If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Erick Molina There are a lot of newfangled shoegaze bands out there, but Glixen have quickly become a favorite of ours. The Phoenix based band leans more into the heavy shoegaze side of things, and their latest single sees them adding even more pop into their sound than ever before. "Medicine Bow" is an intense song with the band's trademark pounding guitars and mesmerizing Aislinn Ritchie's vocals, which have never sounded better. It's the vocals that draw pop comparison's for "Medicine Bow," with warmly chaotic instrumentation spinning around everything. The intensity grows and grows as the song progresses, getting more chaotic and somehow more stunning towards the end. Glixen say of their latest single: “It’s a sense of urgency bound to the quiet yearning for self-comfort.  The song drifts between lucidity and a fever dream, where soft vulnerability meets slow-burning decay. The lead and rhythm guitars melt and unmeld in a hypnotic blur, ...

Photo by Stella Feinstein Boston's Cut the Kids in Half are led by brothers Jack and Charlie Silver. The bad have a new single and video out, "Mountains of Green." This new song is a ramblin' sort of alt-country inspired song that leans heavily into the world of indie rock. It starts off a little twangy, but more on the alt-rock side of things. Jack Silver's vocals have a theatricality that matches its gruffness. The indie rock/noisier side of the song pokes its head out every so often, before it takes over with an epic horn-filled burst towards the end. "Mountains of Green" is a slow build single with a fantastic pay off. Cut the Kids in Half have one of the most unique and interesting sounds in Boston, so we're thrilled to be discovering them, and looking forward to where they go next! Frontman Jack Silver says of the band's latest single: “ ‘Mountains of Green’ is a song about desperation. It’s about this all-consuming desire for fame and fort...

It's just starting to get uncomfortably cold here in New England, so we're already starting to look forward to warm temperatures. Plus, warm temperatures means festival season, and Green River Festival has given us something to look forward to in June! Their 2026 edition will take place June 19-21 at Franklin County Fairgrounds with another fantastic line up. The headliners will get the most attention, with the neotraditional country of Charley Crockett, indie rock veterans Spoon, and experimental rockers Geese. We're thrilled for the undercard of this one, with many favorites playing like The Beths, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Wednesday, Lucius, The War and Treaty, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Folk Bitch Trio, Ratboys, Sunny War, Lily Seabird, and Tre Burt! Plus, there's plenty for us to discover in the next eight months as we get ready for the festival! Three day passes for the 2026 Green River Festival are on sale now. For tickets and more information, check out the ...

The last two weeks because I know I'm not going to get to this. Highlights: Artist : Aesop Rock Album : I Heard It's a Mess There Too Songs of Note : "Crystals and Herbs," "Full House Pinball," "The Cut," "Opossum," "Poly Cotton Blend" Artist : Anna von Hausswolff Album : ICONOCLASTS Songs of Note : "Facing Atlas," "The Iconoclast," "The Whole Woman," "The Mouth," "Stardust," "Struggle with the Beast" Artist : Sorry Album : Cosplay Songs of Note : "Jetplane," "Antelope," "Today Might Be the Hit," "Waxwing," "JIVE" Artist : The Mountain Goats Album : Through this Fire Across from Peter Balkan Songs of Note : "Fishing Boat," "Dawn of Revelation," "Peru," "Armies of the Lord," "Broken to Begin With" Artist : Sabine McCalla Album : Don't Call Me Ba...

Photo by Derrick Alexander Chicago's ira glass have a brand new single out, and it might be one of the most dissonant things we've ever brought you. "that's it/that? that's all you can say?" is an explosion of noise, crashing free jazz, post-hardcore, indie rock, and noise punk into one cacophonous sound. It's all buzzing guitars, hammering drums, and screaming vocals. To say that ira glass isn't going to be for everyone is a massive understatement, but for those of you that will end up loving "that's it/that? that's all you can say?," it will be a complete revelation for you. This is pure musical chaos, and it's absolutely great. You can watch the video for "that's it/that? that's all you can say?" below. joy is no knocking nation is due out November 14 on Fire Talk Records/Angel Tapes, and is available for pre-order here . For more on ira glass, check out the band on Instagram . Upcoming tour dates are below th...

Sometimes it takes a show to realize you missed a great album release. Tuesday, I went to see Living Hour and Paper Lady, and realized both bands recently put out great albums that I completely missed. Plus, I got to discover the brand new band Wedding Gift! Wedding Gift opened the show, and if I heard Paper Lady correctly, it was only their third ever show. The brand new Boston band made their live debut three months ago, and they are showing incredible promise. They have a great sound that is equally as melodic as it is noisy and jarring. They played fuzzed out music with pounding drums, and it kinda sorta was dream pop, but a messier and louder version. Looking forward to hearing what they do next! Living Hour (who we last covered way back in 2018) was up next, all the way from Winnipeg. They released Internal Drone Infinity , an excellent album that we missed back in October. They combine shoegaze with dream pop into a glorious, swirling noise, with tons of lovely crescendos, and k...

