If It's Too Loud...

Artist : The Olivia Tremor Control Album : The Same Place Quick Thoughts : When it was announced that the first Olivia Tremor Control album in well over 25 years was coming out, I was very excited. The Elephant Six band was probably the weirdest of the set of weird acts, and much of this album was recorded between 2002 and 2014. The untimely deaths of Bill Doss and Will Hart, however, did as much to delay this final album as it did to get it out to the masses. If there's a takeaway from this it's that The Olivia Tremor Control were a truly special act and that the direction they were heading would have been among the more interesting trajectories this side of Of Montreal. A really, realy great release on all accounts. Songs of Note : "Begin Now!" "Timewaster," "The Same Old Place," "We Captured a Frame," "Halfway Down," "Leaf," "Garden of Light" Artist : Art d'Ecco Album : Scheele's Gr...

Photo by Sydney Tate Trinket are a New York City band made up of Madison Kate Proffitt and Sean Camargo. They have a new single out, and it's going to make you fall in love with them as much as we have. "If Not Soon Then Now" is a gorgeous song that shows off the sugary sweet side of indie rock. According to the song's press release, it "... examines the excitement and anxiety of a new connection." That pretty much sums up the sound of the song, too. It's filled with joy and hope, but it's also filled with plenty of nervousness. Sometimes it's one or the other, and others it's both. The song swirls around you with huge, fuzzed out guitars, and it will make you feel the subject matter regardless of your relationship status. Trinket say of their new single: “This song is very directly about starting a relationship with someone new; it’s exciting, but you quickly realize that insecurities, fears, and things you’ve dealt with in past relationship...

Photo by Cleide Angolano Boston dream pop trio Objects in Motion have a new video out from their recently released EP, and it's the perfect way to start your morning. "River Road" is laid back but just peppy enough to help start get you moving. Even though it's not an Americana track, there's something rootsy about the song. It's poppy, with just the slightest rough edge to it. Vocalist Vinda Souza is mesmerizing on this track, and it's almost guaranteed to lull you into a hypnotic-like state. We're just discovering Objects in Motion with "River Road," but something tells me we're going to be covering them whenever possible. Objects in Motion say of their new single: “‘River Road’ is about childhood. It’s an homage to loving parental and familial relationships, growing up abroad, having a sense of connection to faraway places, being gloriously and deliciously trapped by memories, and being able to look back very fondly at our personal ori...

Photo by Jade Skye Hammer Indie rock isn't typically described as trippy, but no one thought to tell Being Dead that. The Austin band have released two new singles, "Man or Myth" and "Aquarium." The songs have everything we came to love about indie rock in the 90's mixed with vintage psychedelia from the 60's. Both songs sound like if the golden age of indie rock happened thirty years earlier. "Man or Myth" is more of a traditional trippy song, and "Aquarium" has more of a folk/sugary pop sound. (In fact, it kind of sounds like if "Sugar, Sugar" wasn't written for a cartoon.) Both songs sound related, but also they're completely different members of the same extended family Being Dead say of their recent signing to Polyvinyl: “We don’t mean to put too much pressure on Polyvinyl, but if we’re not inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame within the next two years, we’re throwing in the towel. That said, we have f...

Photo by Diana Levine We last brought you music from Wayward Vine back in August of 2025, and now the Boston indie folk project are back with a new song. While "Salt" is a folk song, there are plenty of elements of rock throughout the track. And not the indie rock meets folk sound we bring you all of the time. This is a huge sounding song that mixes indie folk and anthemic indie rock. This feels like if Springsteen took a shot at making a modern folk record he could still play with the E Street Band. "Salt" is the kind of song that you'll like immediately after pressing play, and four minutes later you'll be fully obsessed.  Greg Lawrence (rhythm guitar and vocals) says of his band's new single: “Our songwriting has always had a strong element of exploring the emotions associated with human connection and relationships, including how they evolve, and in many cases, end. ‘Salt’ is a bit of a mosaic of a few relationships that started out with promise but ...

Photo by Blake Studdard At this point in their careers, most people are going to pay attention to anything The Flaming Lips do. You may ask "How could they possibly become cooler and more respected?" Well... the next Flaming Lips album is going to be released on Third Man Records! Plus, their latest single is perfect for Halloween! "God Will Control the Werewolves" takes the band's recent laid back, spacy, and trippy sound, and added some 60's lounge cool to it. If you've ever enjoyed the music of The Flaming Lips (and even if you've dropped off somewhat recently), "God Will Control the Werewolves" is well worth your time. One thing about The Flaming Lips is that they're certainly never boring. You can listen to "God Will Control the Werewolves" below. The Teardrop Throbs is due out January 22 on Third Man Records, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on The Flaming Lips, check out the band's website . Upcoming tour date...

Despite being involved in the Boston music scene, Haywire mostly escaped my attention. I knew they existed, and there was a huge buzz behind them, but hardcore isn't always my thing, so I mostly missed them. I saw them opening up for Dropkick Murphys back in March, and they were good, but I didn't quite get the huge deal about them. Last week I was in Dallas for Sick New World, and once I heard that Haywire were playing a free show Friday night, I had to go and support a local Boston band. And my life may never be the same. The openers, Defcon1 and Ancient Ones, were two solid local hardcore bands that put on great sets. They both played short sets and had their own fans that were there for them, and I remember commenting that crowds in Dallas were pretty chill for a hardcore show. And then Haywire took the stage. Playing a show with no barricade and an active skateramp behind them was a much better sending than a large, corporate venue of Dropkick Murphys fans mostly waiting t...

