Hailing from New York City, Loveletter are set to release their debut EP, and if you can't get enough 90's inspired alt-rock, this one is for you. The first single, "Prophets," is going to remind you immediately of Sleater-Kinney, mainly because singer Gabriella Zappia sounds similar to Corin Tucker. Loveletter do have their own sound, and what a sound it is. It's 90's alt-rock mixed with No Wave, with a heavy groove and just enough hints of aggression to keep their sound interesting. There is a sense of menace lurking just underneath "Prophets," but we're into that sort of thing. This is the kind of music that's going to work perfectly in dive bars and large outdoor festivals.
You can listen to "Prophets" below. Testament is due out June 7, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Loveletter check out the band on Instagram.
Back in March, Lightning Bug released the excellent "Opus," an experimental and mainstream rock song with electronic elements. The band has changed things up quite a bit for their latest single, the absolutely gorgeous "Lullaby for Love." This new single starts off with what sounds like a single note of looped vocals before the rest of the instruments kick in. The result is this wave of dream pop melody that just washes over you. It sounds both intensely personal and absolutely epic in scope. It sounds like Audrey Kang is singing directly to you and an entire arena of people at the same time. "Lullaby for Love" ends up being this truly magical song that keeps Lightning Bug's talent of being both experimental and mainstream alive.
Audrey Kang says of her band's latest single:
“I wrote 'Lullaby for Love' as part of a mixtape for an ex-partner. It was actually kind of a joke between us, like leaning into the cheesiness of being in love. But as life flowed on, it kind of stuck with me. When you’re really in love, it feels like a special world that exists outside time and space. I don’t even mean with a romantic partner, necessarily. You could be in love with the ocean, with the sunlight, a really perfect day. And you just want it to go on forever. That’s what I wanted to express in this song. ”
You can watch the video for "Lullaby for Love" below. No Paradise is due out May 2 and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Lightning Bug, check out the band on Instagram.
Taking place in Somerville, NICE, a fest has been slowly growing and becoming one of the go-to festivals every year despite an increasingly stacked festival schedule. This will be their fourth year, and hyperbole aside, they've grown even bigger and more impressive for 2024. This year will see over eighty bands with ties to Boston playing over four days. They're back to Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater and The Rockwell for 2024, but they've added a larger outdoor stage for Saturday at the Grove Street lot.
The line-up is stacked and features many of our favorites. Vundabar, Palehound, Model/Actriz, Dutch Tulips, Hannah Mohan, House of Harm, Burp, Jake McKelvie, Sweet Petunia, Noble Dust, TIFFY, Vivid Bloom, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, and many, many more are playing. Every single time I look at the poster I notice a band I had previously missed and get even more excited for! And there are still two unannounced bands that are pretty high up on that poster, so let the speculation commence!
Tickets are on sale now for NICE, a fest through their website. We're including an eight-plus hour Spotify playlist that the organizers put together to help familiarize all of us with the bands playing. You can find all the bands playing below the playlist.
Ugandan born and current Austin resident Jon Muq has been wowing us lately with his mainstream yet undeniably unique take on the world of folk. His latest single, "Bend," takes his impossible to resist folk pop style and infuses it with more than a little soul. In fact, if this was the first single you've heard of Muq's it would be easy to assume he was a soul artist. "Bend" is the type of song your grandmother could enjoy as well as the snobbiest of us music fans. Muq is an incredible talent that just keeps growing with every new single we hear from him.
Jon Muq says of his latest single:
“I had a problem with self-reflection. I hate mirrors, but I decided to confront myself in a mirror, and 'Bend' is the conversation I had with my reflection. It's okay to give up on yourself on occasion; find an honest conversation with your reflection, and you will truly discover yourself."
