If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Bella Peterson Chicago's Widemouth have a new single out that does the current 90's indie rock meets folk and pop sound perfectly. "Hotel Pool" has the crunch and distortion of classic indie rock, the harmonies of pop, and the grounded feel of country and folk. The song sounds like Widemouth are going through it. It's pure emotion wrapped up in a killer song, and the entire thing sounds like it could collapse upon itself at any point. At times, the cracks in "Hotel Pool" feel even more pronounced, but that's what makes the song so great. It's reminding me of Phoebe Bridgers meets Wednesday, which is high praise around here. Widemouth say of their upcoming album: “There’s a lot of anger and fear in these songs…a lot of heartbreak, grief, and stories from childhood; the patient exploration of old pain that’s a cornerstone of sobriety. But at the core of it all is friendship.  Not just writing about friendship, although there is a lot of th...

The New Eve is Rising from The New Eves was one of my favorite releases of 2025 . Now Nina Winder-Lind of that band has released a new solo single. "This is Our Life" is going to appeal to fans of Winder-Lind's band. It starts out pretty straight-forward, more along the lines of a singer-songwriter/alt-folk kind of track. It has just the hints of the unique and wonderfully odd style of The New Eves... but as the song progresses it morphs into multiple styles and sounds. It's almost like the song gets more and less mainstream as it goes on. It's a little folky and a little indie rock, especially towards the end. "This is Our Life" keeps the gloriously unique sound we love from Winder-Lind's projects, and the song is a joy to listen to. Nina Winder-Lind says of her latest single: “‘This is Our Life’ almost wrote itself. I was in my family’s cabin in the north of Sweden when it happened. Equipped with an acoustic guitar, a violin and a zoom mic, I went ...

Boston's BEDTIMEMAGIC is back with a new single, and buckle up for this one. "Aroused" is a beast of a song. It's loud, and is basically an assault on your eardrums. Much like Lightning Bolt, you'll wonder how you're hearing a song this loud and heavy and noisy that is made by only two people. This is noise rock at its finest, if you like this sort of thing. "Aroused" is an intense mixture of punk and metal swirling together in a chaotic mess of a song as each fights for dominance and neither comes out on top. Obviously BEDTIMEMAGIC are not a band for everyone, but if this sounds even remotely intriguing, you're going to love it. You can watch the video for "Aroused" below. The single is available now on Bandcamp . For more on BEDTIMEMAGIC, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo by Brendan Deiz Doombia, aka the band that combines doom with cumbia, have a new single out. While "Doombia Viene" sounded like something completely new, "Man and His Castle" sounds a little more familiar. The metal element is cranked way up for this latest single. There is still a heavy groove that keeps it from being pure metal. I'm personally hearing some early 90's rap rock, before the late 90's nu-metal explosion. It's probably closer to punk than metal for most of the song. If you loved the Judgment Night soundtrack, or wanted to hear Faith No More jam with Cypress Hill, "Man and His Castle" will be for you.  Bandleader Brendan Deiz says of the band's latest single: “'Man And His Castle' is probably the least Doombia-sounding song on the record — until it isn’t. The Latin influence stays hidden the whole way through and then just explodes at the end. It’s also the mathiest thing we have written so far, which felt rig...

Beijing based singer-songwriter/self-proclaimed witch Mixol has a new art-pop single out that doesn't sound quite like anyone else. "mixologist" is a bizarre pop track that, while rooted in pop music, is about as far away from the mainstream you can get while still almost being mainstream. It's close enough that more open minded Top 40 fans could get into while still satisfying music snobs. "mixologist" sounds kind of like Bjork decided to make a modern day pop hit that could work in a musical someday. This is a fun one that we think a lot of our readers will enjoy, even if/especially if they typically dislike pop music. You can watch the video for "mixologist" below. The Fool is out June 15. For more on Mixol, check out the artist on Instagram and TikTok .

Photo by Mark Diehl Soft No have been making shoegaze through a 90's alt-rock thriller, but on their latest single they're leaning more heavily towards the alt-rock side of their sound. The Philadelphia band just released "Probably Fine," which sees the band merging the harmonies of Momma with the big rock sound of Veruca Salt. There's also plenty of punk attitude and edge dripping from the song, which is a fuzzy and noisy affair. It's a mid-tempo track that shows off Soft No's heavy and harmonic sides equally. They also keep some of the shoegaze haze with "Probably Fine," and we can't get enough of this new sound. Lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Austin Lotz says of the band's upcoming EP: “We did our due diligence to not overly critique these songs. We tapped into everyone’s tastes, and let the music come out naturally."  You can watch the video for "Probably Fine" below. Super Neutral is due out May 29 on Abandon Ever...

Legendary rapper MC Serch has a new EP due out in May, and we have a new single from it to check out. "Questions" is the latest from the 3rd Base MC, and if you love his main project, you're going to love his latest single. The Apathy produced track is a wonderfully chill track that shows Serch reminiscing over his career and how things could have been different. Many rappers from the golden age of hip hop tend to try to play catch up with today's MCs, but "Questions" is exactly what we would want from Serch in 2026. It has its roots in classic hip hop while reaching out to the modern day. This is a classic cut from one of the most underrated legends in hip hop. You can listen to "Questions" below. Millions of Zeroes is due out May 15. For more on MC Serch, check out the artist on Instagram .

