Deer Tick - "Light Up Reindeer"

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Photo by Richard McCaffrey

The latest from Deer Tick is perfect for the upcoming/current holiday season, but it could also work out for any time of the year. "Light Up Reindeer" is exactly what we love about the Providence band. It merges the worlds of country, folk, and rock into one sound. This one is more of a laid back rock song with flecks of country, and reminds me a lot of Tom Petty's sound. "Light Up Reindeer" is more of a holiday song by title, but I'm still going to sneak it onto a Christmas playlist or two. This is a welcome return from Deer Tick, and shows why they've been a favorite of ours long before we started If It's Too Loud...

Ian O'Neil (guitar/vocals) says of his band's latest single:

"Light Up Reindeer is about the interior conversation you have with yourself when you're trying to talk yourself away from your darkest thoughts. Useless, intrusive thinking puts a distance between the best part of ourselves and the people we love most. I wrote this song up in my son's bedroom. It really came together when I put the cowbell on at the last moment.”

You can listen to "Light Up Reindeer" below. The song is available now on ATO Records. For more on Deer Tick, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song, and include December 29 and 30 at Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, MA and December 31 at Uptown Theater in Providence.


12/29/25 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall

12/30/25 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall

12/31/25 – Providence, RI – Uptown Theater (with Raindogs)

2/21/26 – Tempe, AZ – Innings Festival

On Repeat...

Minibeast - "High Sea"

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Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
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The Beths - "Mother, Pray for Me"

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Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it.   “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
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Midnight Peg - "Thirstland"

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Photo by Cecil Sykes 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 .
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