If It's Too Loud...

Seemingly out of nowhere comes the brand new song by the Kim Deal-less Pixies, called “Bagboy.” The song and video came out on Friday, but I wanted to give it some time before I made a final decision. Well… it’s awful. First off, it doesn’t even sound like a Pixies song. I get that they need to change up their sound a bit so they’re not just rehashing their late 80s/early 90s indie sound, but they’ve updated it to sound like a late 90s Fun Lovin’ Criminals throwaway song. It features a bizarre chant alongside Frank Black’s talk-singing style previously heard in “Subbaculture.” At no point does the tempo change from its mid-tempo plod, and drives straight into boredom. Kim leaving is a huge deal, so the absolute last thing they would want to do is bring in someone to sing who sounds just like Kim, right? So they do, bringing in Frank Black’s friend Jeremy Dubs for the chorus. Black says it’s a coincidence, but he sounds enough like Kim that Black had to address the internet reports...

Forgotten Fridays is a weekly feature here at If It’s Too Loud... where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mix tapes, and then forgot they existed. Once a week we go back and remind you, and help decide if they were any good. In 1996, Salt came out of Sweden and became the next Nirvana… for maybe a month. Inspired by the strength of their single “Bluster” off of the album Auscultate , modern rock DJs and music journalists gave them the highest praise imaginable. Their show at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge , MA , was touted as a “must see” show, your only chance to see them before they became megastars. After the show, it was reported that they didn’t address the audience until just before the last song, saying, “We’re Salt, and we don’t do encores,” which is the most and least rock star thing you can say at the same time. After that… pretty much nothing. Listening to Auscultate in 2013, I’m ...

To celebrate their signing with Acetate Records, Supersuckers are releasing a free 6 song EP with selections from their back catalog, kind of a mini greatest hits package. The band is about to head down to Willie Nelson’s Arlyn Studio in Austin , TX to record their ninth studio album, their first since 2008’s Get It Together . Arlyn Studio is where Supersuckers recorded their classic Sacrilicious album for SubPop back in 1995, so expect some magic. The self-proclaimed Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band In the World” are expected to release the new album by the end of the year. To download the “50,000 Middle Fingers Can’t Be Wrong ” EP filled with cowpunk classics, click here . Also, check out the video for “Born With a Tail” below, as well as dates for their upcoming fall tour. 09/01/13          Providence , RI                      ...

The Nines Festival, which already included Explosions In the Sky, Delta Spirit, Kid Koala, Matt Pond, Dr. Dog, Shuggie Otis, and Walk Off the Earth, just added two new acts to the bill: Brooklyn based rising hip hop star K. Flay and Boston's own Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. K. Flay is one of indie hip hop's fastest rising stars and will definitely appeal to "the kids." Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys is less a band than an experience, with 7 musical members being joined by all manner of midway and burlesque performers. Both acts add something truly unique to an already diverse line up. The Nines Festival takes place at Willard Field in Devens, MA on August 10. For more information, please check out their website. Early bird tickets end on July 7, so buy them now!

I like free stuff as much as the next guy, and there's more than enough good stuff on Noisetrade to keep your ears happy for a while, but Paste has offered a live Radiohead show from 1995 (only a few months after the release of The Bends ) for a free download. No idea how long this will be available, as Noisetrade offerings are often temporary, but you should probably consider jumping at this one.

I have no idea how Bill Janovitz finds the time. Between playing shows with Buffalo Tom , his day job as a realtor , and writing books about the Rolling Stones , he had time to write and record his finest solo work to date. Janovitz’s earlier solo albums were a chance for him to play around with his more rootsy side and go a bit more mellow than he normally would for Buffalo Tom. But as Buffalo Tom aged, their music reflected a more Americana-influenced sound. Their last album, 2011’s Skins , felt more like a solo album that was co-written by each member into a cohesive unit. Walt Whitman Mall feels more like a Buffalo Tom album than a solo project. While there are some of the more folky, acoustic tracks you normally find on a solo album (“Noon Hill,” “Prettiest”) there are still hints of the noise of early Buffalo Tom on songs like “Withering.” The album opener, “ Long Island ,” is a rollicking power pop song as tight as anything written by Big Star. Walt Whitman Mall is...

