We've been very high on Stella Donnelly for a while now. The Australian artist hit the whole Americana meets alt-rock sound that we can't seem to get enough of on her 2019 album Beware of Dogs. Her previous single, "Lungs," went a little more into the world of pop, but "Flood" sees Donnelly back to what we learned about her music. This new song is a little more singer/songwriter than Americana. It's fairly straightforward, but Donnelly makes it captivating with her natural charm. Plus, it's not exactly a fully straightforward alt-rock singer/songwriter track as there is still an odd use of synths that give it kind of a 1950's space age sound at times. This is a fascinating and compelling song that has us even more excited for Donnelly's upcoming album.
Stella Donnelly says of her new song:
"This song feels like a sad little adventure. I wrote it in the dark depths of a Melbourne winter lockdown where it had been raining for consecutive weeks. Everyone around me was falling into their own version of depression at different times. It felt like a flood of trauma yet at the same time, we were given an opportunity of time to work through stuff that we’d been distracting ourselves with for so long prior to the pandemic."
You can watch the video for "Flood" below. Flood is due out August 26 on Secretly Canadian, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on Stella Donnelly, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Mon. Jun. 27 - Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli Vrendenburg * Tue. Jun. 28 - Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli Vrendenburg * Thu. Jun. 30 - Berlin, DE @ Verti Music Hall * Sun. Jul. 3 - Six-Fours-les-Plages, FR @ Pointu Festival Thur. Jul. 7 - Biscay, ES @ BBK Bilbao Festival Sat. Jul. 23 - Byron Bay, AU @ Splendour In The Grass Sun. Sept. 11 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah Mon. Sept. 12 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Tue. Sept. 13 - San Francisco, CA @ Independent Thu. Sept. 15 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Fri. Sept. 16 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret Sat. Sept. 17 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos Wed. Sept. 21 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe Thu. Sept. 22 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall Fri. Sept. 23 - Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary Sat. Sept. 24 - Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall Mon. Sept. 26 - Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom Wed. Sept. 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Fri. Sept. 30 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live Sat. Oct. 1 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd Tue. Nov. 1 - Leeds, UK @ Wardrobe Wed. Nov. 2 - Glasgow @ Mono Thu. Nov. 3 - Manchester @ Band On The Wall Fri. Nov. 4 - Dublin, IE @ Whelan's Sun. Nov. 6 - Liverpool, UK @ Zanzibar Tue. Nov. 8 Nottingham, UK @ Metronome Wed. Nov. 9 - Bristol, UK @ Thekla Thu. Nov. 10 - London, UK @ Electric Brixton Sat. Nov. 12 - Cardiff, UK @ The Gate Sun. Nov. 13 - Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds Mon. Nov. 14 - Brighton, UK @ Komedia Wed. Nov. 16 - Paris, FR @ FMR Thu. Nov. 17 - Cologne, DE @ Artheatre Fri. Nov. 18 - Brussels, BE @ Rotonde - Botanique Sat. Nov. 19 - Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet Mon. Nov. 21 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Skybar Tue. Nov. 22 - Copenhagen, DK @ Hotel Cecil Thu. Nov. 24 - Berlin, DE @ Badehaus Fri. Nov. 25 - Munich, DE @ Strom ! * w/ Mitski ! w/ Julia Jacklin
Photo by Alexa Viscius This may be Liam Kazar's debut single, but the Chicago based musician already has an impressive resume, having worked with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and others. "Shoes Too Tight" features childhood friend Spencer Tweedy on drums, Lane Beckstrom on bass, and Ohmme on vocals. It's an absurdly fun and groovy little song that is a party waiting to happen. What he gives us here is a timeless song that could truly have been released any time since the 1960's (ok... maybe not the 80's...) There are elements of classic rock, 60's crooners and R&B, indie rock, modern Americana... it's really just packed with everything in a cohesive song that maintains the vibe the entire way through. You can watch the video for "Shoes Too Tight" below. For more on Liam Kazar, check him out on Instagram and Twitter . He's also raising money on his Bandcamp for Constellation and The Hungry Brain. ...
Photo by Joanna Chattman I've been referring to Northampton, MA based Izzy Heltai's music as mainstream modern folk with just enough of a unique spin to keep it appealing to music snobs, too. His latest single, "Father," might be the perfect example of that. It's a quiet, deeply personal song that starts off painfully sparse but ever so slowly builds and builds as it goes on. It walks that line between accessible/mainstream and indie expertly. You can watch the video for "Father" below. Father , the upcoming debut album from Izzy Heltai, will be out October 9. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Izzy Heltai, check out the artist's website .
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....
