Vancouver's Kaleah Lee has a new single out that could blow fans of folk music away. "What Are You So Afraid Of?" is a gorgeous and lush yet stripped down slice of folk-pop. It's barely more than Lee and a guitar (at least at the beginning), but the artist proves she doesn't need much else to make a perfectly captivating single. "What Are You Afraid Of?" is intimate in the best possible way, almost like your best friend is letting you in on a secret they only trust you with. At the end, the song has slowly transformed into almost a dream pop song without losing any of the folk you fell in love with.
Kaleah Lee says of her new single:
"I’m an anxious person and often catch myself in scenarios where fear is the one thing holding me back. To, for once, be on the other side of that feeling, being able to find something worth throwing caution to the wind for, was very eye-opening. Questioning someone else's fears, even questioning my own, shed light on how fear creeps up and holds us back. Writing and producing this song signified an early step in a new personal direction I’m excited to share and cherish forever."
You can listen to "What Are You So Afraid Of?" below. For more on Kaleah Lee, check out the artist on Instagram and Twitter.
We've been going pretty nuts about the singles for McKinley Dixon's upcoming album due out tomorrow (June 6). We didn't think we could get more excited for it, and then Dixon went out and released the title track, and we're completely blown away. "Magic, Alive!" is one of the most exciting tracks of the year. It's a pure hip hop track, but it doesn't sound like any hip hop song I've heard before. It's a high energy song based in jazz, but with an attitude more like indie rock and punk. "Magic, Alive!" shows Dixon moving the genre forward, whether or not the mainstream wants it to. This is a giant hip hop track, and I can almost guarantee that even those that refuse to enjoy hip hop are going to like this one. Buckle up, because you're about to hear a strong song of the year contender from an album of the year favorite.
McKinley Dixon says of his latest single and video:
"‘Magic, Alive!’ is me telling the audience what the record means. To run, to dance, to survive. It’s the ending of the record while in some ways serving as the beginning for the character. Just because that tale is over, the sun is still there. At the end of the day, at the end of your story, do you feel the love? Do you feel the magic?
"The video portrays me as sort of a mad scientist creating the entity that is ‘Magic, Alive!’ Making it a sentient thing that is formed through the intersection of magic, science and music with no other connection, to me, adds a fun layer of lore that doesn’t require much explanation! The video, and song itself, is a reminder to have fun, even if the world is closing in.”
You can watch the video for "Magic, Alive!" below. Magic, Alive! is due out June 6 on City Slang, and is available for pre-order here. For more on McKinley Dixon, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include a September 9 date at Warehouse XI in Somerville, MA.
Fri. Aug. 1 - Los Angeles, CA @ Permanent Records Roadhouse Sat. Aug. 2 - San Francisco, CA @ Brick and Mortar Music Hall Fri. Aug. 8 - Portland, OR @ The Jack London Revue Sat. Aug. 9 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza Wed. Sept. 3 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry Thu. Sept. 4 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern Sat. Sept. 6 - Toronto, ON @ Sound Garage Mon. Sept. 8 - Montreal, QC @ La Sotterenea Tue. Sept. 9 - Boston, MA, @ Warehouse XI Thu. Sept. 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere: Zone One Fri. Sept. 12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Cambridge Hall: Warehouse on Watts (WOW) Sat. Sept. 13 - Richmond, VA @ TBD Tue. Sept. 16 - Washington, DC @ Pearl Street Warehouse Fri. Sept. 19 - Milwaukee, WI @ Falcon Bowl Thu. Oct. 16 - Dublin, IE @ The Workman’s Cellar Fri. Oct. 17 - Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint Sat. Oct. 18 - Manchester, UK @ YES Sun. Oct. 19 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol Tue. Oct. 21 - London, UK @ The Lexington Wed. Oct. 22 - Paris, FR @ Le Pop-up du Label Thu. Oct. 23 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix Cafe Fri. Oct. 24 - Cologne, DE @ Veedel Club Mon. Oct. 27 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tue. Oct. 28 - Hamburg, DE @ Knust Thu. Oct. 30 - Stockholm, SE @ Bar Brooklyn Fri. Oct. 31 - Copenhagen, DK @ Vega (Ideal Bar) Sat. Nov. 1 - Berlin, DE @ Kantine am Berghain
The latest single from Mae Powell is going to be a must listen for everyone. "Tangerine" is the perfect song to listen to as we finally enter warm weather in New England and are looking forward to summer finally arriving. The song is a little bit jazz, a little bit pop, a little bit soul, and a little bit folk. The warmth of Powell's voice is the highlight of "Tangerine." She pulls you completely in and takes up all of your attention the moment she starts singing, and you kind of want it to never end. Powell borrows from so many genres to create her sound that the end result is a song that should be universally loved by any true music fan.