Ok.. fine. It's not through us. But we want to make sure you know about a couple of contests to win free tickets to the Nines Festival, happening at Willard Field in Devens, MA on August 10. The inaugural event features Explosions In the Sky, Dr. Dog, Delta Spirit, Shuggie Otis, Walk Off the Earth, Kid Koala, and Matt Pond with more to be announced. There's also a comedy tent curated by Rick Jenkins of The Comedy Studio featuring Erin Judge, Ken Reid, and Jenny Zigrino with more to be announced. You can enter for tickets through Relix here and CMJ here. Hurry, because the CMJ contest ends tomorrow, June 27! And, of course, check out the Nines Festival website for more info.

A kind of slow week for new releases. Apparently, the heat of the summer means everyone's too busy listening to "Get Lucky" on the beach as opposed to listening to good new music. Anyway, a handful of new releases that might have hit your radar: Smith Westerns - Soft Will : Smith Westerns were compared to Belle and Sebastian once upon a time, and while I love me some Belle and Sebastian, they've never grabbed me that way at all. While their third album is definitely the most cohesive one they've put out so far, they still come across as the sort of late-1990s/early 2000s indie pop retread that never really catches me these days. I know a lot of people tend to love this band in indie circles, and this will probably grab them some more fans, but unless you're already a fan of theirs or this style, it might not be totally worth your time. Lightning Dust - Fantasy : Another third album, this time from the electro side project of Black Mountain. The album ...

Normally I try to avoid copying a band’s description directly from their bio and have an original thought, but this one is just perfect: “If They Might Be Giants and Kimya Dawson had baby daughters whom they powdered regularly with Joe Jack Talcum, they'd grow up to be ShiSho.” Hailing from Akron , Ohio (home of Lebron James and The Black Keys) ShiSho are real life sisters (Vivian and Midge Ramone), aged 16 and 13. They’ve been recording together for 9 years. Yeah, I know. I want to hate them. I really do. But they are just too damn good. At first their songs are adorable and cutesy girly pop with accordion, guitar, and ukulele. “The Dead Milkmen Song (featuring The Dead Milkmen)” consists mostly of lyrics from Dead Milkmen songs, which immediately makes your own children seem inferior. Oh, and the Dead Milkmen play on the song. “Shrouded in Silence” captures adolescent angst and awkwardness perfectly, probably because they’re in the midst of it. Sure, they’re literally ch...

Kingsley Flood are one of Boston ’s most beloved live acts. They deftly combine the sneer and energy of punk with roots Americana without a hint of irony. Think of Arctic Monkeys as a folk band. They celebrate all their influences equally, and are right on the cusp of breaking through nationally. Since forming in 2009, they’ve won two Boston Music Awards and twice at the Boston Phoenix (RIP) Best Music Poll. They released their latest album, Battles , back in February. It’s filled with pop hooks, raucous sing-a-longs, and is destined to propel them to stardom. Do not miss them when they make their  Newport   debut on Friday. Check out Kingsley Flood’s website for more info and tour dates. Also, check out their video for “Sun Gona Lemme Shine” below, guaranteed to be the best video you’ve seen in a long time.

For the inaugural Outside the Box Festival taking place in Boston July 13-21, the organizers have planned an amazing spectacle including just about every art form in and around the Boston Common, completely free of charge. There are family friendly activities, theatre events, world music, and more. Since Boston has always been an amazing rock town, music is one of the main attractions. I’m going to focus on a couple of particular events that I can’t recommend highly enough. The first up is Thursday, July 18 at City Hall Plaza which features David Wax Museum . David Wax Museum take the stage at 6:30 with their blend of Mexo-American indie roots folk hybrid. I’ve seen them at least 5 times in the past 2 years, and they never play the same show twice. They are the rare band that fits perfectly in any stage they take on, from a dark, candlelit basement to a huge summer festival stage. They may just be one of the best live acts out there today.  David Wax and Suz Slezak ha...

