If It's Too Loud...

Providence noise rockers Department of Teleportation are back with a new single. "5 STRIKE" is a blistering under three minutes attack of some of the noisiest punk around. The song is kept within the normal constraints of your average punk or rock song... this one is just a little extra loud and noisy. Everything in "5 STRIKE" is fully fuzzed out, and you can feel the chaos of the instruments swirling around you. There's a punchy beat that seems to be holding everything together, but it feels like it's threatening to drop the protection and let the bedlam loose. Welcome back, Department of Teleportation! You can watch the video for "5 STRIKE" below. Softcore Topography is due out later this year. For more on Department of Teleportation, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo by Isaac Campbell Brooklyn's JWords (aka producer Jennifer Hernandez) has a new single out that showcases what she does best. "Clarity" features a verse from Nappy Nina, and has this killer hip hop meets electronic music sound. It also lands in this interesting grey area between high energy and laid back with a fast but quiet beat over chilled out music. At just slightly over two and a half minutes, our only complaint is that "Clarity" leaves us wanting more. The song presents such a dichotomy that would make you want to examine it more closely if it didn't make you want to dance even more. You can listen to "Clarity" below. Sound Therapy is due out May 8, and is available to pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on JWords, check out the artist on Instagram .

Hepcat are one of those legendary bands I've been meaning to see for a while. To be honest, I wasn't intimately familiar with the band's catalog, but they are ska legends, and I'm currently going through my midlife crisis second ska phase. When I saw they were playing the Paradise Sunday night, I knew it was my chance. The fact that The New Limits and Pink Slip, two of my favorite local ska bands, were opening only made it more tempting. Hepcat are legends for a simple reason, and that reason is that they are great. They're closer to the first wave of 60's ska than what you typically think of with bands from the 80's and 90's. It was upbeat hit after upbeat hit. All their songs are impossibly dance friendly even if they can be a bit laid back. They had the Sunday night older crowd participating in a dance party for their entire set, which is never an easy feat. It's easy to forget just how many great songs a band like Hepcat have since they never tru...

Photo by Sebastian Buzzalino It's been a few years since we've brought you any new music from Miesha and The Spanks, but now the Calgary band are back with a new single. "Fight My Body" keeps their modern day garage rock sound but adds in more than a little bit of a pop sound in. This is still a full out rock song, it's just as catchy as a pop song can get. It's a fun and uplifting song despite (or because of?) the subject matter. "Fight My Body" is the perfect rock song to pogo or full out dance to. Somehow Miesha and The Spanks have added pop to their garage rock style and come out with something a little extra punk. Miesha Louie says of her latest single: "Fight My Body  is a lament to the frustrations of fighting with ones’ body, trying to fit how we see ourselves or maybe want to be seen. For myself - I barely remember a time I wasn’t on some sort of diet, spending my childhood up to 13 in ballet. It also replays my relationship with my bod...

It could just be the fact that runo plum's latest single is called "pink moon," but this song is giving us some serious Nick Drake vibes. While plum typically has an indie rock meets folk sound, this latest single gets far more experimental than we're used to from the artist. It remains somewhat folk, but mostly because there's acoustic guitars. Along with the incredibly sparse use of guitar, the song sounds almost like a patchwork with other instrumentation floating in occasionally. There are also little snippets of backing vocals that sound like samples at times. "pink moon" could be described as haunting, but only like a spirit that creaks a floorboard once every few months. This one may be the most intriguing track we've heard from runo plum so far. runo plum says of her latest single: "the love I was experiencing felt like a 'once in a blue moon' situation–but we are both girls, so it felt cute to make it a 'pink moon.' I re...

Photo by Renee Newman Trophy Wife may be based in Brooklyn, but they started in Boston so we like to still claim them. Their latest single, "Kind of Girl I Am," is so close to that indie rock goes pop that is all the rage these days, but it takes a turn into a darker sounding, more classic indie rock style. It starts off somewhat quietly, with McKenzie Iazetta's vocals edging into indie pop territory. But then the noise kicks in. The guitar has a near horrific drone to it that  threatens to overwhelm the entire song. The result is near hypnotic, except it's too abrasive to fully lull you. "Kind of Girl I Am" is the kind of song that finds the beauty in its noise... as long as you're willing to take the plunge with them. McKenzie Iazetta says of her band's latest single: “'Kind of Girl I Am' is about noticing the character people turn you into from afar and figuring out how to use it in your favor." You can watch the video for "Kind ...

