If It's Too Loud...

When Weakened Friends recently announced their huge mega-tour, New York's Nervous Dater was set as the opener. Of course I immediately decided to check them out. If you didn't, then you really need to hurry up. A great starting point is their 2017 release Don't Be a Stranger . It's this beautifully perfect indie rock record. If you're already into Weakened Friends, it will be pretty much impossible for Nervous Dater to not work for you. The bands each have their own sounds, but there is enough overlap to interest you. The album's opener, "Bad Spanish," might have been a frontrunner for song of 2017 if I had known of it. It's all indie rock attitude and distortion, while being settled in a groove with one of the catchiest choruses I've heard in years ("All right, I said, I'll bash your fucking head," if I heard it correctly...). "Pigeon Language" is an indie power ballad, if such a thing can even exist. "Vominos...

I'm not typically one to refer to a band's album as being both more mainstream and their best. I'm a pretty grumpy music fan, and to me more mainstream typically means it's a downgrade in quality. Shake , the latest album from Salem Wolves, shatters my music snob beliefs. Shake is filled with arena ready garage anthems. The opener, "Cindi," is this burst of full force rock aggression but it still keeps an insane amount of melody and it's catchy as hell. "Centipede" almost has a psychedelic feel to it. Almost. "Die Like Dogs" is the closest to a classic Salem Wolves song, and is a fast out of control anthem. Plus, it has "die" in the title. "BDF" might be the song that ends up in commercials some day, and I mean that in the best possible way. You can listen to "Die Like Dogs" below. Shake , the new album from Salem Wolves, is available exclusively on their Bandcamp . For more on Salem Wolves, check out...

Photo by  Ebru Yildiz Comparing Melbourne's Oh Pep! to Tegan and Sara is an obvious choice. Both are female duos that play similar styles of music, but for me it's a more personal connection. The first time I discovered Tegan and Sara was when they opened for Ben Folds at Clark University in 2000 (?). The performance was just them, and I assumed they were more of a folk duo. Sure their songs were poppy, but folk pop. Later when I heard "Walking with a Ghost" I was surprised to find out that they were much more pop than folk. That's where I stand with Oh Pep! I first discovered them at the Green River Festival in 2016. They were playing a more folk based pop sound. I expected this when I heard their new single, "What's the Deal with David?," but the new song is almost pure pop. As I'm not the pop guy of the blog, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I still enjoyed the song. It's upbeat and impossibly catchy, even for the grumpiest o...

When a band is called Summer Magic, August 31 is a strange time to release a new album, especially when your sound mirrors your name. Maybe Kevin Bachmann is a prophet, since here in the northeast we're experiencing some of the hottest days of the year as kids start going back to school. Summer Magic's latest single off the forthcoming Sharks and Other Dangers , "A Certain Little Chord," is more of the summery power pop we loved with "Hey!" The main difference between the two singles is the latest has a darker feel hidden behind the upbeat chorus and keyboards, which makes sense as the song is about a family falling apart. On second thought, maybe "A Certain Little Chord" is the perfect goodbye to summer for everyone. You can listen to "A Certain Little Chord" below. The new album from Summer Magic, Sharks and Other Dangers , will be out August 31. For more on Summer Magic, be sure to follow the band on Facebook .

A much busier week than we've been used to! Artist : Jain Album : Souldier Quick Description : Second album from the French pop singer is better than the first. Why You Should Listen : Jain is odd and unique and fun all at once. Overall Thoughts : I forget how I tripped up on Jain's last album, but she has a very unique style that is very appealing. Her new album is somehow better than her previous efforts, with "Flash (Pointe Noir)" being an instant classic and a song, "Inspecta," that is sampling Inspector Gadget ? I'm in. This is probably my favorite listen of the week, and there are too many fun things going on here to ignore. Recommendation : A solid pop release with a lot going for it. Artist : Whitney Ballen Album : You're a Shooting Star, I'm a Sinking Ship Quick Description : Debut from a new favorite here. Why You Should Listen : Ballen is upping the singer-songwriter game here. Overall Thoughts : Ken and I have both b...

Despite being a fan of Belly since the early 90's, I never got a chance to see them live. They had called it quits before I was really going to shows, so I missed out. I've seen Tanya Donelly a bunch of times, but never Belly. I had to miss the 2016 reunion because of a family vacation. Luckily, it wasn't a one-off tour, so last Thursday I finally got my chance. Belly currently tours in an odd way that works out for them. They don't have an opening act, but instead play two one hour sets with a twenty minute break in between. As much as I love an up and coming opener, can anyone really argue with two hours of Belly? And what a two hour show it was. If you haven't seen Donelly perform live for a while, you forget just how captivating her voice can be. In contrast to Donelly's angelic voice was Gail Greenwood headbanging through her set while playing bass, possibly left over from her time with L7. The band played with a large LED screen behind them, mostly dis...