Forgotten Fridays is a weekly feature here at If It’s Too Loud.. where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mixtapes, and then forgot they existed. Once a week we go back and remind you, and help decide if they were any good. Cashing in on the 70s nostalgia kick of the mid 90s, Saturday Morning Cartoon’s Greatest Hits features 19 cartoon classics as performed by bands of the moment. It’s a pure novelty album that made perfect sense then, but just feels silly now. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The quality varies wildly between songs, with perfectly fun, infectious tracks right next to one of the worst things you will ever hear in your life. One of the most fun qualities of the album is hearing acts that are normally considered serious artists letting loose and having fun. Right off the heels of Whipsmart, Liz Phair teams with Material Issue for “The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Ban...

I'm an unabashed fan of Macklemore's ode to discounted thrifty shopping, and I just tripped up on this magical cover of the song by the Kidz Bop crew. It's not quite as inappropriate as their version of Modest Mouse's " Float On ," (although I do love hearing kids cheer about crashing into a cop car), but knowing some of the "Thrift Shop" lyrics, well... For those unfamiliar with the original song and who are generally lucky enough to avoid #1 songs altogether, Macklemore's version is below. NSFW for language:

Some highlights and thoughts from this week's new releases: Sigur Rós - Kveikur : Sigur Rós is a strange band for me, and not because they do their music with lyrics that are a made-up version of Icelandic, but more because, after the beauty of their breakthrough album Ágætis byrjun and the equally awesome follow-up ( ) , my reaction to them has been somewhere between mixed to negative. The new album is definitely a shift from the most recent albums toward something more like the original stuff we fell in love with, while still having a good deal of more-accessible fare. Will almost certainly remain in my rotation for the foreseeable future. Austra - Olympia : Austra is a fairly recent band for me, they do a sort of dance-pop-alternative thing that typically falls right into my wheelhouse, but the previous Austra releases mostly toed the line between solid, mainstream dance numbers and more glitchy, difficult electronic music. This newest album, at first glance, is much mor...

Old Crow Medicine Show Friday As you’re most likely aware, Saturday and Sunday for the Newport Folk Festival have been completely sold out for months now, long before the line up was revealed. Friday tickets are still available, and I’m surprised since Friday might be the most stacked day of the entire festival with Feist, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Mountain Goats, John McCauley, Amanda Palmer, JD McPherson, Kingsley Flood, and more. Saturday and Sunday are amazing in their own right, with The Avett Brothers, Jim James, Colin Meloy, Justin Townes Earle, Jason Isbell, Shovels and Rope, Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, The Lone Bellow, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and more on Saturday, while Sunday features Beck, The Lumineers, Andrew Bird, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Dawn McCarthy, The Felice Brothers, Beth Orton, Black Prairie, Spirit Family Reunion (last year’s break out band), and more, including the just added Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. The only disappointment I’ve had with t...

Starting last year, The Dead Milkmen started following up their 2011 comeback album by releasing 7” singles, available for both download and as a physical record. The first one to be released was “Dark Clouds Over Middlemarch.” The B-Side is “Ronald Reagan Killed the Black Dahlia,” a song implicating Ronald Reagan in the Black Dahlia murder. Both songs feature Rodney Anonymous at the top of his game. Most punk bands from the 80s/90s tend to have mellowed out with age and even at their most rocking, their new material is almost easy listening compared to their original output. Apparently the secret is to take 16 years off. Rodney just sounds like he’s been festering since 1995, just waiting to get his chance to attack mainstream American culture and politics. There is also a digital bonus track (all vinyl copies come with a download code for both tracks and a bonus song, as well) of a cover of ROME ’s “Little Rebel Mine” as a duet with Audrey Crash. The second single, “Big Words ...

Recorded live at Ann Arbor ’s Michigan Theater on April 19, 2011, this DVD documents the tribute concert performed by Iggy & The Stooges for Ron Asheton, the late Stooges guitarist who passed away in 2009. For something that could have been such a somber occasion, the performance is anything but, which makes it the perfect tribute for Rolling Stone’s 60 th Greatest Guitarist of All Time. The concert begins with a 20 minute introduction by Henry Rollins . After explaining the creativity Ron’s playing style was and how much The Stooges mean to him (and sharing a story about introducing The Stooges to a young, foreign fan), Rollins joins the Stooges for the opening song, “I Got a Right.” Iggy immediately takes over frontman duties, and dispels any concern this will be a sedate performance by bringing enough fans onstage to fill the entire stage (complete with crowdsurfers) by the 4 th song, “Shake Appeal.” The Stooges run through 20 total songs selected from their 3 studio a...

