Live Shows: Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, Hayden Planetarium, Museum of Science, Boston, MA 6/15/17

Photo by Dave Green

A Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys show is always an event. They're a band that truly puts on a performance, not just a concert. Seeing them live is as much a visual experience as it is an auditory one. Last night, the band took over the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science for a one night only event.

I had expected something more on the lines of the old style laser light shows last night. Back in my youth, the planetarium was always hosting Laser Floyd or Laser Zeppelin shows on weekends. (The only one I ever went to was Laser Nirvana back in 1996...) Instead Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys were accompanied by computer animation projected across the screen of the planetarium. It was a slightly odd experience. Usually when at a concert you watch the band and not a screen. The band members circled the projector in the center of the room and played, so any audience member could only see the band by leaning forward in the chair, and then they could only see about half of the performers. It was interesting experiencing such dynamic live performers with the attention drawn away from themselves.

The animation was perfectly suited to the music the vast majority of the time. Visuals such as floating through a castle, odd green creatures, and swirling psychedelic graphics worked the best. One odd choice was the use of animated snowflakes during "Old Skin," which I'm pretty sure isn't about snow. The best use of visuals along with music was during "Baba Yaga," which featured Walter Sickert's artwork, animated and moving about. As great as the experience was, I do wish more had been like this.

As for the actual musical performance, it truly was a unique Army of Toys show. The band was much more reserved, and traded in their more bombastic songs for more restrained ones. There were quite a number of choices that I didn't fully recognize, and I consider myself to be somewhat of an obsessive fan. Even the louder songs were played a bit more calmly, most likely in reverence for the setting. The songs can really be allowed to stand for themselves in this setting, unlike a rock club where the band has to be loud and attention grabbing. The entire audience's attention was already held by the visual experience. One unique highlight was a medley that contained Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and Motorhead's 'Ace of Spades."

The Museum of Science is putting on two more concerts this summer, with Niki Luparelli & The Gold Diggers July 20 and Hallelujah the Hills August 17. For more information, check out their website.

Guerilla Toss - "Betty Dreams of Green Men"

Being a grumpy old man in the world of indie rock, to me noise rock should be something loud and most likely aggressive. If it's loud enough, like Lightning Bolt, maybe people can do some kind of moshing to it, but it's most likely music that you listen to while stroking your chin and paying attention. It's certainly nothing that you could possibly dance to. That would be preposterous.

Guerilla Toss continue to prove me wrong. "Betty Dreams of Green Men" is the noisiest dance song you might ever hear. It has a groove throughout that Deee-Lite would be envious of. There's a perfect chant along chorus about aliens that will be driven into your skull as deeply as anything Taylor Swift has ever put out. Luckily, "Betty Dreams of Green Men" is just discordant enough to be interesting, but it might be your daughter's entry away from top 40 into actual good music.

You can listen to "Betty Dreams of Green Men" below. Guerilla Toss's new album, GT Ultra, will be released on June 23 and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp. For more on Guerilla Toss, check out their website.

Banditos - "Healin' Slow"

Just when I has Banditos pigeonholed as a psychedelic southern garage rock band, their new song goes in a completely new direction. "Healin' Slow" features Mary Beth Richardson on vocals, and her vocals are the star for this track. It's a southern rock blues slow jam, with the instruments holding off as minimalist as can possibly be for the genre. Richardson's voice is the main focus, and once you hear this song, you'll understand why. I wouldn't say she has a spectacularly beautiful voice, but she has this odd power behind it that just draws you in and makes you want to pay attention. "Healin' Slow" is a song that could have ended up as a pretty generic ballad, but Richardson's seemingly effortless vocals and the rest of the Banditos' ability to remain in the background makes this one a must listen.

You can watch the video for "Healin' Slow" below. Banditos' newest album, Visionland, will be out June 23 on Bloodshot Records. For more on Banditos, check out their website.

Julia Jacklin - "Eastwick"

Photo by Nick McKinlay

Although you may have to wait three more months for an actual copy of her new 7", we can now listen to the new single from Julia Jacklin. "Eastwick" was inspired by a night watching Dancing With the Stars, of all things. It starts off very quietly, as a fairly standard singer/songwriter offering. Jacklin's voice has never sounded more beautiful and vulnerable than it does in "Eastwick." But, a strange thing happens throughout the song. It builds so gradually and slowly, that it eventually becomes a mid-tempo almost noisy power ballad by the end without you even realizing it. It starts off as a really good song to one of the best you'll hear all year, all in the span of four minutes.

You can watch the video for "Eastwick" below. The 7" for "Eastwick" will be available September 15 on Polyvinyl Recording Co. For more on Julia Jacklin, check out her website. She also recently did a performance for NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series, which you can watch here. Jacklin is currently out on tour. Her dates are below the video.

