If It's Too Loud...

Worcester alt-rock duo Sunday Junkie have released a new single that once again changes up their sound in an intriguing way. "Wasted Embers" is a relatively laid back song that edges the band's sound into power ballad territory. It keeps the post-rock meets prog sound we've come to love from them, just in a quieter, more ballad-esque way. This one is giving us some serious The Mars Volta vibes, and it's hitting this great spot between dissonance and beauty. Plus, it's shockingly catchy, particularly the chorus. Get your lighter out, and crank up "Wasted Embers." You can listen to "Wasted Embers" below. The single is available now on Bandcamp . For more on Sunday Junkie, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook . Wasted Embers by Sunday Junkie

The 2025 winners of Americana Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards are back with a new EP. Last Friday saw Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners release Moonshine & Other Spirits , a collection of three original songs and two covers. The songs that make up the EP are a perfect mixture of rock and country/folk without ever truly choosing one over the other. The opening track, "My Baby's Happy," features Elisa Smith and sounds like the Rolling Stones' experimentations into country while keeping their bluesier sound. "Impossible" sounds like if The Clash went country. The other original track, "Make Me Wanna Dance (Moonshine Shuffle)," gets closer to rockabilly than Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burners have been before. For the covers, the band has gone with "Goin' Down in Style" from Robery Earl Kean and "Whitehouse Road" from Tyler Childers. Any time is a great time to jump on the Kier Byrnes & The Kettle Burn...

Photo by Kat Bean Philadelphia's Poison Ruin have a new song out that's begging to be a punk anthem. What's interesting about "Guts (Lay Your Self Aside)" is that the new song is just about as straightforward as a punk song as you can get, but they've added just the slightest bit of psychedelia to the song. It's a fast and driving song that would make the Ramones proud with it's two and a half minute length. It's bouncy and heavy with hooks that draw you in, but there's just something a little trippy going on in the guitar. It's buzzy, but in a psychedelic way. Poison Ruin have quickly become one of our favorite current punk bands for little changes like this that help keep the genre from becoming stale. You can watch the video for "Guts (Lay Your Self Aside)" below. Hymns from the Hills is due out April 3 on Relapse Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Poison Ruin, check out the band's website . Upcoming...

In what sounds like a dream pairing, ET of Van Buren Records and Haasan Barclay have teamed up for a new project. Bell Biv Barclay is a seven song release that doubles as an homage to fellow Boston greats New Edition, Bell Biv Devoe, and Bobby Brown. The songs have a modern sound and production, and reinterpret the 80's and 90's sound of that trio of artists through a modern lens. It's wildly creative and interesting, but we wouldn't expect anything less from ET and Haasan Barclay. I can't think of another time that anyone has released anything that is this nostalgic while also being this progressive. Bell Biv Barclay is the kind of release that will have you trying to decide between dancing and just listening with your mouth agape. Both are fine choices, and you'll definitely be doing both at various points while listening. By the time you get to "EVEN," this is going to end up one of your favorite listens of the year. ET says of his latest release: “...

Singapore's Gnaw have a new single out that's going to be tough for music writers to describe. "Star" starts off with a burst of dissonance and noise before it evolves into a more melodic and almost poppy song. It does this without losing all of the noise that initially drew you into the song. This is a truly unique blend of sounds that will remind you of some of your favorite 90's alt-rock heroes. It's like a mixture of how early Smashing Pumpkins were both noisy and beautiful, but mixed with the more pop focused sound of The Smashing Pumpkins from the later 90's. "Star" is hooky and catchy with noisy, fuzzed out guitars. In other words, it's exactly the kind of thing we love here at If It's Too Loud...! You can watch the video for "Star" below. Inside a Machine That's Glistening is due out April 10, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Gnaw, check out the band on Instagram .

Photo by Corey Poluk It's been a couple of years since we last heard from Yea-Ming and The Rumours, but now the Bay Area band are back with a new single. "Paper Doll" is an oddly epic indie pop song. The whole song sounds just a little distorted, giving the entire track a very trippy feel. To me it sounds like if The Velvet Underground and Nico tried to make a hit song and came up with this instead. That's not to say that "Paper Doll" sounds like a sixties throwback song, but it also doesn't sound like a song heavily inspired by that decade. San Francisco and the surrounding area has been having a renaissance of modern psych inspired bands lately, and Yea-Ming and The Rumours fit snugly into that sound. You can listen to "Paper Doll" below. Residue is due out on Dandy Boy Records on June 12, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Yea-Ming and The Rumours, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook . Residue by Yea-Ming And The Rum...

Photo by  Sébastien Faits-Divers Miki Berenyi Trio are about to start a UK and Ireland tour, and have released a brand new single. "Island of One" is awash in the lush, gorgeous wall of noise you associate with any shoegaze or dream pop artist. For this one, they've added in some Latin elements to the song, making it upbeat and increasingly catchy. This latest song is especially fun and beautiful, with even the noisier elements carrying much of the beauty of the song. It's also a little more trippy than we normally hear from MB3. Overall, "Island of One" is a fantastic song that will have you going back for more, partly because it's great and partly since more is revealed within the song after repeated listens. Miki Berenyi says of her latest single: “ Island of One  took shape because I became quite obsessed with the track ‘Just A Western’ by Nilüfer Yanya last year, and the Latin-y beat got me inspired. But I wanted a lively, catchy song to add to our ...