Explosions in the Sky Central Massachusetts used to be a great area for live music. The Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg used to host bands like Nirvana, Fugazi, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Soundgarden, etc., there was the Worcester New Aud, shows at the Centrum, and the Fitchburg Municipal Airport even hosted a Warped Tour before it decided to go all Live Nation shed circuit. But, the last show at the Wallace Civic Center was in 1997 (if memory serves me correctly) and the Warped Tour was in 2006. I couldn’t even tell you what the last concert at the DCU Center was. This is where the Nines Festival comes in. Delta Spirit The 1 st ever Nines Festival is happening in Devens , MA on August 10 th . It’s a multistage, multi-arts festival featuring one of the best and most diverse line ups around this summer. You have the post-punk of Explosions in the Sky, neo-psychedelic Dr. Dog, Newport Folk Festival veterans Delta Spirit, Walk Off the Earth (best...

Help stream Wish You Were Here 1 million times to unlock Pink Floyd's catalogue on @Spotify : http://t.co/PpNjKAm3AX #floydcountdown — Pink Floyd (@pinkfloyd) June 13, 2013 So Pink Floyd's catalog, as of this moment, is not available on Spotify. However, there's a fairly unique little promotion happening right now where, if Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" is streamed a million times, the catalog will be released. I'm not really much of a Pink Floyd fan - the only song that's ever really caught me, interestingly enough, was " The Division Bell " from the album of the same name. So, if I'm feeling a little evil today, maybe I don't go on a streaming party. I doubt my little act of protest will do much, but still, if Floyd's your thing and you've got some spare drugs around...

Photo credit Drew Arndt Hailing from Brooklyn , NY , Field Mouse is led by singer/guitarist Rachel Browne and guitarist Andrew Futral They blend a sound as if My Bloody Valentine decided to come back as a new wave band. It’s all the lush drone of shoegaze with all the catchiness of mid-late 90s power pop. It’s a complete 90s throwback that somehow moves forward at the same time. The fact that they have a song called “You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom” will make you feel downright geriatric, even though it brings me back to what I listened to in college. So far they have only released a couple 7”s, but they are working on their debut LP as we speak. Please go straight to their  Bandcamp  to get their songs, along with their  website  and  Facebook . You can also check out their new video for "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and a couple of tour dates below. Friday, June 14          Muchmore's           ...

Two Kickstarters for musical endeavors that may be of interest: A staple of early-1990s college radio as well as a staple of my mixtapes/CDs/Spotify playlists to this day, Toad the Wet Sprocket have been doing reunion tours for the last couple years, and have finally recorded a new album. They're running a Kickstarter to help push it out the door. I've heard at least one of the new songs live, and it felt like classic Toad to me, so the fact that we're getting new music from them over 15 years after they were done seemingly for good is getting Junior High Jeff ridiculously excited. I've already backed it, hopefully the new album measures up. Sofia Talvik is a Swedish singer-songwriter who specializes in folk and Americana-style music. Back in 2008 or so, when Amie Street was a thing, I tripped up on her release of her newest album at the time, Jonestown , and I instantly fell in love with the whole thing. I quickly sought out her back catalog, and I'...

I’m actually glad I waited a few months before reviewing the first studio album from Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. We’ve all had the experience of losing our minds over a new album after a listen or two, only to have second thoughts and a little embarrassment over your initial freak out. However, that is not the case with Ripley Pine. I adore this album as much as I did when it first came out in February and still proclaim it to be the album of the decade. At first I was disappointed to see that Ripely Pine had a few of the same songs as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s previous album, Mammoth Swoon . After listening, it was like Mammoth Swoon was the equivalent of being handed acoustic demos of Abbey Road and accepting it as a complete album, only to be sideswiped when the true album came out. The most fantastic thing about Ripely Pine is how surprising the arrangements are. There are complete tempo and style changes throughout just about every song, right up until you start to expect...