Wed. June 14 – Bergen, NO @ BergenFest
Fri. June 23 – Netherlands @ Down The Rabbit Hole Festival
Sun. June 25 – Glastonbury, UK @ Glastonbury Festival
Thu. June 29 – Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
Fri. July 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer*
Sat. July 8 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club*
Tue. July 11 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop*
Fri. July 14 – Henham Park, UK @ Latitude Festival
Sun. July 16 – Riga, Latvia @ Positivus Festival
Fri. July 21 – Byron Bay, NSW @ Splendour In The Grass
Sun. July 23 – Los Angeles, LA @ FYF Fest
Wed. July 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Sat. July 29 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival
Sat. Aug 5 – Sun. Aug 6 – Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon Festival
Thu. Aug. 10 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
Fri. Aug. 11 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
Sat. Aug 12 – Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop
Fri. Aug. 18 – Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
Sat. Aug. 19 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
Sun. Sept. 3 – Wiltshire, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Thu. Nov 2 – Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms
Fri. Nov 3 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Sat. Nov 4– Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall
Mon. Nov 6 – Glasgow, UK @ Oran Mor
Tue. Nov 7 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla
Wed. Nov 8 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms
Thu. Nov 9 – London, UK @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Mon. Nov. 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Wed. Nov 15 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake
Fri. Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Sat. Nov. 18 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore
Sun. Nov. 19 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir
Mon. Nov. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Café Du Nord

First Listen: New Releases for June 9

A solid week.

Album of the Week:

Artist: The Secret Sisters
Album: You Don't Own Me Anymore
Quick Description: Long-awaited third album from the folkies.
Why You Should Listen: This is a gorgeous, amazing album.
Overall Thoughts: I won’t lie – the second Secret Sisters album didn’t grab me the way the first one did. This new album sounded promising given the early music that was released, and the whole album is a nice, familiar relief. I loved every aspect of this, which is why it’s my album of the week – it’s taken a few albums, but they’ve really perfected their sound. The harmonies are spot on, the music absolutely gorgeous. There is nothing negative I can say about this, and it’s an album that needs to be on your list for listening this week.
Recommendation: A must-listen, easily the best of the week.

Artist: Katy Perry
Album: Witness
Quick Description: Pop starlet's latest.
Why You Should Listen: It's not what you think.
Overall Thoughts: I was actually kind of excited when I heard that Taylor Swift, in the most petty pop star fashion imaginable, put all her music back on Spotify on the day that Katy Perry’s new album came out. They have some sort of feud going, I don’t pretend to know the details, but the end result is that they don’t get along to the point where at least one wants to sabotage the other’s career. So I had it all planned out – I hadn’t heard TayTay’s new album yet, so I’d do a fun tale-of-the-tape thing for yesterday for the two albums. The problem? 1984 is really dull and uninteresting. ESPECIALLY compared to Witness, which is a Katy Perry album that, at least for me, upended what I believe Katy Perry to be. It feels different and ambitious and feels like an attempt to break out of whatever it is she typically does. While 1984 is pop music distilled into its purest, glossy form, Witness feels like someone trying to spread their wings and get out of the polished stuff a bit. It’s a little long and doesn’t always work, but it’s something I found worth listening to. And sure, at the end of the day? I’ll take Carly Rae any day of the week. But if your entire vision of Katy Perry is one of really obnoxious pop star nonsense, this might change your mind without any visuals to go along with it.
Recommendation: Worth a listen.

Artist: Zephaniah Ohora & The 18 Wheelers
Album: This Highway
Quick Description: Great traditional country.
Why You Should Listen: This is a throwback like so many others, yet seems to do it so effortlessly.
Overall Thoughts: We cover a lot of this throwback country folk stuff here, and there’s a habit to make it all out to sound the same or that it’s not breaking ground. I think there’s a bit of a perception that it’s simple music at its core, and that anyone could do it. Zephaniah Ohora is great because, as far as I can tell, he makes the easy sound super difficult to perfect and then does a good job perfecting it. Toward the end of the album, Ohora presents a version of “Somethin’ Stupid” that immediately became a favorite version for me, and it really personifies how really great this record is. A great listen from start to finish.
Recommendation: This is so great, you need to listen to it.

Artist: SZA
Album: Ctrl
Quick Description: First proper album from the buzzworthy R&B singer.
Why You Should Listen: Her first release was really noteworthy.
Overall Thoughts: I really liked SZA’s debut mini-album, and I’ve been waiting for the next thing from her for some time. Unfortunately, this full-length does not feel nearly as unique and groundbreaking as her debut, and that’s a shame. It feels like rote soulful R&B, and in a busy week – and a busy genre, lately – this just doesn’t stand out. I really wanted more from this and it doesn’t deliver on a whole.
Recommendation: Skip this one.