MorganEve Swain's musical project The Huntress and Holder of Hands has a new single out, and the truly great news is that it's the first from an upcoming album. "Promethean" is a monster of a song. It may use traditional folk instruments, but I couldn't possibly consider it a folk song. It might be the fact that Swain has repeatedly covered Alice in Chains, but "Promethean" reminds me more of grunge (and particularly Alice in Chains' darker version of the genre) than anything roots or Americana. This is a heavy track that shows the power of more traditional instruments. We've been huge fans of Swain's for well over a decade now, and "Promethean" stands up as one of her best. MorganEve Swain says of her latest single: "As punishment for stealing fire and bettering humanity with technology, Prometheus is doomed to have his liver eaten by an eagle every day. We all benefit from his sacrifice. But whether societally or personally a...

Unfortunately, Woody Guthrie's 1948 song "Deportee" is as timely as it was almost eight decades ago. Eilen Jewell has released a cover of the song, and as great as it is and as much as I want to praise it, the fact that it exists because of the current political climate is far too depressing for that. If this was merely a few years ago, we could look at this as a great cover of a great song, and discuss the historical significance of the song. However, this is 2026 and "Deportee" is once again filled with truth as we look at the state of our country. I'm personally looking forward to when we can once again hear songs like this without shuddering. Eilen Jewell says of her latest single: "I first heard 'Deportee' when I was a teenager. I can't recall which version it was, but I remember I was babysitting a little girl who was about six years old. She put it in the cd player, cranked it up, and started singing along loudly in a sweet and mournf...

Photo by Cat Meade Cape Crush are known for their pop punk/emo sound, which they're phenomenal at. On their latest single, they change that up and might have released the song of the year. "Come Shed Your Light on Me" starts off in a more mellow style. It's kind of like that more mainstream, VH1 style alt-rock from the later 90's. (I know that sounds derogatory, but I promise it's not!) When the more pop punk/emo sound kicks in, it's more along the lines of power pop. "Come Shed Your Light on Me" is an emotional and powerful song along the lines of The Beths and Weakened Friends (two of our favorites around here). Cape Crush have created something magic with this song. We've been fans for a while now, and "Come Shed Your Light on Me" is simply next level. Ai Lipman (vocals and guitar) says of her band's latest single: “‘Come Shed Your Light on Me’ is about my journey of coming to terms with the regret I felt after my mother was ...

Photo by Jinny Park South Korea's Dabda have a new single out, and if you're just discovering them, be prepared to become superfans. "Dear Hope" is a stunning single that is both epic and beautiful. It's just about as large as indie rock can get, and, despite how huge the song is, there are some strong roots in twee. As amazing as the song is when it starts out, at around the two minute mark it takes off into an arena ready powerhouse while keeping everything we loved about it intact. From there "Dear Hope" continues to morph and evolve through multiple stages and sounds. It's like a phenomenal mixture of U2, early Smashing Pumpkins, and Belle and Sebastian. Dabda are going to quickly become a favorite of ours and of yours. Jiae Kim (vocals and guitar) says of the band's latest single: “ Dear Hope  is a song that was built around a single theme— hope —from the very earliest sketches of the track. (Usually we tend to attach a theme later in the pr...

Photo by Alacrity Photography Somehow it's been five years since Big D & The Kids Table have released new music, but the Boston ska-punk lifers are back with "Whiplash." This new single is everything we want from the band. It's a fast and energetic punk song with an abundance of horns. Is it fun? Oh, hell yes it is. This song is a party waiting to happen, and if you went through a ska phase in the 90's, "Whiplash" is a perfect example of what made you fall in love with the genre. While many of their peers have begun to at least slow down a little, Big D & The Kids Table are showing no signs of mellowing out. Crank up "Whiplash" and get reminded of why you originally fell in love with ska-punk. Vocalist David McWane says of the band's latest single: “What would you do if you walked into a room and saw your roommate in bed with your girlfriend?  Well, if you want to know the rest of the story, cue up Whiplash!” You can watch the video...

Photo by Daisy and Tomos Ayscough Since discovering them in 2024, mary in the junkyard have been one of my favorite new artists, and each single they release keeps solidifying that. The London trio's latest, "Crash Landing," continues their foray into the various styles that make up indie rock. The latest is a lush and gorgeous track that's possibly more in the realm of dream pop. It's virtually without the noise that we associate with mary in the junkyard, but when a song is this beautiful, the noise isn't fully missed. That's not to say that "Crash Landing" is noise free. The song has some indie rock feedback lurking in the background, causing an odd sense of foreboding. This latest single is a fantastic new chapter for one of our favorite newer discoveries. You can watch the video for "Crash Landing" below. Role Model Hermit is due out July 3 on AMF Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on mary in the junkyard, chec...

Photo by Kasia Wozniak If you're a lapsed Tori Amos fan, her new single is the perfect place to jump back on. "Shush" has all of the intensity of Amos' music in the 90's. The song reimagines Amos as having married "... a dangerous, power-hungry billionaire" in her past. The song shows off the beauty of her music mixed with anger and sadness. "Shush" seems to be building and building into a sonic explosion that never quite comes. It's great to see that Amos can still be as vital as ever at age sixty-two, and this latest song stands up amongst her entire body of work. Tori Amos says of her latest single: “He represents what we’re dealing with right now. He sees congressmen, senators, and even probably presidents, as people who answer to him and other billionaires, who don’t think you and I should vote. He’s trying to develop the kind of feudal system we had hundreds of years ago. But it doesn’t look like it once did. We don’t look like we’re ...