If It's Too Loud...

Although they're from London, Dead Man's Knee sound like Detroit in the late 60's. Mostly. Their debut single, "Pleasure," definitely has a proto-punk sound like MC5 and Death before them. It's definitely a cleaner sound, but that could just be more modern recording techniques. "Pleasure" seems right on the edge of being completely out of control, and almost demands that you check them out live. What Dead Man's Knee adds to their 50 year old sound is soul. With singer Del, they sound like someone merged Motown with MC5, and I think we can all agree that we need that in our lives. Plus, there's a killer guitar riff on the bridge of the song that will make the song for you if you were on the fence. You can listen to "Pleasure" below. Their debut album should be out in late 2018. For now, you can keep track of them on Facebook and Twitter .

Photo by Alexa Viscius Hailing from Chicago, Deeper are set to release their debut album in May. Their new single, "Pink Showers," takes two of our favorite styles and merges them perfectly. As soon as the first guitar notes hit, you'll get a distinct quirky indie rock vibe, the kind we love Archers of Loaf and Pavement for. What separates Deeper from that classification is their post punk adjacent groove. It doesn't quite have that deep base line to truly be post punk, but it's definitely inspired by bands like Gang of Four. It's a great, fresh sound created by molding two classic styles. You can listen to "Pink Showers" below. Deeper's self-titled debut album will be out May 25 on Fire Talk Records. It can be pre-ordered here . For more on Deeper, check them out on Facebook and Twitter . 

Last year saw the end of Matt Pond PA as a musical project. Luckily for the universe as a whole, Matt Pond is still making music. For now, the project is called Spaceland but is subject to change. He's released four "rough demos" for Spaceland songs, and if these are the rough versions, I can't imagine how great the actual releases will be. The first track, "Outside," is a great, upbeat indie rock song that stops well short of being twee. This is my favorite of the batch, and still sounds like Matt Pond PA enough for fans, but different enough to warrant a new project name. It also includes a cover of INXS's "Don't Change." I loved Matt Pond PA's covers, and it looks like that will continue with Spaceland.  You can listen to Spaceland's demos below via Soundcloud. To keep up with Spaceland and Matt Pond's music in general, check him out on Patreon . He's also looking to put listeners' thoughts and dreams to music. If...

Photo by Sasha Lytvyn Just in time for Easter, Passover, the Spring Equinox, and a full moon, MC Paul Barman has released the new single from his upcoming album (((echo chamber))) . "(((commandments)))" is MC Paul Barman's take on The Ten Commandments. I can't quite tell if it's pro- or anti-religion (I have a feeling it's both maybe?) so let's just focus on the music. The track is produced by Memory Man with drums by ?uestlove, the music is reminiscent of the old Sesame Street "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9," which is hammered home by the singing of the Sesame Street song at the beginning and end of the song. Once again, not sure if it's planned or realized after the fact. It's a great song that straddles the line between classic hip hop and classic MC Paul Barman. You can listen to "(((commandments)))" below. (((echo chamber))) , the new album from MC Paul Barman, will be out May 18 on Mello Music Group. It can be pre-ordere...

Busy week this week, apologies for the half-effort First Listen. Just WAY TOO MUCH MUSIC. Album of the Week * Esme Bridie - Today It Rains : Out of nowhere came this absolutely gorgeous album. A little on the pop folk side, Esme has a really strong and confident voice and presents a series of songs that remind me so much of some of my favorite folk acts. If you haven’t become enamoured with what she is doing by the time “Tower of Regret” comes along, I don’t know what to tell you. Easily the best of the week, and right at the top of my list for 2018 so far. Must Listens: * Squirrel Nut Zippers – Beasts of Burgundy : Back after what feels like forever, and it doesn’t appear that they’ve missed a beat. * Dom Flemons – Black Cowboys : An album of standards and old-timey roots music, a great indication as to why he’s one of the best going right now. * The Tillers – The Tillers : Traditional bluegrass with a more modern attitude. Extremely enjoyable. * Cavern of Anti-Matter ...

Photo by Walter Lyle Hailing from Jackson, MS, Young Valley have a traditional Southern sound that moves off in a direction I haven't quite heard before. Their latest single, "Til I Cross Your Mind" has a relaxed distinctly Southern vibe, along with some smooth multi-part harmonies, all over a traditional folk leaning version of the more mainstream side of the new fangled pop folk movement. It has some distinct feelings of artists like The Avett Brothers and Houndmouth. But they sneak in these edgier Drive-By Truckers style electric guitar riffs that you wouldn't expect and that don't quite fit in. It's this combination that gives "Til I Cross Your Mind" its own feeling. You can watch the video for "Til I Cross Your Mind" below. The newest self titled album from Young Valley will be out on 4/20 via Dial Back Sound. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Young Valley, check out their website . Current tour dates are below the vide...

