If It's Too Loud...

"Mr. Rodriguez" isn't exactly a new song, seeing as we first heard it on last year's exceedingly great Imaginary Man. Rayland Baxter is set to release SOHO EP next Friday, which revisits some of the tracks on Imaginary Man  in a more stripped down version. If this new version of "Mr. Rodriguez" is any indication, this isn't just a collection of acoustic versions of songs you have already heard. The SOHO   EP version is stripped down to bare bones, consisting mainly of Baxter's vocals and minimal guitar layered with a background of reverb. I truly can't say either version is the best version, but instead each lives in its own universe that you owe it to yourself to check out. SOHO EP will be available at Rayland Baxter's current tour dates. If you can't make it, you can also purchase one at the ATO Records webstore . For current tour dates, be sure to check out his website .

One of my favorite things about this digital age that's supposedly killing music is when one of my favorite bands throws a song up out of nowhere. Yesterday, The Dead Milkmen put out "Song With No Name." According to a Facebook post, "Song With No Name" was recorded back in 1992 during the sessions for what became Not Richard But Dick. It's a demo, but a pretty good recording for a demo. Sung by Joe Jack Talcum, it fits right into the poppier sound The Milkmen were experimenting with during their time on Hollywood Records. You can listen to "Song With No Name" below. To keep track of The Dead Milkmen's actics, be sure to like them on Facebook .

Photo by Nicole Anne Robbins Jeff sent over 2013's Ride Your Heart  to me, and while I really really liked it, I didn't quite love it. With their next album, I just might start to love Bleached. "Keep On Keepin' On" lives in a world where female punks look back at The Bangles and The Go Gos with the same reverence they do Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. It's an edgy song, but it's still fun and has killer hooks. Picture if Veruca Salt listened to more Blondie than AC/DC. Bleached's new album, Welcome the Worms, will be out on April 1 via Dead Ocean. You can watch the video for "Keep On Keepin' On" (which features a bitchin' Captain America shirt) below, and below that are their current tour dates. For more info on Bleached, check out their website here . Mar. 15 - March 19 - Austin, TX @ SXSW   Mar. 29 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Velvet Jones Mar. 30 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah Apr. 2 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar Apr. 4 - Aus...

Lissie has become one of my favorite artist over the last few years, with both of her albums being near/at the top of my best of lists and her songs always getting trapped in my head. "Don't You Give Up On Me" is the lead single from her next album due out in less than a month, My Wild West , and, not only does it sound like the Lissie that I've come to know and love, but this song sounds a lot like some of the more popular stuff we've been hearing over the last few years, and maybe this will be the breakout we're been waiting for. Don't sleep on this one. If the rest of the album is as close to as good as this song is, it might be an early contender for one of the best albums of 2016. I know I'll be impatiently waiting for its release.

Photo by Daniel Dorsa I have no idea how I've gone so long without hearing Quilt. Usually when a Boston band gets up to third album territory, I'd have heard a song or two. I've heard the name Quilt a bunch of times, but just never listened. Luckily for me, I finally got around to them and checked out "Roller." It's not quite folky, and not quite poppy. It's this great chill, slinky track that is the exact opposite of whatever I decided they were in my head. Instead, it lives in this great territory with Jenny Lewis' The Voyager and Liz Phair's Whitechocolatespaceegg.  Quilt's third album, Plaza, will be released on February 26th on Mexican Summer. Be sure to listen to "Roller" below. You can find them online here , and their current tour dates are below the video. Feb 26 - Boston, MA @ Museum of Fine Arts Mar 2 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right Mar 4 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s Mar 5 - Washington, DC ...

NOW we're back in the swing of things! Album of the Week : Artist : Savages Album : Adore Life Quick Description : The much anticipated sophomore album from the Mercury-nominated indie rock band. Why You Should Listen : Their first album was incredible. Overall Thoughts : While it lacks the sort of immediacy that their debut had, Adore Life is still a very strong, very loud record in many regards. While a first listen doesn't result in any standout tracks, the cohesive whole easily makes it the best thing released in this two week period, and it might have some staying power to boot. A very strong follow-up. No sophomore slump here. Recommendation : A must-listen this week. And go back and listen to their debut again, too. Artist : Eleanor Friedberger Album : New View Quick Description : Third solo album from the Fiery Furnaces co-lead. Why You Should Listen : You like the Fiery Furnaces or you don't like the Fiery Furnaces because they're too weird...

Photo by Ken Sears Back in December, I headed out on a Sunday night to see Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear at Brighton Music Hall. The show was being taped by Front Row Boston, a show on WGBH, our local PBS affiliate. Some videos of the show have been trickling out, and yesterday they posted their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams." This version of "Dreams" might be what it takes to give Fleetwood Mac another shot. Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear's version is slowed down to about half the tempo of the original, and it truly gives "Mama Bear" a chance to shine. It's much more folk than Fleetwood Mac's rock, but this version is truly lovely and heartfelt.  To watch the video for Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear's version of "Dreams," you'll have to head over to Front Row Boston's website . While you're there, be sure to check out some more of their live videos. It's all professionally shot, multi-camera record...