You can watch the video for "Bend" below. Flying Away is due out May 31 on Easy Eye Sound, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Jon Muq, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
May 18-19 - Opelika, AL - Songwriter Fest
May 24 - Oklahoma City, OK - Scissortail Park
May 31 - Austin, TX - Waterloo Records in-store
June 2 - Pittsburgh, PA - Three Rivers Festival
June 6 - Houston, TX - McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
June 7 - Austin, TX - 04 Center
June 13 - Bergen, Norway - Bergenfest
June 15 - Utrecht, NL - Tivoli/Vredenburg ^
June 16 - Antwerpen, BE - Queen Elisabeth Hall ^
June 18 - Paris, FR - Casino de Paris ^
June 20 - Barcelona, ES - Forum Karlin ^
June 24-25 - London, UK - Union Chapel ^
July 5 - Marshfield, MA - Levitate Festival
July 6-7 - Orillia, ON Canada - Mariposa Fest
July 10 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Blues Fest
July 13-14 - Winnipeg, MB - Folk Fest
July 25 - Glasgow, UK - Glad Cafe
July 26 - London, UK - Omeara
July 28 - Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Folk Festival
Aug 24 - Tonder, DK - Tonder Festival
Aug 26 - Stockholm, SE - Pustervik (Upstairs)
Aug 27 - Gothenburg, SE - Debaser/Bar Brooklyn
Aug 29 - Oslo, NO - Salt Pyramidian stage
Aug 31 - Birmingham, UK - Moseley Folk Fest
Sept 6 - Washington, D.C. - Kennedy Center
Sept 8 - Evanston, IL - Folk Fest
Sept 17 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center *
Sept 18 - Austin, TX - Moody Center *
Sept 20 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center *
Sept 21 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center *
Sept 24 - Denver, CO - Ball Arena *
Sept 26 - Phoenix, AZ - Footprint Center *
Sept 27 - Los Angeles, CA - Kia Forum *
Sept 28 - Palm Springs, CA - Acrisure Arena *
Sept 29 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre *
Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend:
Frenchy and the Punk is the current musical project of Samantha Stephenson and Scott Helland (Deep Wound, Guitarmy of One). The duo get compared to Siouxsie and the Banshees quite a bit, but that's mostly due to Stephenson's vocals. Their latest single, "Hypnotized," is based in post-punk, but it's a little more straight up rock than a lot of post-punk. This is a song that will instantly mesmerize you as soon as the guitar kicks in, and Stephenson's vocals will refuse to let you go. As dark and goth as a song like "Hypnotize" is, it's also refreshingly upbeat. Once you get past the comparisons, there's a lot to like about any Frenchy and the Punk release.
Scott Helland says of his band's new song:
"The song sprung from the opening grungy bass line that I played with an electro-acoustic hybrid guitar through octave and distortion pedals. The groove pulses beneath Samantha’s soaring vocals and lets up occasionally to allow me to growl the word 'Hypnotized'. I love that it’s a confounding track in that it hypnotizes you to move. We love to work with contrasts".
You can watch the video for "Hypnotize" below. Midnight Garden is due out June 28 on EA Recordings. For more on Frenchy and the Punk, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
APR 25 Greenbelt, MD - New Deal Cafe APR 27/28 Holly Springs, NC - Festival of Legends APR 30 Richmond, VA - Black Iris Social Club MAY 4 Washington, NJ - Rock n Roll SteamFest MAY 18 Milton, PA - Reign of Terror Presents: World of Fae MAY 19 Berkeley Springs, WV - Bringing in the May MAY 21 Bristol, UK - The Exchange (with Miranda Sex Garden) JUN 1 Wareham UK - Alice’s Wicked Tea Party JUN 7 Morecambe, UK - A Splendid Day Out Festival JUN 8 Newcastle, UK - Little Buildings JUN 9 Edinburgh, UK - Banshee Labyrinth JUN 14 Leicester, UK - Firebug JUN 15 London, UK - Dublin Castle JUN 17 Oxford, UK - Botley Taproom JUN 22 Salem, MA - Darq Salem JUL 11 Pomeroy, OH - Starwood Festival JUL 13 Pittsburgh, PA - TBA JUL 14 Columbus, OH - Dirty Dungarees Alt Music Space JUL 17 Cincinnati, OH - The Comet JUL 18 Detroit, MI - Corktown Tavern JUL 19 Akron, OH - Buzzbin JUL 20 Maple Heights, OH - Maple Grove Tavern JUL 21 Dayton, OH - Blind Bob’s JUL 23 St Louis, MO - Crack Fox JUL 25 Cleveland, OH - Wizbang Theater JUL 26 Sherman, NY - Sirius Rising Festival SEPT 6 Pittsburgh, PA - Pitts Art Fest SEPT 22 York, PA - Enchanted Festival SEPT 26 Dark Castle Festival, Louisville, KY OCT 5/6 Attleboro, MA - Jewelry City Festival OCT 12 Upper Lake, CA - Hexenfest OCT 25 Shepherdstown, WV - TBA NOV 16 Baltimore, MD - Fairy Scary Ball
