If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Ginny Davies Ireland's M(h)aol are back with more of the post-punk we've come to love from them. Their new single, "Scam Manifesto," is a brooding and intense song that keeps all of their anger and humor intact, and mixes it into a swirling mix of noise. One of the things I've come to love about M(h)aol is how they combine the dance friendly side of post-punk with the genre's more chaotic and noisy side. "Scam Manifesto" is sneakily hypnotic, and lulls you despite how abrasive it can be. Something Soft was one of the top albums of 2025, and it's great to see M(h)aol continuing that with their latest. Constance Keane (drums/vocals) says of her band's latest single: “'Scam Manifesto' is a song I wrote during one of my semi-regular social media breaks.  My entire feed was 'how to lose the last 5 lbs’ and obituaries for people I didn’t know. It’s about the guilt I feel about my own hypocrisy. Publicly, I say that as a woman i...

Photo by Jade Sastropawiro Amsterdam's The Klittens are back with one last single before their album comes out later this month. "Nothing to Teach" is an oddly groovy song. It still has the Dry Cleaning meets The Ronettes sound of their previous singles, but in a different way. It's almost like a post-punk band decided to play a jam band festival. It's noisy, but not in a chaotic or loud way. It's more quietly noisy. For this one, I'm hearing more Dismemberment Plan than I've heard before. I hate referring to songs as quirky since that can be used as a negative, but "Nothing to Teach" is quirky in the perfect way.  Vocalist Yael Dekker says of her band's latest single: "'Nothing To Teach' is a reimagined preach, delivered with the same conviction but not the same convictions. The band would like to instil a different sense of purpose, to live a life unbothered by those who (think they) are all knowing.” You can watch the vide...

Photo by Jeff Pitcher Cambridgeshire's The Baby Seals are back with a new single that changes up their sound considerably. For "Irene," they've all but abandoned the fun punk sound of 2024's Chaos  for more of an art punk sound. It's slower, but more intense. There's a strong sense of menace throughout the track, originally called "Ode to Irene's C...," and the whole thing comes out a little extra punk because of it. The song maintains a creepy vibe, and is going to make you sway whether you want to or not. As much as I loved Chaos (it was my #3 album of that year), I'm fully behind this new sound from The Baby Seals. It also has one of my favorite crescendos of the year, so crank this one and enjoy! Kerry of The Baby Seals says of the band's new single: “ There's a quote that I love: 'you don't have the power, you ARE the power'. When I gave birth to my son, I did it on breath alone, and I was in water (and pressing m...

Photo by Tom Beard While some of their recent singles have played around with and expanded their sound, "The Big Mixer" sees the Irish folk rock band The Mary Wallopers get back to what they do best. This new single is a rollicking ode to the working class, and in line with the finest Irish folk rock/punk around. It's the kind of song that can be equally claimed by folk and rock fans, and it's an energetic and fun song. "The Big Mixer" is an ode to the entire working class in a way that only an Irish artist could pull off. If you're into any form of Irish folk or punk, chances are you already love The Mary Wallopers. The Mary Wallopers say of their latest single: “This is a song for all the labourers, the nurses, the shelf fillers, the train drivers, the truck drivers, the Deliveroo drivers, the SNAs, the miners, the factory workers... all the people doing a hard day's work and forced back to the Big Mixer to make profits for someone else,” note The ...

Photo by Nicos Kennedy For their upcoming album, Kill Alters is more of a solo project for Bonnie Baxter. The project's newest single, "OCCAM'S RAZOR," is an electronic noise track that borders on being pure noise and pop music. The song is incredibly abrasive, but also oddly catchy and poppy. It starts off as almost pure bleep and bloop meets chaos, and then slowly the poppier side of the song starts revealing itself. You're not going to know if you should listen carefully to all the layers or if you should dance your ass off. Both are appropriate at different times throughout the song's almost five minute length, but you'll need to do what's in your heart. "OCCAM'S RAZOR" is a fun, if challenging, track that is going to be beloved for those that get it. You can listen to "OCCAM'S RAZOR" below. We Can Rot Together is due out October 16 on Hausu Mountain, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Kill Alt...

Providence punkabilly legends The Amazing Royal Crowns [going with that since it's what they're using now, even if Spotify isn't] have released their first new music in over twenty-five years. It's a cover of Social Distortion's 1988 song "Prison Bound." As you would guess, it's very faithful to the original, except it leans a little more into the straight up rock and roll side of the song. The Amazing Royal Crowns also pick up the pace with their cover and make it a little more upbeat. It's exactly what we'd want a cover of "Prison Bound" by The Amazing Royal Crowns to sound like, and it's a perfect way to get excited for upcoming shows from both bands in the very near future. You can listen to The Amazing Royal Crowns' cover of "Prison Bound" below. For more on The Amazing Royal Crowns, check out the band's website . They'll be playing their Providence Payback this year on October 2 and 3 at the far too sma...

