mid-tempo, but it's this intense crush of screeching guitars and horns, all looping around with chanted vocals that are a mix between Human Sexual Response and Jello Biafra. Yeah, it's pretty batshit, but in the best possible way. You can listen to "Aut...

Photo by Ken Sears When I first saw that Throwing Muses were being inducted into the RI Music Hall of Fame, I had two thoughts: 1. There's an RI Music Hall of Fame? 2. Who else is in it besides Throwing Muses? Wandering the hallway in the building that houses the new Met Cafe (my last time at the Met Cafe was the old Providence location in 2003 for an Evan Dando show), I saw the other previous inductees into the RI Music Hall of Fame. Looking at those names, I still didn't know why it took a few years to get Throwing Muses inducted. George Wein, founder of the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals? Sure. John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band? Ok.... Photo by Ken Sears With their performance at this year's induction concert, Throwing Muses solidified their place as Rhode Island rock royalty. The first few songs were a bit rough, but Throwing Muses haven't played since a tour in 2014. After that, Kristin Hersh, who was joined by longtime drummer David Narciz...

I've been a huge fan of Prescott Park's live music line up for a few years now. It's live music from insanely great nationally touring bands in a beautiful waterfront park for next to nothing. Seriously, since it's a public park they technically can't charge an entrance fee, so instead they charge a $8-$10 "suggested donation." Trust me, though. You're going to be more than happy paying the suggested donation since it's usually a fraction of the band's normal ticket price and you'll want them to keep putting these on. I make the extra long trip whenever I can since I enjoy the venue more than some Boston theaters, and I've seen a few artists that tend to charge more than I like paying here for $10. Usually there are a handful of If It's Too Loud... approved bands every year, with the majority of the artists being more suited to our parents. This year though... wow. Here is a small selection of bands I think our readers will be exc...

And the rest! Artist : Airling Album : Hard to Sleep, Easy to Dream Quick Description : Light and airy poppy singer-songwriter stuff. Why You Should Listen : Comfortable and pleasant is the name of the game here. Overall Thoughts : Airling was a pleasant surprise for me. Coming from Australia, this is an album that feels light and airy with some electronic instrumentation to go along with solid vocals. The result is a really pretty album that, on one hand, isn’t really breaking any ground, but is still quite a worthwhile listen on the other. While this might not blow your mind... Recommendation : ...I absolutely recommend finding some time for it this week. Artist : Juliana Hatfield Album : Pussycat Quick Description : The first major protest album of 2017. Why You Should Listen : Juliana Hatfield is certainly expressing a point of view here, but it doesn't detract from the music. Overall Thoughts : This is Juliana Hatfield’s anti-Trump protest record. If you’re ...

2017 has been an interesting year for Rubblebucket. January saw the release of the If U C My Enemies  EP, followed up by Alex Toth releasing a garage rock album under the name Alexander F in February. It's now singer Kalmia Traver's turn to go solo for a bit. She's releasing a solo album under the name Kalbells, and right now we can listen to the first song from it, "Craving Art Droplets." While Alexander F's album sounded nothing like what I'd expect from a Rubblebucket member's solo album, "Craving Art Droplets" is exactly what I'd expect. It's a chilled out sounding song that is equal parts hippie and electronica. And yes, I used the term "electronica" because it reminds me heavily of late 90s bands like Sneaker Pimps and Morcheeba, but, you know... really artsy. I'd hope you'd expect artsy with a name like "Craving Art Droplets," plus the fact that Rubblebucket have always brought a level of artines...

A crazy week, so two weeks it is! Album of the Week : Artist : Sarah Shook and the Disarmers Album : Sidelong Quick Description : Rootsy rock. Why You Should Listen : You like the sound of Lydia Loveless with a little more grit. Overall Thoughts : When I started listening to this album, a rootsy barnburner of a record, I was curious as to how long I might be able to tolerate Sarah Shook’s vocal warble. By the end, I was wondering why I cared at all to start, as the value of this album is in the entire package – Shook’s unique vocal presentation, the excellent musicianship, and the killer songwriting. When the only negative thing anyone can say about an album is “the vocals might have to grow on you” in a genre that’s dominated by often-obnoxious twang, you know it’s something you need to spend some real time with. I truly loved this album in a way I didn’t expect. Recommendation : An easy choice for album of the week. Artist : R. Ring Album : Ignite the Rest Quick Desc...

Today is packed with highly anticipated album releases. For us, one of the most anticipated releases of all is the latest from Sarah Shook + The Disarmers, Sidelong . This morning I woke up to an email from NoiseT r ade offering me some free music from Sarah Shook & The Disarmers. Songs From Sidelong + More  includes three songs from Sidelong  as well as three songs from Sarah Shook's 2013 solo album, Seven.  We've been raving about the songs we've heard so far from Sidelong . Her deep down country sound mixed with punk and indie rock resonates hard for us. I had never heard anything from her solo album, so being able to hear a few songs from that release is welcome. Those three are more traditional alt-country. Sidelong is the album that sets Sarah Shook & The Disarmers up as a completely unique sound. You can get your copy of Songs From Sidelong + More  over at Noisetrade . After listening to these songs, you're going to want to get your own copy of Sid...

Hailing from Richmond, VA, Dharma Bombs are pure throwback Americana. They cite The Devil Makes Three and Pokey LaFarge as influences, but I'm going at add The Two Man Gentleman Band and Squirrel Nuts Zippers as other comparable acts since they have a bit of the old timey swing sound, too. The first song off their upcoming debut album, "Pack Your Bags," is an interesting choice to introduce themselves. They're a six piece band, but "Pack Your Bags" is a minimalist folk ballad. Everyone gets a chance to shine, but almost separately. The horn section seems to get the most time as far as the instruments go, but it's mostly a quietly strummed acoustic song with forlorn male and female vocals getting the main focus. It's a beautiful song that is only going to build anticipation for their upcoming album. You can listen to "Pack Your Bags" below. Dharma Bombs' debut album, Old Time Romance , will be out on May 11 on Crystal Pistol Records....

We're pretty excited about the upcoming album from Justin Townes Earle. The man just doesn't release bad music. Hell, the man doesn't release anything mediocre. His new album, Kids In the Street , is due out on May 26. To get us excited for the new album, or even just to tide us over, he's offering the first three singles for a free download through NoiseTrade. Plus, there are three additional live recordings from his PledgeMusic sessions thrown in for fun.  The new songs reflect some changes in Earle's life. Since his last album, 2014's double shot of Single Mothers  and Absent Fathers , Earle has gotten married and is about to become a father. Kids In the Street  shows his growth as a songwriter. Instead of looking into himself, the songs look out into the world around him. Plus, he's letting his blues and soul influences out in these songs. It's not a huge change in sound. Kids In the Street  fits right in with Earle's discography of country/f...

Photo by Tim Harris James Elkington was born in England but now makes Chicago his home. He started out in bands like The Zincs and The Horse's Ha, but stopped writing music around 2011. Instead, he collaborated and played with the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Richard Thompson, Steve Gunn, and Tortoise. This sparked a new creative energy, and he's now set to release his debut solo album. "Make It Up" was recorded in Wilco's Loft in Chicago. His British accent and style of singing are going to remind you of Nick Drake. The main focus of the song is going to be his almost bluegrass style of guitar picking. Elkington is one hell of a guitar player, and this song really lets him show that off. Despite it being mostly acoustic, it still features a killer electric guitar solo. It's pure Americana being filtered through British eyes in an intriguing way. You can watch the video for "Make It Up" below. James Elkington's debut solo album, Wintres Woma , w...