If It's Too Loud...

Sometimes it takes a show to realize you missed a great album release. Tuesday, I went to see Living Hour and Paper Lady, and realized both bands recently put out great albums that I completely missed. Plus, I got to discover the brand new band Wedding Gift! Wedding Gift opened the show, and if I heard Paper Lady correctly, it was only their third ever show. The brand new Boston band made their live debut three months ago, and they are showing incredible promise. They have a great sound that is equally as melodic as it is noisy and jarring. They played fuzzed out music with pounding drums, and it kinda sorta was dream pop, but a messier and louder version. Looking forward to hearing what they do next! Living Hour (who we last covered way back in 2018) was up next, all the way from Winnipeg. They released Internal Drone Infinity , an excellent album that we missed back in October. They combine shoegaze with dream pop into a glorious, swirling noise, with tons of lovely crescendos, and k...

Photo by Michael Dubin Matt Pryor may be best known for his work with emo heroes The Get Up Kids, but he has a much wider musical range than that. His latest single with The Salton Sea shows his more alt-rock based side' "Union Transfer" is a huge power ballad of a song, heavy with emotion and an intense musical backdrop. This is the type of song begging to be played live, with a raucous, noisy crescendo. It starts off simply enough, and is right along the lines of what you might expect for a Get Up Kids solo song to sound like. But "Union Transfer" ends up going in such a delightfully unexpected direction that it's cranked up our excitement for the full length album. Matt Pryor says of his latest single: “This is the most vulnerable song I’ve ever written. It marks the place and date of where I hit rock bottom." You can listen to "Union Transfer" below. The Salton Sea is due out November 14 on Nightshoes Syndicate/Big Scary Monsters, and is a...

Photo by Bianca Garza Trombonist and composer Kalia Vandever has one last single out before her album is released on Friday. "In My Dream House" is an eight and a half minute long composition that comes so close to being mainstream jazz perfect for the brunch crowd, but Vandever goes in just a slightly different direction to keep things interesting. The song focuses mostly on her playing, with minimal instrumentation accompanying her. At least to start. As "In My Dream House" progresses, more instruments come in and the song picks up and gets more chaotic while still maintaining it's mostly chill vibe. At times the song gets that futuristic 60's space age sound, in the coolest way possible. We don't bring you a lot of jazz, so you know when we do, it's going to be something special. You can listen to "In My Dream House" below. Another View is due out November 14 on Northern Spy, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Kalia Vandev...

Photo by Kelly Davidson On their latest, Boston's Girl with a Hawk pay tribute to their "ride or dies." "I'm in Love with My Friends" is an upbeat garage rock song slipping slightly into New Wave. It has some killer keys that will remind you of classic Elvis Costello and The Attractions along with a sound similar to Lucinda Williams joining a garage rock band. It's the kind of upbeat sound you need with a tribute to your closest and most loyal friends, and is the kind of ray of sunshine we could all use right now. Girl with a Hawk are showing off their fun side with "I'm in Love with My Friends," and we can't get enough of it. Linda Viers (lead vocals/guitar) says of her band's new single: “‘I’m In Love With My Friends’ is an homage to one’s ‘ride or dies’; our true-blue friends who are there for us when the shit hits the fan, who make us laugh when things look dark, and who inspire us to be our best selves through all of life’s cha...

Photo by Eric Sabatino Hailing from Portland, OR are Rayon. The band has a new single out that's an ode to consumerism and travelling. "Shopping" is a disjointed post-punk song that's much more melodic than you typically get in the genre. It has all of the darkness you would expect, but with a sense of fun and of humor. This is post-punk that is edging into dream pop. The guitar and vocals combine to form an almost psychedelic sound as "Shopping" drones along for four minutes, in the best possible way. At times, the song sounds like an interesting mix of Sonic Youth meets The Las, and I don't even know how anyone wouldn't want that. Eric Sabatino of Rayon says of his band's latest single: “This was the first time we’ve engaged a 'professional' to work on our recordings. The education we received was immense, and Larry was kind with his explanations of everything we had previously done 'wrong' with our recordings, was willing to wo...

Photo by Bailey Kretz Accessory is a new solo project of Jason Balla, who you might know as the singer/guitarist of Dehd. This new project has released a new single which is prime experimental pop. "UMS" sounds and feels simple enough at first listen, but upon additional listens you start to discover just how layered the song is. There's also a very 90's feel to the song, which reminds me of earlier artists like Self and Eels. "UMS" is one of those songs that has a great chill, laid back vibe with just enough edge and intensity lurking beneath the surface to keep things interesting. This is a great introduction to a new project from a favorite here at If It's Too Loud..., and we're looking forward to where they go from here. Jason Balla says of his new project: “ Emotions …..There is no scientific consensus  on a definition.[5][6]” -Wikipedia  "These are songs for obsessing over every wrong decision and every feeling you couldn’t trust." Yo...