A musical project from two actresses should be a complete nightmare. When I first heard about The Tenth, the musical project from Taylor Blackwell ( Dolphin Tale 2, Magic City ) and Harley Quinn Smith ( Yoga Hosers , daughter of filmmaker/podcaster Kevin Smith), I didn't think there was any way it could be good. But, somehow it is. It's not Bob Dylan or Radiohead, but their debut EP, Boys We Don't Know , is a blast. Each song is about a different boy (complete with an intro track to explain the backstory). They describe it as bubblegum punk, and that basically describes it perfectly. It's fun, a little bratty, and we're way too old to be enjoying this as much as we are. If you care about the breakdown, Blackwell takes the lead for the first three songs, Smith sings the last, and they both provide backing vocals on the other's songs.  You can listen to "Kyle" below. Boys We Don't Know , the debut EP from The Tenth, is available now for free on B...

Photo by Alanso Cat San Francisco's Callow are self described as "noir folk." While the noir part is spot on, that description is greatly exaggerating the definitions of folk. Their new single, "Always About the Ones Who Have It All" is a dark, organic song that starts off incredibly slowly and slowly builds up intensity. It does seem to alternate between having a more quiet somewhat folk sound and a blustering and crashing noise base. It's like the classic quiet/loud/quiet formula brought to a disturbing extreme. It's the rare song that can make the folkies and noise rock fans satisfied. You can watch the video for "Always About the Ones Who Have It All" below. Mothdust , the new album from Callow, will be out October 19. For more on Callow, be sure to check out their website .

We've been following Weakened Friends for so long we feel almost like proud parents bringing you this news: We finally have a release date for their debut full length album! The Portland, ME trio have released the debut single off the album (besides the already heard and J Mascis featuring "Hate Mail") "Blue Again." Weakened Friends have always specialized in a heavily 90's influenced indie rock, but "Blue Again" just straight up brings the rock. It starts off pretty standard alt-rock based, with Sonia Sturino's voice not quite matching the temp of the song as she she seems to get more desperate and frustrated, until she and the song explode. It's absolutely glorious. You can listen to "Blue Again" below. Weakened Friends's debut album, Common Blah , will be out October 19 on Don Giovanni Records. You can pre-order the album here , including a pretty sweet cd and t-shirt bundle for $24.99. For more on Weakened Friends, che...

Photo by Colin Sussingham & Josie Keefe The new single from New York's Public Practice might be my favorite thing we've brought you in months. "Fate/Glory" brings you the groove of our favorite post punk songs in a very Talking Heads/Gang of Four way. It also has this sense of fun, almost like a disco party is threatening to break out at any moment. There is also the slightest hints of riot grrrl towards the end, in a sense of noise and menace. So if you want your post punk to be both a fun 70's party and somewhat terrifying, you'll need to check out "Fate/Glory." You can listen to "Fate/Glory" below. Public Practice's debut EP, Distance is a Mirror , will be out October 26 on Wharf Cat Records. You can pre-order a copy here . Live dates are below the song. Thu. Aug. 23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Rootop (PopGun 10 Year Anniversary Party) Wed. Sept. 12 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Glove (w/ Bambara) Fri. Oct. 5 - Brooklyn, NY @ Musi...

Photo via Instagram Any time J Mascis releases new music will always be a big deal at If It's Too Loud... November will see the release of Elastic Days , his new solo album. Judging by the first single, "See You At the Movies," Elastic Days  will be exactly what we expect and want in a Mascis solo album. The first single is much prettier than Dinosaur Jr is. Mascis's solo work tends to be calmer and almost folky. "See You At the Movies" is exactly that, and is even almost orchestral in some places. You add in some of Mascis's guitar solos (a more tame version than Dino Jr's thunderous ones), and you've got a classic Mascis solo track. It's a typically great song, but at this point I'd like to see Mascis mix things up a bit. You can listen to "See You At the Movies" below. Elastic Days will be out November 9 on Sub Pop Records. There are some pretty reasonable pre-order bundles available, including a CD and t-shirt for $24....

Photo by Jason Quigley Black Belt Eagle Scout is the stage name of Portland based Katherine Paul. According to the press release, she is an indigenous queer musician, which definitely flavors her music. "Soft Stud," the first single from her debut album, combines elements you don't normally pair together. It starts off with this crunching guitar riff normally associated with some form of guitar rock. But when Paul's voice kicks in with her light and melodic feel, you know the song won't be what you thought it was going to be. The explosion that was promised at the beginning never comes, and instead you get a lovely mid-tempo song complete with harmony and keys that's more Colleen Green than The Hives. You can listen to "Soft Stud" below. Mother of My Children , the debut album from Black Belt Eagle Scout, will be released on September 14 via Saddle Creek. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on Black Belt Eagle Scout, check her website ...