Artist: Glen Campbell
Album: Adios
Quick Description: The country legend's final album.
Why You Should Listen: Glen Campbell deserves 40 more minutes of your time, even if this wasn't pretty solid.
Overall Thoughts: Listening to Glen Campbell these days is difficult. My mother is in the last late stages of Alzheimer’s, and knowing that Campbell is going through the same trajectory doesn’t make this farewell album any easier. Campbell always had a purity of sorts to his approach, and while his voice is wavering a little more on this album, this is a worthy, albeit sad, curtain call for the country legend.
Recommendation: Worth at least one listen.

Artist: Kronos Quartet
Album: Folk Songs
Quick Description: The contemporary classical act goes a little more modern.
Why You Should Listen: It's pretty and it has some of your favorites featured.
Overall Thoughts: Kronos Quartet is the classical instrumental go-to for the indie set, I feel, and their latest album is a series of collaborations with some of our favorites here. It’s musically interesting, it’s contextually exciting, and there are a lot of solid musical parts to this whole that make it a worthwhile endeavor. The Rhiannon Giddens stuff in particular is an attention-grabber at first listen, so definitely give this one a fair shot.
Recommendation: Absolutely a fun, interesting listen.

Artist: Rancid
Album: Trouble Maker
Quick Description: The latest from the punk rock royalty.
Why You Should Listen: I mean, it's Rancid. You have to ask?
Overall Thoughts: Rancid has been around forever, and this new record… well, it’s Rancid. I’m not sure what to expect in terms of anything new, but it’s that classic slice of punk rock that feels familiar. This won’t bring along any new fans, and there’s no “Time Bomb” or anything like that, but it’s a solid traditional punk record.
Recommendation: You know what you're getting here.

Artist: London Grammar
Album: Truth is a Beautiful Thing
Quick Description: Gorgeous light rock.
Why You Should Listen: No other group sounds like this.
Overall Thoughts: I see a lot of people refer to London Grammar as a purveyor of torch songs, and okay, sure. For me, they fill a niche hole that I didn't realize I wanted filled, and it just works. This new album has a seemingly fuller sound than their last, and it's just so, so pretty. You won't find anything else recently that does what London Grammar is doing here, and that alone is a reason to check them out.
Recommendation: A great listen.

Artist: Allie X
Album: ColleXion II
Quick Description: Indie pop with a mainstream bent.
Why You Should Listen: You like pop music but don't care to admit it.
Overall Thoughts: It's frankly strange to listen to this the same week as Katy Perry, given that Perry is trying new things while Allie X, instead of doing some stuff that made her interesting in the past, stays in her lane. I was obsessed with the initial mix of "Old Habits Die Hard," and the new take feels kind of sanitary and bland... a good take on this album on a whole, honestly. I wanted more than I got, and ultimately...
Recommendation: ...this was a disappointment.

Artist: Phoenix
Album: Ti Amo
Quick Description: Latest from the French indie favorites.
Why You Should Listen: They get a little weird?
Overall Thoughts: I think what's striking about this album is that it feels like a recent Ra Ra Riot record while still maintaining that purity that comes from what Phoenix does. They've never been a favorite of mine, but they know how to write a great indie rock song and this album is less about those and more about mixing it up a bit. I'm into it, moreso than anything since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.
Recommendation: Really solid listen.

Artist: Big Thief
Album: Capacity
Quick Description: Highly-anticipated sophomore effort from the indie act.
Why You Should Listen: You recognize "Masterpiece" as the song it is.
Overall Thoughts: I'll say two things about this album: 1) It's not what you think it is in that it doesn't sound completely like their first album, and there is not a song on here that's quite like the breakthrough "Masterpiece" was, and 2) this album is one of the best of the week, if not the year, because it's such a really gorgeous, well-crafted album from start to finish. I was taken aback by how quiet and seemingly introspective it was on first listen, and while I'm not sure it lands quite the way I expected after their first album, that doesn't matter. This album is simply great.
Recommendation: A high-quality, must-listen effort.

Artist: Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, James McAlister
Album: Planetarium
Quick Description: A concept album about the Solar System from some indie rockers and a classical composer.
Why You Should Listen: This is just weird enough to be fun, but still fun enough to not be too weird.
Overall Thoughts: Sufjan Stevens put out an ambitious, strange album called The Age of Adz however many years ago. An experiment in electronic sounds and such, it was probably a little divisive even though I was into it. This concept album absolutely has those touchstones throughout, but I don't mean to diminish the other efforts as well - Nico Muhly's influence is probably the clearest, where the way this is structured has a modern classical feel to it without being completely incomprehensible. I've written about "challenging" albums before, and this certainly qualifies, but not in a way where I feel it would be inaccessible to most listeners. It's weird, but it's wonderful.
Recommendation: Give this a shot.