If you've been following us for any length of time, you know of our undying love of cover songs. You might also know how much of a Chris Brokaw fan I am, and that he's the most underrated musician out there. His work with Come, The New Year, The Lemonheads, and his solo work has cemented himself as one of my all time favorite musicians. Somehow, it also slipped by me that he released an album of David Bowie and Prince covers back in November 2017. The back story is that he was asked to play at a friend's wedding, who requested David Bowie and Prince songs. He came up with versions on a classical guitar, and decided to record them. Instead of completely traditional covers, you get these amazing acoustic, instrumental versions of some of the greatest pop songs ever recorded. For David Bowie covers, he went a little off the norm with songs like "Ashes to Ashes," "The Man Who Sold the World," "Letter to Hermoine," etc. For his Prince songs, you...

Photo by John Gessner We're less than two weeks from the release of the new album from Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and we can check out a new single, "New Ways to Fail." "New Ways to Fail" is everything we want in a Sarah Shook & the Disarmers song. It's just about as country as can be, in that old fashioned outlaw country way. It's a little bit less punk sounding than some of her songs on Sidelong  but only in the musical way. With a chorus that starts with  "Cause I need this shit like I need another hole in my head," she's got the attitude of punk, and isn't punk really more of an attitude? You can listen to "New Ways to Fail" below. Years , the new album from Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, will be out April 6 on Bloodshot Records. You can pre-order your copy here . For more information on the band, check out their website . Tour dates are below the song. 4/6 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle w/ Spider B...

Photo via Facebook The latest single from Glasgow's Jess Allardice will sneakily become one of your favorites. She calls her music alt-jazz, and I'd say she's spot on. "Sunday Blue" starts off in the vein of Norah Jones and Adele. Neither one of them is my favorite, so I'll implore you to stick with it a bit longer than you might normally. An odd thing happens as you listen to it: You'll very slowly get sucked in. Allardice chooses some slightly odd instruments to pop in at unexpected times. What could have been your standard song that gets played in the background at Starbucks instead becomes this surprisingly captivating song that you'll need to hear again as soon as it's finished. Her sound is far more mature than her young age of 22. You can listen to "Sunday Blue" below via Spotify. For more on Jess Allardice, be sure to check her out on Facebook . 

I've only made it out to the Freshgrass Festival once, way back in 2012, but it looks like I'm going to have to get out there again this year since their always great line up is extra fantastic this year! Set on the grounds of Mass MoCA, which is one of my favorite museums around, Freshgrass is a niche festival specializing in bluegrass and roots music, but definitely pushing the boundaries of what is considered either. The festival features such If It's Too Loud... approved artists like Trampled By Turtles, Yonder Mountain String Band, Rhiannon Giddens, Steep Canyon Rangers, Alison Brown, Della Mae, Molly Tuttle (performing with Keith Little), and Leyla McCalla, who I discovered at Freshgrass 2012. One of the headliners are the absolutely legendary Indigo Girls, who I normally wouldn't see on my own but I'm thrilled to have the chance. Plus, they have artists they haven't announced yet, which doesn't seem possible. Besides just music, the festival feature...

We're back with Friday Freebie, a collection of free music downloads we've recently discovered. We have four truly great groups of offerings for you, and I think you'll all agree and love them all. As always, if you do download these releases for free, be sure to at least track them down on social media and give them a follow. New Aura - New Aura Hailing from Boston, New Aura have recently released their debut self-titled EP. We noticed them since they share at least one member of another of our Boston favorites, The Magic Shoppe. While they share a psychedelic sound with The Magic Shoppe, they have a self-described sound that is a throwback to "...   the old 'Bosstown' sounds that dominated the city's radio waves in the late 60's and 70's." What's great about them is they're psychedelic without being weighed down by the hippie label, and they're not part of the hard rock leaning psychedelic sound you hear a lot of in modern mu...

It's been almost a year since we've heard from the UK's Bad Breeding. Luckily, they release a new EP next month, and we can listen to the first single, "Abandonment."  It probably comes to no surprise to anyone familiar with Bad Breeding that "Abandonment" is loud. Really loud. It's an incredibly fast and intense mix of punk and metal that is pure chaos and noise. "Abandonment" is two minutes and thirty seconds long, although it feels much longer... and I love the song. Anything from Bad Breeding will split the audience into two camps: Those that love it and those that can't stand the noise. There will be no one in the middle. You can listen to "Abandonment" below. The Abandonment EP will be released on April 27 via One Little Indian Records. It can be pre-ordered here . For more on Bad Breeding, check them out on Facebook .