Is summer over yet? Album of the Week : Artist : Still Corners Album : Slow Air Quick Description : Dark, synthy, poppy goodness. Why You Should Listen : This album sounds so unique and out of nowhere... Overall Thoughts : I heard "Black Lagoon" early on and fell in love with it, so the fact that we get an album is awesome. It more than exceeded my expectations: it's a dark album without feeling brooding, it has an atmosphere all its own. I'm shocked at how great this ended up being, and I think people who have an affinity for gothy-ish stuff from the 1980s will find a lot to like here. Recommendation : Easily my favorite this week. Artist : Mitski Album : Be the Cowboy Quick Description : New album from the popular indie musician. Why You Should Listen : Mitski is making some of the most critically-acclaimed indie music going. Overall Thoughts : If Puberty 2 was Mitski’s coming out party, Cowboy is the culmination of all the pieces coming together...

Mavis Staples at the 2014 Newport Folk Festival Photo by Ken Sears I've seen Mavis Staples twice so far, but each time was at the Newport Folk Festival. Until this past Thursday, I had yet to see her own show, mainly since I'm fairly cheap when it comes to concert tickets. This is the beauty of the Prescott Park Arts Festival: You can see a legendary artist like Mavis Staples for $8.00. The thing I noticed most about this particular Mavis Staples performance was that it was much more rockin' than I had expected. She chose to stick to much more upbeat and uplifting songs than previous times I had seen her. The quietest song she played was "You Are Not Alone," from her collaboration with Jeff Tweedy. A noteworthy song that was missing from the setlist was "The Weight," which I had assumed she always played. The evening of rock/soul/funk included three fantastic covers: Talking Head's "Slippery People," Funkadelic's "Can You Get...

My fervor for Salem Wolves has been fairly well documented here at If It's Too Loud..., and based on their new single "Shake," that won't be abating any time soon. "Shake" takes their amped up almost ready for stadiums garage rock and cranks it up a few notches. It's loud, and starts off very reminiscent of MC5's "American Ruse." That quickly goes away, and it becomes a song all its own. "Shake" is a fast, loud rocker with tons of noise and some stutters while it plows forward, stopping for nothing. It's also somehow the most accessible thing Salem Wolves have released so far. You can listen to "Shake" below. The new album from Salem Wolves, also called Shake , will be out August 25. You can pre-order your copy on Bandcamp . For more on Salem Wolves, check out their website . If you're in the Boston area, you can see them live on August 23 at O'Brien's Pub and September 15 at Brighton Music Hall. ...

I should preface this by saying that there are a handful of albums that kind of define my love for music, and this is one of them. It's probably not entirely correct to call this album "forgotten," per se, since there are certain songs like "Bang On" that soundtracked movies for close to a decade after this album was released. But when it came out in 1998, it was the height of the whole "electronica" thing in the United States, and while acts like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers were hitting it big, purer electronic acts like Orbital weren't getting quite a foothold and the sort of DJ/producer culture wasn't quite resonating the same way. Then came this album. I'm sure it was "History Repeating" that got my attention, since I've always loved Bond themes and Shirley Bassey is a legend and this song is incredible in its own right. But what sets Decksanddrumsandrockandroll apart is just the whole package effortlessl...

Photo by Ben O'Connor Despite breaking the internationally recognized rule that only Prince could use letters as words in song titles, Australia's The Goon Sax's new single is pretty great. "Make Time 4 Love" continues the new fangled Australian trend of throwing back to the 90's for inspiration. This time they go back to '97/'98 when bands were throwing back to the 60's and having a groovy/crooner feel to their songs. Singer Louis Forster (To make you feel old, he's the son of Robert Forster of The Go-Betweens) isn't exactly a crooner, but it gives the song a fun, indie vibe. The song is mostly a fairly sparse groovy indie song, except for the use of horns towards to end to help flesh out the song. It's a fun sound, bordering on quirky without quite going over the edge. You can watch the video for "Make Time 4 Love" below. We're Not Talking , the new album from The Goon Sax, will be out September 14 on Wichita Recor...

Photo by Cinque Mubarak Hopefully you remember when we brought you the haunting, Poe inspired single from Baeilou, "Eleanora." Mia Pixley and her cello Baeilou are back with another single, "Mourning Mantra." The new single seems much more straightforward neo-Americana than the previous one. It's very minimal, and a cello is going to sound a bit out of place in any rock/folk song. But "Mourning Mantra," despite it's tempo changes, is a pretty upbeat pop cello song... for the first minute and a half. After that, the mood shifts dramatically. The song becomes more moody and beautiful, and even when the pace picks back up, it is much more classical than it was previously. You can listen to "Mourning Mantra" below. Baeilou's upcoming EP, Inside Under , will be out August 24. For more on Baeilou, check out the artist's website  and Facebook .