Photo courtesy of the artist Robert Ellis Orrall recently released his first new album in nearly forty years, and has a new video and single out with "Where the Gone People Go." This new song is pitch perfect 80's style power pop. It has that funky side that power pop only seemed to have forty years ago, along with some keyboards straight from that era. The song is reminiscent of artists like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and ZZ Top from that era. It's a little blues, a little New Wave, and absolute power pop perfection. "Where the Gone People Go" has such a nostalgic streak to it that you'll swear it's a lost song from your childhood. Robert Ellis Orrall says of his new single: “Where do we go when we’re gone? How far gone is too far? Do dogs go where we go? What’s going on with my brain? I was sitting on my porch one moonlit night and my mind began to wander. I scribbled out whatever floated through my head in anticipation of my bandmates arriv...

Photo by Lucas Ali The latest single from Mei Semones starts off exactly like we'd expect a single of hers to start off at this point. "Kurayami" is an absolutely lovely song combining jazz and a singer-songwriter, which is what we've come to love from Semones. But the song suddenly veers into an unexpected rock style while still sounding like it belongs in Semones' body of work. "Kurayami" moves between the styles seamlessly and effortlessly. It's a delightful mixture of jazz and indie rock in a way that only Semones can pull off this well. This may be a standalone single, but it has us thrilled to hear what comes next. Mei Semones says of her latest single: “'Kurayami’ means ‘darkness’ in Japanese, and this song is about growing up in Michigan and reminiscing on what it was like hanging out with my friends. Being a kid was really fun and I was happy, but I remember there was a point where we started to lose our innocence and I think this song i...

Photo by Colin Medley Toronto's Cootie Catcher recently signed to Carpark Records, and have released a new single on the label. "Gingham Dress" is a gorgeous and upbeat indie rock song that eases into pop ever so slightly. It's a fun song that is kinda sorta familiar sounding without truly sounding like anyone else. It's light and breezy while still having a sense of darkness lying just under the surface. It's also undeniably catchy and infectious. If I have to compare "Gingham Dress" to other artists, I'd say it reminds me of a combination of The Beths and Rilo Kiley. Cootie Catcher is going to become a lot of our readers' new favorite band based on this song alone. Sophia Chavez (vocals/synths) says of her band's latest single: "This song was written at the end of an 'almost' relationship (but a very real one nonetheless), when I was frustrated with how things fell apart. It's about wanting commitment, carrying all the ...

Photo by Stellina Stampouli As the current generation of bands continues to redefine the shoegaze genre, our latest discovery is STRANGE LOT. The Austin band just released a video for "Rain and Fog," the B-side of their recent 7". This new song adds some synths and unexpected psychedelia to shoegaze, creating an intense, swirling sound. Along with the standard heavy fuzz, the synths add some pop and the psychedelic aspect of the song, plus there's some wonderfully noisy feedback at times. "Rain and Fog" also includes driving beats that almost make you want to dance. STRANGE LOT have taken the decades old genre and reworked it into a sound all their own.  STRANGE LOT says of their latest song: “Rain and Fog is a glimpse into the next chapter of our sound, blending shoegaze guitars with driving bass and crisp synths. We tracked most of it at my home studio, and Adrian Quesada (The Black Pumas) kindly let us record drums at his Electric Deluxe Studios. Dave Fr...

For his latest single, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist Monster Rally teams with TV Girl. "Incredibly Blind" also featured X-Cetra, and the result is this wonderfully chill electronic song that lands somewhere between the big, booming main room at a rave and the chill out room. It's definitely perfect for dancing, but in a more relaxed way. It's like a more energetic and fun version of trip hop, and has the sound of being a mash-up without being one. "Incredibly Blind" has one of the most relaxed/fun vibes of anything we've ever brought you, and we can't wait to hear more from Monster Rally sooner than later. Monster Rally says of his latest single: “This is one of my favorite tracks from the new record and I’m really excited to share it with the world. About a year ago I had sent a rough demo of this track to Brad (Petering) with just some drums, bass and mellotron flute loops. He came back with this idea of having X-Cetera on the ...

Photo by Diona Mavis I unfortunately missed it, but by all accounts the Shudder to Think show at Sonia last month was epic. Now the reunited alt-rock legends are back with new music. "Thirst Walk" is pure Shudder to Think greatness. It's a version of glammed up and power pop filled alternative rock with noisy guitars. At various points the song leans into one genre more than the others, constantly shifting its sound and never letting you guess what's next. There are even some unexpected 80's computer voices kicking around in the song. "Thirst Walk" even has a New Wave vibe going on without sounding even remotely New Wave, and kind of does the same with 70's psychedelia. Welcome back, Shudder to Think. I can guarantee I'll be as close to the front as I can get next time you're in New England. Frontman Craig Wedren says of his band's new music: “The new songs are the first of a trove of new songs we’re working on together, all of which feel...