Buenos Aires isn't known as a hub of the alt-country movement, at least to us. Singer/songwriter Josefina originally hails from there, but now calls Chicago home. Last month she released her debut album, Starry Dome . It's a seven song collection of upbeat, sunny songs that dabble in pop while being based in alt-country. She's more akin to Nikki Lane or Tristen than Lydia Loveless or Drive-By Truckers. In fact, to expand on the Tristen comparison, she lies in between Charlatans at the Gate and Caves  era Tristen.  The album opens with "I'll Soon Be Walking," which starts off with some Beach Boys style vocals, but quickly goes into the bouncy alt-country that characterizes the rest of the album. "Run, Cowboy, Run" is my favorite track, with a slightly more laid back vibe but some great attitude infused throughout. I'll be honest with this one: On my very first listen of Starry Dome , I wasn't completely won over. It was good and enjoyable,...

I'm having the hardest time describing the newest song from Australia's Gabriella Cohen. The only word I can think of using is "cool." "Baby" has this amazing groove throughout. Cohen has crafted this amazing pop rock song, leaning more heavily on the rock side. Her voice has this great 90's slacker vibe in the style of Evan Dando and Courtney Barnett. It includes an almost ska guitar throughout, and is just this super chilled out song reminiscent of a less jokey Pavement. Plus, it's a positive, upbeat song about heartache, so we're pretty sure you'll become as obsessed with it as we are. (Not to spoil it for you, but it has one of the greatest false endings of all time, one of my personal favorite elements in a song.) You can watch the video for "Baby" below. Gabriella Cohen's new album, Pink Is the Colour of Unconditional Love , will be out June 1 on Captured Tracks. You can pre-order it here . For more on Gabriella Cohe...

Hotel Ten Eyes are the rare band I wanted to see before I heard any of their music. The band first formed in December, and four months later embarked on their first tour. When I first became aware of them, they were a Nashville based four piece featuring Joe Fletcher and Ron Gallo, who are two of my recent favorites. Once I saw they were playing the ultra tiny Fort Foreclosure in Warren, RI, I knew I had to go. The first thing I noticed when Hotel Ten Eyes took the stage was that Ron Gallo wasn't with them, and they are now a three piece and Ron Gallo wasn't with them. (Their Facebook about section states that the band is "Joe Fletcher + a revolving cast of wandering spirits.") It was a bit disappointing, but I do really enjoy Joe Fletcher so I quickly got over it. For this outing, Hotel Ten Eyes was Fletcher, Scott Pittman (who has played drums with Fletcher in the past), and Annie Dolan on bass. Fletcher made the right call by choosing a side project name for Ho...

Album of the Week : Artist : The Decemberists Album : I'll Be Your Girl Quick Description : New album from the veteran act. Why You Should Listen : It will likely be their most divisive listen since The Hazards of Love . Overall Thoughts : The Decemberists are a band that, at this point, are not putting out anything typical or predictable yet always sound like The Decemberists. This is always a difficult thing for bands to do, but Colin Meloy's songwriting always tends to have a poetic, theatrical flair, and the rest of the band fills in the musical gaps nicely. This is a good album, I think - there are moments of levity ("Everything is Awful"), moments to experiment ("Severed") and the result here is an album that will likely split the fanbase again. Especially after how gorgeous a return to form their previous effort was, it's both surprising and not surprising that we received this. Recommendation : Definitely the best of the week, but you ...

Fitchburg, MA's Ditch Mimes aren't the typical music we cover here at If It's Too Loud..., but I feel the need to share this one with you. The duo, both college professors, play insanely loud music that's somewhere between metal and noise punk. Their latest album, Arise! , is a disturbing blast of pure noise and disturbance. The title track careens between these two sounds. Heavy metal riffs and metal growls but with the type of noise and chaos you only get in a band like Lightning Bolt. "Weird With a Beard" combines the crunchy guitars of Helmet with the sludge of The Melvins. "Charnel House" has a heavier Mudhoney feel. Ditch Mimes are perfect for anyone that loves the louder side of noise rock and the artsier side of metal. You can listen to "Arise!" below. You can pick up the album Arise! now at Ditch Mime's Bandcamp . For more on Ditch Mimes, check them out on Facebook . Arise! by Ditch Mimes

Photo by Angelina Castillo for Third Man Records Considering how much I love Margo Price, Bob Dylan, and covers, somehow this one slipped by me for two months. As part of Spotify Singles, Margo Price (who had my 2017 album of the year with All American Made ) has released a cover of Bob Dylan's iconic but possibly overlooked "Most Likely You Go Your Way." Price keeps Dylan's classic ramblin' style for the song, but injects just enough of her own vintage, shiny classic country into it to make it her own. It's quite literally the perfect kind of cover: Not an imitation and doing the song in your own style, but keeping enough of the original so that it's still recognizable as the original. You can listen to Margo Price's version of "Most Likely You Go Your Way" below. For more on Margo Price, check out her website . 