Photo by Michael Dubin Matt Pryor may be best known for his work with emo heroes The Get Up Kids, but he has a much wider musical range than that. His latest single with The Salton Sea shows his more alt-rock based side' "Union Transfer" is a huge power ballad of a song, heavy with emotion and an intense musical backdrop. This is the type of song begging to be played live, with a raucous, noisy crescendo. It starts off simply enough, and is right along the lines of what you might expect for a Get Up Kids solo song to sound like. But "Union Transfer" ends up going in such a delightfully unexpected direction that it's cranked up our excitement for the full length album. Matt Pryor says of his latest single: “This is the most vulnerable song I’ve ever written. It marks the place and date of where I hit rock bottom." You can listen to "Union Transfer" below. The Salton Sea is due out November 14 on Nightshoes Syndicate/Big Scary Monsters, and is a...

Photo by Bianca Garza Trombonist and composer Kalia Vandever has one last single out before her album is released on Friday. "In My Dream House" is an eight and a half minute long composition that comes so close to being mainstream jazz perfect for the brunch crowd, but Vandever goes in just a slightly different direction to keep things interesting. The song focuses mostly on her playing, with minimal instrumentation accompanying her. At least to start. As "In My Dream House" progresses, more instruments come in and the song picks up and gets more chaotic while still maintaining it's mostly chill vibe. At times the song gets that futuristic 60's space age sound, in the coolest way possible. We don't bring you a lot of jazz, so you know when we do, it's going to be something special. You can listen to "In My Dream House" below. Another View is due out November 14 on Northern Spy, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Kalia Vandev...

Photo by Kelly Davidson On their latest, Boston's Girl with a Hawk pay tribute to their "ride or dies." "I'm in Love with My Friends" is an upbeat garage rock song slipping slightly into New Wave. It has some killer keys that will remind you of classic Elvis Costello and The Attractions along with a sound similar to Lucinda Williams joining a garage rock band. It's the kind of upbeat sound you need with a tribute to your closest and most loyal friends, and is the kind of ray of sunshine we could all use right now. Girl with a Hawk are showing off their fun side with "I'm in Love with My Friends," and we can't get enough of it. Linda Viers (lead vocals/guitar) says of her band's new single: “‘I’m In Love With My Friends’ is an homage to one’s ‘ride or dies’; our true-blue friends who are there for us when the shit hits the fan, who make us laugh when things look dark, and who inspire us to be our best selves through all of life’s cha...

Photo by Eric Sabatino Hailing from Portland, OR are Rayon. The band has a new single out that's an ode to consumerism and travelling. "Shopping" is a disjointed post-punk song that's much more melodic than you typically get in the genre. It has all of the darkness you would expect, but with a sense of fun and of humor. This is post-punk that is edging into dream pop. The guitar and vocals combine to form an almost psychedelic sound as "Shopping" drones along for four minutes, in the best possible way. At times, the song sounds like an interesting mix of Sonic Youth meets The Las, and I don't even know how anyone wouldn't want that. Eric Sabatino of Rayon says of his band's latest single: “This was the first time we’ve engaged a 'professional' to work on our recordings. The education we received was immense, and Larry was kind with his explanations of everything we had previously done 'wrong' with our recordings, was willing to wo...

Photo by Bailey Kretz Accessory is a new solo project of Jason Balla, who you might know as the singer/guitarist of Dehd. This new project has released a new single which is prime experimental pop. "UMS" sounds and feels simple enough at first listen, but upon additional listens you start to discover just how layered the song is. There's also a very 90's feel to the song, which reminds me of earlier artists like Self and Eels. "UMS" is one of those songs that has a great chill, laid back vibe with just enough edge and intensity lurking beneath the surface to keep things interesting. This is a great introduction to a new project from a favorite here at If It's Too Loud..., and we're looking forward to where they go from here. Jason Balla says of his new project: “ Emotions …..There is no scientific consensus  on a definition.[5][6]” -Wikipedia  "These are songs for obsessing over every wrong decision and every feeling you couldn’t trust." Yo...

Photo courtesy of the artist Robert Ellis Orrall recently released his first new album in nearly forty years, and has a new video and single out with "Where the Gone People Go." This new song is pitch perfect 80's style power pop. It has that funky side that power pop only seemed to have forty years ago, along with some keyboards straight from that era. The song is reminiscent of artists like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and ZZ Top from that era. It's a little blues, a little New Wave, and absolute power pop perfection. "Where the Gone People Go" has such a nostalgic streak to it that you'll swear it's a lost song from your childhood. Robert Ellis Orrall says of his new single: “Where do we go when we’re gone? How far gone is too far? Do dogs go where we go? What’s going on with my brain? I was sitting on my porch one moonlit night and my mind began to wander. I scribbled out whatever floated through my head in anticipation of my bandmates arriv...