When I first heard about The Town & City Festival happening in Lowell, MA, I assumed it would be limited to local Lowell area bands, and maybe a Boston band or two with Lowell ties. "A Fall Celebration of Music and Art in Lowell" just gives off a local vibe. When the line up was announced yesterday, to say I was pleasantly surprised would be a huge understatement. There are some local artists playing (Arlen, D-Tension) but there are some huge favorites of ours, also. Playing are "new" favorites like Kingsley Flood and Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. But somehow the festival are legends Edo G, Damon and Naomi, and Kristin Hersh (!?!?!?!?!!!). And they are throwing in a bunch of artists that we always see listed and mean to check out but never quite get around to it (Abbie Barrett, Analog Heart, Frank Morey, Oldsoul). Of course, there are more to be announced, but you can check out the current line up on the poster to the left. The Town and The C...

Some great ones this week. Album of the Week : Artist : Bear Grass Album : LEFT Quick Description : Gorgeous and compelling indie folk. Why You Should Listen : It's reminiscent of so many things, yet exists as its own unique album. Overall Thoughts : Wow. I had never heard of this band coming in, but I was intrigued through song one and in love by the end of the second. This album is a weird hit of mid-2000s indie with some folk rock elements and a really fragile-sounding structure that I fell for over and over again. I told Ken how much I liked it early on, and he told me that he nearly presented it as “guaranteed to be in your 2018 top 10,” and… well, he might not be wrong. Recommendation : An amazing album seemingly out of nowhere, and definitely one of the best of the year. Artist : The Beths Album : Future Me Hates Me Quick Description : Debut album from a favorite here. Why You Should Listen : This is probably the indie rock album of the summer. Overall T...

Photo via Twitter Last month we were thrilled to share a new single from the recently exhumed Jack Drag. "Little Lies" seemed to lean a bit more towards John Dragonetti's work with The Submarines than his earlier work with Jack Drag, but we were still thrilled to have Jack Drag back. Now we have a second single, "Hope Revisited." The new single is still poppier than Jack Drag's 90's output, but considering a lot of that were four track home recordings, it's too be expected. "Hope Revisited" has some of the slightly off kilter arrangements I love about Jack Drag. Sure, it's a pop song, but just barely. The these odd driving verses with lines that seem to just run on into each other with virtually no breaks until you hit the chorus, which stops dead just as it starts. Even though it's largely electronic, something about the song feels organic, earning it the moniker "sci-fi folk." You can listen to "Hope Revisit...

Kings of Spade will not sound the way you think they sound. First, look at the band picture to the left. Now, realize that they are from Hawaii. To make things even stranger, their upcoming album was produced by Dave Cobb, a well known Nashville producer. I'm sure even though none of these things match up, you have a general idea of their sound, right? Did you picture a 70's soul fueled barrage of party ready funk with plenty of falsetto vocals? Nope, I didn't think so. I guess the singer has a mohawk and there are some elements of ska in the guitars sometimes? And it does have more of a rock element than top 40 or R&B. But that's about as close as you'll get to what you expected. The chorus is absurdly catchy, and could very well break out into a big enough hit that we're all embarrassed we ever liked it. You can watch the video for "Way She Goes" below. Kings of Spade's self titled album will be out on October 19 on Soundly. For more on...

Photo by Shervin Lainez We've both been huge fans of both of Big Thief's albums, so we're pretty excited that Adrianne Lenker is proving to be absurdly prolific and is releasing a solo album this year. "cradle" is the first single off of her solo album, and it's what I had expected in the best possible way. Big Thief's music isn't exactly hard rock, but it's definitely rock with some fantastic guitar flurries. "cradle" is decidedly more quiet and introspective. Lenker's vocals are barely a whisper above a barely plucked guitar. Harmonizing background vocalization fills out the song to give it not quite a lush sound, but definitely a fuller sound.  You can listen to "cradle" below. abysskiss , the new solo album from Adrianne Lenker, will be out October 5 on Saddle Creek. You can pre-order your copy here . For more on Adrianne Lenker, check out her website . abysskiss by Adrianne Lenker

Sometimes you just want a big, dumb loud rock song. London's Thee MVPs seem to understand that need, and they have delivered with "American Dreamin.'" It has everything you want in a loud garage rock anthem. There isn't a shred of harmony or singing in the vocals. Virtually everything is shouted. It has a loud, plodding beat that seems to hiccup itself along. The guitar trails along in a noisy squall almost the entire way through, with just enough noodling during the solo to make it fun. "American Dreamin'" isn't high art, but sometimes rock shouldn't be. It should just be rock. You can watch the video for "American Dreamin'" below. You can get the single via your favorite platform here . For more on Thee MVPs, check them out on Facebook and Twitter .