Mae Powell says of her latest single:
"I wrote 'Tangerine' as a testament to my squishy heart. This idea of a tender heart being akin to a fruit getting smushed in the bottom of a bag, making a mess but also making everything smell really good. I will always be an advocate for living with your heart on your sleeve, telling the ones around you that you love them, because we never know how things might change. I'm also looking for the balance between open heartedness and boundaries that can also serve as an act of self-love and care.
"We were channeling Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline on the day we recorded 'Tangerine,' a beautiful sunny day on Vancouver Island. We all wore sunglasses and drank whiskey while we were tracking this one, and after Sam (Jones) tracked drums, he and David (Parry) baked a pie. Garrett (Barley) rips the electric guitar and the Hammond organ in this one. It feels like a summer day and the drum-fill into the organ set the stage, sonically and thematically, for the whole album."
You can listen to "Tangerine" below. Making Room for the Light is due out August 15 on Colemine Records/Karma Chief Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Mae Powell, check out the artist on Instagram.
Teethe, the Texas based Southern slowcore band, is back with a new single. "Holy Water" is filled with a giant noise that is almost shoegaze but not quite. It maneuvers between loud and quiet expertly, with the more quiet parts going into a more pop category than you would expect. And then the wall of noise comes in, threatening to obliterate everything in its path. The only thing stopping it is Madeline Dowd's vocals, which keep a sense of pop going throughout the song. "Holy Water" cycles what could have been four separate songs during its three and a half minutes, but Teethe keep everything sounding like a cohesive song that flows together perfectly. Plus, the song features pedal steel from Xandy Chelmis of Wednesday and MJ Lenderman.
You can watch the video for "Holy Water" below. Magic of the Sale is due out August 8 on Winspear. For more on Teethe, check out the band on Instagram and Bandcamp. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include a December 7 show at Brighton Music Hall in Allston.
09/05 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
09/06 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
09/07 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
09/09 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
09/10 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza
09/12 - Boise, ID @ Shrine Basement
09/13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
09/14 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
10/16 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
Hailing from Chico, CA, The Wind-Ups have a perfect single for fans of garage rock and punk. "(That's Just My) Dream Girl" sounds like a lo-fi version of when the Ramones would cover a classic song from the 60's. The song's rough and abrasive edge helps it from becoming too saccharine, which wouldn't be a bad thing with a song like this. It kind of sounds like the Ramones covered ? and the Mysterians and then ? and the Mysterians covered their cover. For those of us (probably overly) obsessed with vintage style garage rock, "(That's Just My) Dream Girl" is going to sound like heaven.
You can listen to "(That's Just My) Dream Girl" below. Confection is due out July 11 on Dandy Boy Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on The Wind-Ups, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram.
S.G. Goodman's upcoming album is predominantly about grief and reconciliation. Of all the singles we've heard from Planting by the Signs so far, "Michael Told Me" might be the song that fits the theme the best. Goodman and her longtime collaborator Matt Rowan had a falling out due to how difficult touring can be. The two friends went two years without talking. Then, while Goodman was on tour, she discovered her father figure and mentor had died in a freak accident. That led to her reconciliation with Rowan, which led to the creation of her upcoming album.
"Michael Told Me" is dripping with pain and heartache. The song fits more into the alt-rock side of Goodman's music, and it's painfully haunting. The raw emotion in "Michael Told Me" reminds me of classics from Tori Amos and Jeff Buckley. The song is one of the most beautiful I've heard in a while, but there is a herculean amount of pain behind that beauty. This one is a must listen, and shows why Goodman is such a beloved artist of ours.
You can watch the video for "Michael Told Me" below. Planting by the Signs is due out June 20 on Slough Water Records/Thirty Tigers, and is available for pre-order here. For more on S.G. Goodman, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include a November 1 show at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA and a November 2 date at Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA.
6/27 - Lexington, KY - The Burl (w/ Secular Pets)
6/28 - Lexington, KY - The Burl (w/ Nick Harley)
7/5 - Duluth, MN - Bayfront Festival Park “
8/7 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE ^
8/8 - Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live! ^
8/9 - Rochester Hills, MI - Meadow Brook Amphitheatre ^
8/23 - Falkenberg, Sweden - Rootsy Summer Fest
8/24 - Stockholm, Sweden - Stockholm Roots
8/26 - Oslo, Norway - Belleville
8/28–8/29 - Tønder, Denmark - Tønder Festival
8/31 - Den Haag, Netherlands - Once In A Blue Moon Festival
The Ghouls were the winners of the 2024 Rock and Roll Rumble, and have blown me away every time I've seen them play live. Last Friday the Lowell heroes released their debut album, Handle With Care, and the question I had is if they'd be able to capture their live energy on a studio album, and the answer is a huge yes.