Photo by Luke Awtry We've been loving Clever Girls since we first discovered them last year, and their latest single, "Dumb Smile," solidifies that even more. "Dumb Smile" is a straightforward ballad that defies all ballad rules. It's a laid back song that I'm having an incredibly hard time trying to describe. It's a jangly pop Americana song, like a happy and relaxed early Wilco. But the music drops out in unexpected places and then just barely comes back in for extended periods of time, until it erupts into too brief but absolutely perfect periods of time. It's frustrating and perfect at the same time. You can watch the video for "Dumb Smile" below. Luck , the new album from Clever Girls, will be out on April 2. For more on Clever Girls, check out their website .

Photo via Facebook We all have music that we listened to back in our youth that has lyrics we now consider questionable in our adulthood. There's a lot of rap, punk, and metal that is incredibly homophobic, misogynistic, and just horrifically outdated. Luckily for pop punk fans, there is now Toronto's Talk Show Host. "I Hate Men (I Hate All Men)" is what happens when pop punk gets woke. The mostly male song is sung from the perspective of shitty guys and their attitude towards the world that isn't them. With lyrics like "I won't step to the side or give up my seat" and "I won't listen to reason or change my opinion" the song focuses on the smaller, inconsiderate but crappy things men tend to do. Towards the end, lyrically duties are taken over by a woman for her response. The song was called "the most cuck" by a Reddit user, which the band is very proud of. You can watch the video for "I Hate Men (I Hate All M...

Too much of throwback, old school country feels the need to be hokey. It's less of a musical style than a costume or gimmick. This is why Chicago via Missouri's Jodee Lewis is such a refreshing artist. With her new single, "It Ain't Killed Me Yet," she's not rewriting the script for a great old time country song. She's not trying to sound old fashioned or dirty it up. If anything, "It Ain't Killed Me Yet" has a sheen to its sound. But it's the lack of gimmick that makes it feel unique and vital. It's like a Dolly Parton or Dusty Springfield song from the 70's if they weren't trying to be pop. You can listen to "It Ain't Killed Me Yet" below. Buzzard's Bluff , the new album from Jodee Lewis, will be out on April 6. For more on Jodee Lewis check out her website . Tour dates are below the song. It Ain't Killed Me Yet by Jodee Lewis 3/9/18 House Concert St. Charles, MO 3/10/18 The Bridge Jefferson City...

Photo by Sasha Lytvyn For an MC Paul Barman fan who had lost track of what he had been up to, the past four months have been a cornucopia. We finally have word of a new MC Paul Barman album, and with it, the ?uestlove produced title track. "(((echo chamber)))" seems more like a traditional MC Paul Barman song than "(((leapfrog)))" did. It starts off incredibly quietly. The first few seconds have literally no sound, and it starts off so gradually that you might not realize it at first. Barman's first verse is more spoken word than rap. It bleeds into Open Mike Eagle's verse, which bleeds back into MC Paul Barman. There is no real traditional verse/chorus/verse structure and is one of the most refreshingly unique hip hop songs in years. You can listen to "(((echo chamber)))" below. The new MC Paul Barman album, (((echo chamber))) , will be out May 18 on Mello Music Group. You can pre-order you copy on Bandcamp . For more on MC Paul Barman, chec...

A slightly slower new release week. Album of the Week : Artist : Liza Anne Album : Fine But Dying Quick Description : Calling this a pop record feels like it's selling it short. Why You Should Listen : Come for the apt title we can all agree with, stay for the great songs. Overall Thoughts : While the title of this album feels incredibly apt for our times, what is interesting for this is how Liza Anne deftly straddles the poppy and radio-friendly singer-songwriter angle with some interesting choices (such as the blasts of sound in “Paranoia,” a sneaky great song). I feel like if Allison Weiss found a harder edge instead of a synthesizer, it would sound like Liza Anne, but I’m finding this to be one of my favorite recent listens and is likely to battle Lucy Dacus with a lot of my listening time soon. Recommendation : Easily the favorite of the week. Artist : Smerz Album : Have fun Quick Description : An odd, lovely little indie album. Why You Should Listen : You'...