Photo via Facebook Granite are a Boston band that released their debut single earlier this year. "Boldness In Bloom" is almost a straight up alt-rock track, but the band puts their own spin on that genre that leads to results with huge potential. It's a hard rock track with a bluesy side to it, but not in a way you've heard before. The vocals end up being a huge draw to the song, with Lauren Norcia's powerful voice harmonizing with the rest of the band like they've been playing together for decades. The song mixes elements of 80's hard rock, 90's alternative, and more current elements into a sound you're familiar with while sounding like no one but Granite. "Boldness In Bloom" is a great introduction to a band we can't wait to hear more from. You can listen to "Boldness In Bloom" below. For more on Granite, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Pen Pin is the duo of Jeni Magaña and Emily Moore, who met while on tour with Mitski. They have a new song out that's perfect for all of your Halloween needs. "Vampire" is a smooth indie pop song that's wonderfully laid back. There's a bit of a creepy undertone to the song, but this is still a pop song, so it's a fun kinda creepy. The organs at the start help set the mood for the song, and the spooky factor only increases with each listen. That might be what makes "Vampire" such a perfect Halloween song, especially for vampires. It may seem charming and fun at first, but the fangs come out the more time you spend with it. Jeni Magaa says of her band's new single: "Vampire is about having someone in your life that loves you so much that you know they are always on your team. It's about having someone you feel safe with in a world of peril and insecurity. If you've seen You've Got Mail, there's a scene where Kathleen Kelly wish...

Photo by Lizzy McEleney Boston's favorite soft punk TIFFY is back with a new single that passes even the softest side of punk. "Liminal Space" is almost a purely pop song. It feels like being inside of a dream, and has some delightfully 80's synths. It's about having a "debilitating crush," and TIFFY nailed that feeling in song form. It sounds hopeful, but also sad and desperate. It's a weird feeling having a song that is so sonically upbeat also be so anxiety inducing, but that's also how crushes can feel. "Liminal Space" is much more enjoyable to listen to than its subject matter, and it only adds to TIFFY's streak of fantastic songs. You can listen to "Liminal Space" below. Divine Hand is out today, and can be purchased on Bandcamp . For more on TIFFY, check out the artist's website . TIFFY will be playing The Square Root in Boston on November 18. Divine Hand by TIFFY

Apologies for not keeping up with this, readers. Hoping November is better! Artist : Izzie Walsh Album : Where Do We Go From Here? Quick Thoughts : A favorite album of mine from many years back was Amy McDonald's This is the Life , which mixed the sort of singer-songwriter aesthetic with an Irish folk sensibility. Izzie Walsh, the Manchester UK native, is not a 1:1 comparison, but it comes close. This album combines the sort of rootsy energy that so much of the folk world ignores with some modern sensibilities, and before long you find yourself singing the chorus to "Human Touch" for days upon days. Don't sleep on this one. Songs of Note : "Where Do We Go From Here," "Human Touch," "British Summertime Rain," "No Hard Feelings," "Took Her Heart" Artist : Julia Jacklin Album : The Gem Quick Thoughts : We've been Julia Jacklin fans around these parts for a while, and her absence since Pre-Pleasure f...

Photo by Seannie Bryan One of my favorite things about following Caroline Rose for the past decade or so is that they are constantly evolving and reinventing their sound. Their latest single, "Valery (please don't be mad at me)" sounds nothing like their previous songs but exactly like Caroline Rose. There's something oddly 80's about this song. It has that anthemic, working class troubadour sound artists like Bruce Springsteen and Rick Springfield... just through a bizarre indie rock meets indie pop prism. I try to see Rose every time they come through the area, and "Valery (please don't be mad at me)" has me even more thrilled than usual since I can't wait to see this one live. Get your lighters out and pump your fist for the latest from Caroline Rose! Caroline Rose says of their latest single: “A lot of this record pulls from stories from my hometown and fuses them with other stories from when I lived in NYC, so some characters might be a mix ...

Photo by Sasha Khalimonova Montreal's Bodywash released a single last week, and this is a great one. "La Renommé e" is chilled out like previous single "Lapsang," but this one has a bit more of an edge to it. It's a little more shoegaze than dream pop, although it's poppier than shoegaze typically gets. But that wall of noise that hits you is just pure perfection. If anything, it might be more shoegaze meets bubblegrunge than dream pop. Both of those genres land right in my favorites, so there are certainly no complaints from me on that end. "La Renomm é e" is a mini epic of a song that only gets more beloved with each listen. Chris Steward says of his band's latest single: “I’d been reading Kim Gordon’s autobiography and listening to a lot of EVOL-era Sonic Youth at the time and wanted to write a song that had the same hushed sense of urgency. Had no idea the bossa nova-inspired first verse drums would pan out as well as they did.” You can...

Photo by Garret Salazar As diverse as the Western Massachusetts music scene is, there is still a certain sound most bands have. It's a very DIY, noisy indie/alt-rock sound that even folk artists from that region have. That's one of the reasons the new single from Jumpy is thrilling us. Jumpy is Elliot Hartmann Russell, who put out an album ( No Shoes, No Service ) under the Jumpy moniker in 2017. He moved on to other projects, but the album has since become a cult favorite, and Jumpy is back. "Enough" is a wonderfully bizarre song. There's something that feels so 80's pop about it without sounding even remotely mainstream. It's kind of like Buster Pointdexter's "Hot Hot Hot" meets the Talking Heads but through a Western MA lens. It has this hyper sound that swings in unexpected directions, and is both wildly accessible and challenging for listeners. If anything, "Enough" is one of the more fun songs we've covered in a long time....