The Ghouls have a fantastic ramshackle energy to their live show. It's that 90's style attitude where you don't care if there as mistakes, or if it goes well, just as long as they and their friends have fun. The album starts off with "Pocket of Gold," I song I instantly remembered from their live show. It lands in this perfect area between alt-rock and punk, and as rock based as The Ghouls' songs are, they're as catchy and well crafted as anything currently on the Top 40 charts. "Lovestruck" is an alt-rock mid-tempo crooner with a vibe that incorporates some 1960's love songs. "Hellbound" is a favorite of their live shows that usually gets some moshing going, and as soon as it starts you'll understand why. If I'm going to compare Handle With Care to other bands it would be Green Day meets Fountains of Wayne. This is a great one that's going to be in heavy rotation at if It's Too Loud... global headquarters for a while.
George Danahy (vocals/guitar) says of his band's new album:
“I hope this record is universal for the listener. I hope it is an album they choose to listen to while working out, while driving, on amazing days, and on awful days. Handle With Care reflects how young our band is in the grand scheme of things, in a positive way. There are many wildly different sounding tracks on this record, yet all of them still sound like they come from us. It all still feels cohesive.”
You can listen to Handle With Care below. The album is available for purchase via Bandcamp. For more on The Ghouls, check out the band on Instagram.
It's been a few years since we've brought you new music from Kid Gulliver, but the Boston band is back with a new single. "24 Hours" is everything we've always loved from Kid Gulliver. It's an amped up power pop single that's almost impossibly catchy and sugary sweet. It has all of the sweetness of 60's power pop like The Archies mixed with some of the edge of 90's power pop like Letters to Cleo. As catchy and fun as the lyrics and Simone Berk's vocals are, the song really shines during instrumental parts, especially when the guitar and drums are truly set loose. When the guitar solos kick in, "24 Hours" adds in some Cheap Trick style showmanship to their classic power pop sound.
You can listen to "24 Hours" below. For more on Kid Gulliver, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram.
Midnight Peg are an Edmonton, AB based band that are referred to as "madhouse punk." Their latest single, "Thirstland," is a just barely under control two minute burst of punk. You have guitar riffs that will make you think of At the Drive In, and somewhat spoken and yelled vocals which create a feeling of chaos throughout. This is a loud and angry track that is completely in your face. But, unlike most tracks this loud and punk based, "Thirstland" still keeps a sense of art in their music. Midnight Peg feel like a higher class of loud, angry punk rock. This one is great, with just enough of an emo undercurrent to make the song kind of melodic and almost palatable to a mainstream audience.
You can listen to "Thirstland" below. Skinning is due out in October on Thousand Island Records. For more on Midnight Peg, check out the artist's website.
Soft Skies Inc, the current musical project of Philadelphia's Ryan and Martin Rex (ex-Lockgroove), has released a new single that's a dream come true. "Sin Some / Lose Some" is going to hit a musical sweet spot for anyone who loves mid-90's power pop. It's a stunning example of power pop meets jangle pop, with fantastic harmonies mixing with jangly and fuzzy guitars. This one sounds like a favorite forgotten song you would have discovered on a sampler CD you picked up from a record store counter in 1996. It's a hazy song that sucks you in as soon as the first guitar notes hit, and pulls you in even deeper once the vocals start. This one is reminding me a lot of artists like Matthew Sweet and The Lemonheads.
Ryan Rex says of his band's latest single:
“More than anything, I want people to find their own meaning in the song. But for me, it’s about the chaos of living a life that’s been off the rails for too long – trying to wrestle control over things that were never really in your hands to begin with. There’s a kind of madness in that.”
You can listen to "Sin Some / Lose Some" below. For more on Soft Skies Inc, check out the artist on Instagram and Facebook.
It's been roughly three years since we last heard from Marissa Nadler. Just last week I was telling a friend that I was most familiar with Stephen Brodsky through his collaborations with Nadler, and today she has announced an upcoming album and released a new single! "New Radiations" is everything we love about Nadler's music. The adjective "ethereal" gets tossed out a lot by music writers, but the term was basically invented to describe Nadler's music. "New Radiations" showcases her fingerpicking guitar playing and her otherworldly vocals. Even an acoustic based song like this one has a layer of haze coating it, and the entire song feels like that bizarre period of sleep when you're just drifting off into a dream but still somewhat awake. "New Radiations" is a raw and intimate work of art that is gorgeous in its own way.
Marissa Nadler says of her latest single:
“Psychic vibrations and new radiations have taken their toll on me,” a sentiment as timely as it is haunting, as she tries to “break the glass, tie up the ending of the scene. My narrator (whether these are first person songs or not really depends on how you want to listen to them) is feeling stuck, depressed, and frozen in a world after a tough few years for the world. Regardless, the ‘psychic vibrations and new radiations’ take their toll. The cosmic darkness we live in creeps into the psyche—but the character reaches clarity. As the song unfolds, the screen shatters, the ice breaks, and a new world begins."