Photo by Rick Perez Southern California's Integra Pink have a new cumbia meets punk single out with "Curbstomp." The new track features a heavy groove and a psychedelic/hypnotic swirl. The song is a lot of fun, despite (or because of?) an underlying darkness. It's the kind of song that isn't completely new since it's made up of familiar sounds, but Integra Pink have taken existing elements and turned them into a brand new sound. Seriously, just try to listen to "Curbstomp" once without it burrowing its way into your soul. This is such a great sound, and Integra Pink are quickly becoming one of my new favorite discoveries of 2026. Vocalist/guitarist Leo Mendez says of his band's latest single: “CURBSTOMP is a song that takes inspiration from places we haven’t necessarily tapped into yet.  I think we’re constantly trying to create out of our comfort zone and this definitely differs from what we’ve been putting out. I think it’s important we put out...

Photo courtesy of The Magic City Boston's The Magic City have returned with a new single off their upcoming album. "Ozma is My Shadow" is a fantastic blend of shiny glam rock and grittier garage rock. It's filled with an abundance of pop hooks while staying rooted firmly in rock. It's almost if artists like David Bowie and Placebo wanted to make a bar rock anthem. It's also coated in the Boston alt-rock sound that gave us bands like the Pixies. "Ozma is My Shadow" is a giant glam rock goes alt-rock single that is going to be right at home in your favorite bars throughout the city. The Magic City have given us an infectious song that you're going to be thrilled to have crammed into your brain for the next week. David Jackel (vocals, guitar, and synths) says of his band's latest single: “When I was 9 or 10, I read  The Land of Oz , in which (spoiler alert!), the boy protagonist discovers he was actually a princess at birth, magically transforme...

Photo by Isaac Brown Ghanian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu is back with a new single, and as always, it's perfect to start your weekend. "LIFE KEEPS GOING" is our favorite style of dance music. It's high energy, which is a trademark of Owusu's, but this one is a bit more stripped down and almost laid back. It's a modern version of the 90's electronica boom, hip hop, and soul. And it's all Owusu. No one is doing this style of music quite like he does, and every time he releases a new song we can't wait to check it out. "LIFE KEEPS GOING" sounds and feels different from anything else out there, while still landing in a style that any fans of dance music can appreciate. Genesis Owusu says of his latest single: “The world hasn’t ended yet.  We’re still moving, we’re still jumping, we’re still living, and so we shall continue. Through rain, shine, exploitation and warfare. We, the people, will always stubbornly persist, and hopefully persist...

"do it," the latest single from nonbinary soul singer jill mccracken, sees the Boston artist try out a more art pop dance style and absolutely nail it. The song is completely impossible to resist. Sure, it's a mainstream style of music, but mainstream would never be used in a derogative manner if it was always this great. It's modern day pop music with its roots in a vintage style of soul that will make even the biggest of us music snobs happy. "do it" is a fun track, and these days can't we all use a little more fun? Put this one on, and I dare you to sit still. You can watch the video for "do it" below. big dog is due out later this year. For more on jill mccracken, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Annette Rodriguez Post-hardcore veterans  Quicksand are back with their first new music in five years. "Get to It" shows that the Walter Schreifels led band are showing no sign of slowing down. It's every bit as heavy and aggressive as their music in the 90's, just with a bit more melody. The guitars still sound like buzzsaws, and it makes me wish I was young enough to mosh and crowdsurf. "Get to It" could be mistaken for a lost b-side of theirs, and maybe it's just me but I'm hearing hints of Schreifels' more emo/indie rock band Rival Schools. Buckle up and crank this one. Walter Schreifels says of his new singles: "It’s tough to talk about your own music and what it means, not only because I sometimes don’t understand it myself but in a way it robs the listener of their own interpretation. So if you don’t want that, read no further. Otherwise, with 'Get To It' and 'Regenerate', we wanted to do something high-energy...

I've been a huge fan of Glixen's ever since I first heard "foreversoon" back in 2024. Seeing them play with Glitterer shortly after solidified my fandom, and I've been trying to see the Arizona heavy shoegaze band every time they make it up here. Wednesday night they headlined The Sinclair with three other diverse shoegaze bands: Trauma Ray, Her New Knife, and Knifeplay. Philadelphia's Knifeplay opened up the show. I was completely unfamiliar with them until Wednesday night, and they quickly won me over. They played a set of loud/quiet/loud shoegaze that went from gorgeous to punishing. Their music was simply mesmerizing and sucked the crowd in almost instantly. Some songs were almost completely quiet and almost folklike, and others were fully heavy. They played three or four songs in their just under thirty minute set, and set the tone for the evening perfectly. Her New Knife played next. They're also from Philadelphia, and while considered a shoegaze ban...

Photo by Jordanne Chant Hailing from Sydney, Loose Fit are a band that formed in 2017 and has a new single out. "Bittersweet Excess" has a lot going on within a four minute song. It starts off with a squall of noise and an irresistible beat. The noise deepens just as the groove does, and then the song seems to be battling itself over being a noise rock track or an alt-pop one. All throughout, the groove remains strong and the song keeps being relatively laid back. It's kind of like if Le Tigre were playing the chill room instead of the party. "Bittersweet Excess" is the type of song that's going to make you immediately dive into Loose Fit's back catalog... but only after a few more listens. You can listen to "Bittersweet Excess" below. The EP Bittersweet Excess is due out May 22 on Dinosaur City, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Loose Fit, check out the band on Instagram .