Also out this week:

* Chuck Berry - CHUCK
* American Epic: The Collection

Lee Ranaldo - "Circular (Right As Rain)"

Photo by Alex Rademakers

If you've been listening to anything Lee Ranaldo has done musically over the last 20 or so years (both with Sonic Youth and solo), his new single "Circular (Right As Rain)" isn't going to surprise you. Ranaldo has been gradually moving further away from the raw, aggressive post punk sound of Sonic Youth into a more swirling, psychedelic, nearly jam band sound this entire century. That makes sense: His songs were always the hippiest on any Sonic Youth album. "Circular (Right As Rain)" is even further in that direction. It might be his trippiest song yet, and even has harmonizing vocals. It's at the point I'm half expecting his next album to be a collaboration of Grateful Dead covers with Ryan Adams.

You can watch the video for "Circular (Right As Rain)" below. Lee Ranaldo's new album, Electric Trim, will be available on September 15 via Mute Records. For more on Lee Ranaldo, including tour dates, check out his website.

Jason Lowenstein - "Hey Hey"

We may have had to wait 15 years for a new solo track from Jason Lowenstein, but after last month's release of "Superstitious," we now have another song from his upcoming solo album, "Hey Hey." 

While "Superstitious" fell into the darker, slightly discordant side of the Jason Lowenstein realm of music, "Hey Hey" is a bit more light and upbeat. In fact, it's almost funky. Almost. The song starts off with an off kilter country riff which pops back in every so often for the chorus. It's the kind of country sounding riff that would weasel its way into 90s alternative every so often, just subtle enough that country hating kids like teenage/early 20s self wouldn't pick up on the country base of it. "Hey Hey" also has a great Lowenstein guitar solo towards the end. 

You can listen to "Hey Hey" below. After a 15 year wait, Jason Lowenstein's second solo album, Spooky Action, will be released on June 16 on Joyful Noise recordings. For more information, check out his website and Facebook.

The Reigning Monarchs - "Cheetah Week"

The Reigning Monarchs should be the world's biggest trainwreck musically. It's a band led by comedian Greg Behrendt (Walking the Room podcast, author of He's Just Not That Into You, and one of my favorite music related stand up bits ever) and Michael Eisenstein, guitarist of Letters to Cleo. Plus, it's instrumental surf rock. This should be terrible, but instead it's really good.

The band just released their latest single, "Cheetah Week." It might be their best release, and, like all great surf rock, it has that timeless recorded in the 60s feel, with this insane amount of guitar, horns that suck you straight in, and just enough reverb on the guitars to make it have an almost indie rock feel. It's a pretty much perfect release, and since we all have a fondness for surf rock in the summer, it's the perfect time to check them out.

You can listen to "Cheetah Week" below. For more on The Reigning Monarchs, check out their website and Facebook.

Tristen featuring Jenny Lewis - "Glass Jar"

Photo via Facebook

An absolute favorite here at If It's Too Loud... since our very beginning has been Tristen. News started spreading earlier this year that she had an album coming out at some point this year, and we're thrilled to have a new song from it. "Glass Jar" is a little more like her 2011 alt-pop country album Charlatans at the Gate than 2013's more dance friendly Caves. (Has it really been 4 years since we got a new album from Tristen???) There are still some of the more dance and pop friendly elements left over from Caves to make anyone who discovered her with that album happy. Plus, "Glass Jar" features vocals from Jenny Lewis, so the new album could be what finally makes Tristen an (almost) household name.

You can watch the video for "Glass Jar" below. Trsiten's new album, Sneaker Waves, will be out July 7 on Modern Outsider Records, so we don't even have that long of a wait. For more on Tristen, be sure to check out her website.

Torres - "Skim"

We really liked Torres's 2015 album, Sprinter. When I saw her play at Great Scott in support of that album, I meant to write about it (but never quite got around to writing about it) and say that she was really good, but the performance was a bit uneven. That night, Torres was at the cusp of being great, but not quite there yet. Based on her new song "Skim," I'm pretty sure she's there.

"Skim" isn't a huge leap musically from any of the songs on Sprinter. It might get a wee bit more experimental and odd at some points, but nothing completely out of left field. "Skim" just feels different. Mackenzie Scott (Torres's non-stage name) seems to be playing and singing with a newfound sense of confidence and is far more self assured. It reminds me a little of early Tori Amos mixed with St. Vincent. "Skim" is quirky without being too precious. I can't wait to hear what else she's been up to.

You can watch the video for "Skim" below. Torres's new album will be released via 4AD. I don't believe there is a release date as of now. For more on Torres, including just announced tour dates, check out her website.