You can watch the video for "New Radiations" below. The album New Radiations is due out August 15 on Sacred Bones and Bella Union, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Marissa Nadler, check out the artist's website.
This week looks like it's going to finally looking like summer in the Boston area, so we're a little more inclined to enjoy a fun pop song than we normally would. According to the press release for Kendra Morris' latest single, "If I Called You" is "A true unapologetic pop song." That's certainly true, but the song still keeps everything we've loved about Morris' more soul based singles. Of course, those singles weren't exactly pure soul either, but "If I Called You" is much more upbeat and pop focused than the previous singles of hers that we've covered. This is a fun song that even the crustiest rock purists are going to be unable to resist.
Kendra Morris says of her latest single:
"I am the ultimate daydreamer. Whenever I’ve had a crush on someone, I welcomed the emotions that go with it. To create a world in my head of all the possibilities with a person that doesn’t even know who I am...it can be the most fun." The whole song, sonically and lyrically, boils down to that one repeating line: "Would you be mine if I called you all the time?"
You can watch the video for "If I Called You" below. The single is out now on Colemine Records/Karma Chief Records. For more on Kendra Morris, check out the artist's website.
I'm the kind of person that will take any excuse to go visit Salem, MA. I love everything about the city, from the history to the kitsch factor to the macabre tourism aspect. Luckily, Witch City has been growing its live music scene, so Saturday night I had a perfect excuse to head in to see Gossip Collar and Ex-Hyena at Koto, and got to discover Identical Palms.
Ex-Hyena opened the show with their darkwave style. Seeing electronic music live isn't always my favorite since so much of it can be pre-programmed, but Ex-Hyena always put on a great show since it's actually done live. They were also the most mellow of the three artists performing, so it helped ease the crowd from finishing up their crab rangoons to watching live music, and Koto slowly filled up during their set. Their new single "Vanishing Edge" was a highlight of their set and helped get the crowd more into dancing at a show mode. Plus, seeing darkwave in Salem just feels right.
I was unfamiliar with Identical Palms before Saturday night, but they quickly won me over. Another killer band from Lowell, they played a set of dark post-punk with an oddly mainstream feel. They kind of sounded like a more modern and rock based version of Echo & The Bunnymen, and continued the dark vibe of the night. The singer (whose name I can't seem to find) is one of the most captivating frontpeople I've seen in such a small venue in a long time. It helped the band exude a natural charisma that sucked in the entire crowd, many of which seemed to have made the trip primarily to see them. If you love dark and somewhat laid back goth tinged post-punk, check out their new-ish album Beyond the Dark.
I first discovered Gossip Collar opening for the Davila 666, Las Nubes, and Ladrones show last fall, and I became a fan of theirs in the first ten seconds of their set. This was my first time seeing them since October, and they did not disappoint. They play a version of post-punk heavy on the punk side. Their live show is intense with the entire band seeming like the songs are about to break free and they're fighting to keep everything under control. It's such a high energy set while still keeping the dark vibe of the night going, and even the most puritanical audience members finally had to break out at least some dance moves. Live Gossip Collar is kind of like if Joy Division and The B-52's decided to jam together, so we're obviously going to be fans.
Indie rock legends Superchunk are back with new music, their first since touring drummer Laura King became an official member. "Is it Making You Feel Something" is exactly what we want from (and love about) Superchunk. It's an upbeat and bouncy indie rock song that shows why they've been considered one of the original emo bands. This song is undeniably catchy and is the style of power pop many of us fell in love with in the 90's, through an indie rock lens. If you already love Superchunk like so many of us do, "Is it Making You Feel Something" might already be your song of the summer.
Singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan says of the band's new single:
“This song is about not second-guessing yourself in the very second-guessable process of writing words and music. It’s about the legitimate question of ‘who needs this and what is it good for?’ but also about not setting such a high bar for making art that you never get started. ‘Is it making you feel something?’ Ok, that’s a place to start.”
You can listen to "Is it Making You Feel Something" below. Songs in the Key of Yikes is due out August 22 on Merge Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Superchunk, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song and include a September 13 show at Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater and 3S Artspace in Portsmouth, NH.
Sep 05 Richmond, VA – Richmond Music Hall
Sep 09 Washington, DC – Black Cat *
Sep 10 Philadelphia, PA – Ardmore Music Hall *
Sep 11 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
Sep 12 Boston, MA – The Crystal Ballroom *
Sep 13 Portsmouth, NH – 3S Artspace *
Sep 14 Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theater *
Sep 16 Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall *
Sep 17 Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop *
Sep 18 Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe *
Sept 19 Sawyer, MI - Out There (Special Acoustic Show)