Photo by Wiktoria Cebera Los Angeles dark pop artist Ella Boh has released a cover of George Michael's iconic "Careless Whisper," and it's absolutely great. Making the 80's classic darker adds an entirely new level, turning the sad ballad into a gut wrenching experience. Instead of everyone's favorite saxophone solo, Boh's version uses a guitar that's more metal than pop. Of course, even though it may be darker than the original, this version of "Careless Whisper" is a lot of fun. (I personally don't see how an artist couldn't have fun with this song.) The origiginal is the kind of song you pretend to only love ironically, but at some point you have to admit to straight up loving it. The same can be said about this cover from Ella Boh. Ella Boh says of her new single: “‘Careless Whisper’ is one of my favorite songs of all time so I started covering it on tour. My fans have not left me alone about it since, so I'm finally dropping ...

Photo by Guillaume Landry Crimson99 is the musical name of Dominican-Canadian artist Maria Brousseau-Labbe. Her latest single, "Open Up Your Heart," combines indie rock with alt-pop, and is heavy on the pop side of things. The song showcases her vocals, which while being soulful and smooth, also have the slightest bit of grit that helps suck you in and elevates the song to the next level. What's the most compelling about "Open Up Your Heart" is how it moves through musical styles. It starts off more in the pop range with some folky elements, and ends in a whirlwind of an indie rock goes bluesy burst. It happens to gradually that you barely notice, and the transition feels completely natural. Crimson99 is making pop music that borders right on the mainstream while keeping things truly interesting. Maria Brousseau-Labbe says of her latest single: "Open Up Your Heart is about the desire to backslide. It’s about missing things from your past that never truly se...

Photo by Pooneh Ghana Austin, TX's Font stay very local with their latest single. "Texas" was inspired by the Kerr County floods in 2025 and 2026. The song is a melodic and heartbreaking track that is quietly beautiful. The song is almost painfully quiet with electronic elements that help propel the song and suck in a listener. Even without knowing that "Texas" is about floods that killed well over one hundred people, the pain in the song is evident. It's not all gloom in their latest, though, as Font have added just enough hope in the song to keep it from being too painful for the average listener. It's been a few years since we last brought you anything new from Font, and we're thrilled to have them back. Thom Waddil says of his band's latest song: “Pretty much everyone I know from home was just one or two degrees away from someone who lost a loved one in the flood. So the state was on our minds when we came up with the initial idea together in...

The Catburgers were a band from Edinburgh, Scotland that lasted from 1985 to 1990. They recorded an album, but it was never released. That changes on September 25 when Slumberland releases Galashiels. The first single from the album, "The First Day of Spring," is a perfect slice of 1980's indie pop, or what would have been called college rock back then. It's a bouncy track that's both melodic and slightly discordant. This is the kind of music that lead to Belle & Sebastian and The Sundays, and is going to inject you with nostalgia even if you've never heard of The Catburgers before. If you have a love for fuzzy indie pop of the late 80's/early 90's, "The First Day of Spring" is going to be perfect for you. The band says of their "new" single: "Dave, our new guitarist, has described this as the most complicated 2 minute 15 second song he has ever had to learn! Stuart and I went through a period of working up bits of songs an...

Photo by Angeline Woo, Courtesy of Luaka Bop "Tiger Is Coming" might sound familiar to some of you. It was used in promotional videos for South Korea's national tourist board, and it was played when South Korea's national team scored a goal in the World Cup. Now, Leenalchi have re-recorded it with their current line up. The Seoul based band have created a psychedelic masterpiece here. It's delightfully dance friendly while remaining laid back. Like their previous single "Crying Softshell Turtle," "Tiger Is Coming" comes from an eighteenth century Korean epic about "... a loyal turtle on a mission that runs into a fierce tiger and chaos ensues." Despite coming from three centuries ago, this new single feels and sounds modern. Plus, this is simply a fun song that I challenge anyone not to enjoy. You can listen to "Tiger Is Coming" below. Sugungga is due out October 2 on Luaka Bop, and is available for pre-order here . For more...

Photo by Pooneh Ghana Austin, TX's Porcelain have been blowing us away as of late, and their latest single continues that trend. "Waltz" is equal parts beautiful and discordant. It's post-hardcore at its finest, and bounces between gorgeous and loud and noisy. For a lot of loud/quiet/loud songs, you're just waiting for the loud part, but you'll end up enjoying both parts with "Waltz." This one reminds me of early Smashing Pumpkins meets Rites of Spring, with how it manages both volumes equally well. Porcelain have crafted a song that is fuzzy and sludgy, and just wait until you get to the last minute or so. "Waltz" becomes an absolute epic by that point. Porcelain says of their latest single: “ This song is about trying to relate with someone who is going through a depressive episode, to help them feel seen and that they’re not alone. Depression can be isolating; it can consume you in a way that makes you feel unrelatable to everyone around...

We don't normally do posts for individual shows, but sometimes we feel the need to make sure you're aware of upcoming events.  Bikini Kill Photo by Lance Bangs First is Bikini Kill returning to Roadrunner on September 22. I was in attendance for their 2023 show at Roadrunner, and it was even better than I imagined. It was my first time seeing the riot grrrl legends, and there was something about seeing those songs live that was much more emotional than I expected. (I'm sure some of it was the heightened emotions coming out of COVID, too...) This time around they'll be joined by Providence political punks Downtown Boys, and how can you say no to that double bill? You can find more on this show here .  Photo by Robert Fagan October 26 sees L7's  The Last Hurrah Tour come to Boston. It's L7's farewell tour, and their first since bassist Jennifer Finch's tragic death earlier this year. You never know how final farewell tours actually are, but L7 has never se...