For a fan of the Boston music scene, I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with Dumptruck. Formed in 1983, the band is considered to be one of the original college rock bands (I have such a bizarre fondness for that label.) After a string of bad luck, the band broke up in 1991, and released their final album in 1994. Seth Tiven released a couple more albums under the name Dumptruck in 2000 and 2001, and Rykodisc reissued the band's first three albums, and a compilation was released in 2006. Not much has seemed to happen since then. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised today, when way down at the bottom of an email from Noisetrade I saw a link for a free live Dumptruck album. Everyone knows how much we love free music here at If It's Too Loud..., and this album is no exception. I always meant to check out the reissues when they came out, but for some reason they just slipped my mind. Live at CBGB's '86 & '88  is the perfect way to introduce yourself to th...

"City Alight (Yeah)," the first single from Boston's Magic Shoppe's upcoming EP, is the very best kind of psychedelic rock. It's the kind of psychedelia that both the indie rock fans and the hippies can like. It's trippy as hell, but has this weird sense of darkness behind it. With its swirling guitars, it sounds like if shoegaze was filled with hippies. It also reminds me a lot of The Beatles' "Within You Without You" minus the sitars. Interstellar Car Crash  is due out on February 5. You can listen to "City Alight (Yeah)" below, and be sure to check out Magic Shoppe's Bandcamp , Facebook , and Twitter for more information. They also have a few tour dates below the song. Feb 03, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA Feb 04, Palisades, Brooklyn, NY Feb 06, Great Scott, Allston, MA

Photo by Ken Sears It's very rare that you can ever use the terms "noise" and "party" to describe music, but that's exactly what Guerilla Toss do. With "Diamond Girls," the first single off their upcoming album Eraser Stargazer , they own that distinction. The song opens up with a tribal beat and a looping electronic squeal, then Kassie Carlson's vocals kick in as a taunting chant of "Who do you know?/ Ha ha ha." There is so much going on in the song it's nearly impossible to keep it all straight, but you'll want to try. It's the kind of song that might give you a headache the first time you listen, but it's completely worth it. And you'll happily listen again almost immediately. Eraser Stargazer  is out March 4 on DFA Records. Listen to "Diamond Girls" below. For more info on Guerilla Toss, check out their Bandcamp or Facebook .

Photo by  Erez Avissar After raving about "Too Small for Eyes" and calling their forthcoming album  When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired one of my most anticipated albums of 2016 , we have another new song from Mothers to check out. "Copper Mines" isn't quite as sparse or minimal as "Too Small for Eyes." In fact, it's a fairly straightforward mid-tempo indie rock song. What truly sets it apart from standard indie rock fare is  Kristine Leschper's voice. It lives in this world between a traditionally beautiful voice and the discordant-but-interesting voices of the J Mascis' and Marissa Paternoster's of the world. When she's not singing, the swirling guitars keep you sucked in. When You Walk a Long Distance You Are Tired  is due out February 26 on Grand Jury Music. Listen to "Copper Mines" below, and be sure to check out their website and Facebook .

In the three days since the death of David Bowie, virtually everything that could possibly be written about him has. I was going to make a pass on writing, because what could I possibly add? I'm definitely a fan, but by no means am I the biggest fan. But... how can I not? Like most people in my age range, I first really discovered David Bowie through the 1986 film Labyrinth. Of course I knew that David Bowie existed before that, but not much more. Even surrounded by Muppets and kidnapping a baby, we all just knew that The Goblin King was cool. I'm not going to say I was rooting for The Goblin King to win, but if Sarah had decided to stay in the dreamworld, I would have been 100% cool with it. As a child in the 80s, I knew the hits of the day like "Let's Dance" and the duet of "Dancin' in the Streets" with Mick Jagger. Those kind of kept me away, until I first heard The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Finally, the ...

Photo by Justyn Strother As we get closer to the US release of Marlon Williams' debut album, we have a new song to check out. While "Hello Miss Lonesome" was more of a raucous Americana track, "Dark Child" is more slower paced traditional singer-songwriter fare, albeit in a very dark way. It starts off pretty minimal and quiet, with nothing really making it stand out besides Williams' striking vocals. Around the 3:00 mark, chaos starts forcing its way out. The song is still slow, but gets loud and surprisingly aggressive for a bit. Based on how "Hello Miss Lonesome" ended, this might be his trademark. Marlon Williams' self-titled debut is due out in the US on February 19. You can pre-order it through Amazon . For more info on Marlon Williams, check out his website , Facebook , and Twitter . Check out the video for "Dark Child" below, and you can find his current tour dates below that. Mon. Jan. 18 – Brussels, BE @ Ancie...

Combining a few weeks due to the slow release start. I will likely do the same for the next two weeks as well. Album of the Week : Artist : David Bowie Album : Blackstar Quick Description : Final album by the rock icon. Why You Should Listen : David Bowie is a must listen anyway, but as the final bow in his career, it takes on a little more weight. Overall Thoughts : I listened to this on Friday and texted Ken that the album was strange, but we expect strange from Bowie. It's got some jazz infusion, it's a quiet album while still having some strength and purpose to it. I didn't love The Next Day , and Bowie has always been hit or miss anyway, but it's hard to consider this album on its merits alone now that we basically know that this was a farewell to those of us who had the honor of listening to him. I saw David Bowie live about a decade ago and he was an absolutely wonderful performer, and, while I don't have the sort of love for Bowie that a lot of m...