Photo by Athena Kulb Nashville's Allison Russell just finished up a second Broadway run in Hadestown , and is set to tour with Sarah McLachlan this summer. She has a new single out that sees her joined by Joy Oladokun and Julie Williams. "No Springtime" is this amazing mix of folk and pop, of traditional and modern sounds, and of mainstream and the more experimental. It's a soulful song that sees some breathtaking harmonizing from all three artists, which is the true highlight of the song. I don't believe I've ever heard a song that sounds so mainstream but feels like you're hanging out by a campfire with close friends and enjoying the night. "No Springtime" is a truly special song. Allison Russell says of her latest single: When I talk about reconnecting to something essential, I don’t mean grasping for the most available sunshine. No Springtime is about embracing the dark side of the moon - the blues, sadness, melancholy … Blues are activated s...

Photo courtesy of The Pretty Graves When a press release compares a new song to artists like Elliott Smith, The Dandy Warhols, The Velvet Underground, Pavement, and Wilco, it's guaranteed I'm going to listen to it. The only problem is that I'm going to be hypercritical of it as I expect not to hear any of those bands' influence. Luckily, you can hear every one of those artists in "Bending Reeds," the latest from The Pretty Graves. The Connecticut band have created a groovy and hypnotic art rock track for their new single. The wonderfully weird thing about it is that as you listen, if you think about any of the above bands, you'll start to hear them. It has the psychedelic groove of The Dandy Warhols, which morphs into the alt-country/dad rock of Wilco, and then the psych-drone of The Velvet Underground, and so on. Plus, Christopher M. Lisorti's vocals somehow sound like Jeff Tweedy, Lou Reed, and Courtney Taylor-Taylor all at once. The Pretty Graves...

Photo by Pat Piasecki Boston's favorite cosmic canyon Americana artists are back with a new single. Today sees the release of "Take It With You," the latest track from Other Brother Darryl. It's the perfect kind of song to listen to just as the weather finally starts warming into spring. It's a bright track with a hint of melancholy, and something about the song feels nostalgic. By saying the song has a hint of melancholy, it's more about the feeling of melancholy caused by nostalgia. "Take It With You" feels like looking at old pictures and remembering who you were back then, and feeling a sense of loss over what may have been lost no matter how happy you are now. The true magic of an Other Brother Darryl song is that no matter how melancholy a song of theirs might be, it ends up being even more uplifting. "Take It With You" is a great song upon first listen, and only gets better each time you press play. Nate Leavitt (acoustic guitar and ...

Spirit Hotel are a "psych-influenced band out of Salem, Massachusetts." They recently released a new album, Rê ve , that is going to delight many of our readers. Of course, it will only delight those of us who tend to like their music a tad bit darker. The songs on this new album are a mix of psych, dream pop, and shoegaze... but the darker side of those genres. R ê ve is a seven song collection filled with fuzzy and drone-heavy but simply beautiful tracks. It's the kind of sound that could very well hypnotize you. I've given it a few listens, and more than once I realized I had mentally fully gone somewhere else while it was playing and had to restart it. And I mean that as a compliment. Spirit Hotel will do something to you with their latest album. It's quite simply impossible to listen to R ê ve and not be affected in some way. Prepare to be mesmerized. You can listen to R ê ve below. The album is available now via Bandcamp . For more on Spirit Hotel, check ...

I went into Mclusky's 2024 set at The Sinclair in Cambridge as a casual fan. Part of me felt guilty since the show was very sold out, and I felt like I was taking the place of a diehard who deserved it more. By the end of the show, I became one of those diehard fans, and desperately wanted to see them again. Last month they released the excellent EP i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley , and came back to the States to support it. This brought them to the Paradise Wednesday night, and I was right up front and thrilled to be there. Mclusky opened with "Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues," almost like they just wanted to get it out of the way. The crowd absolutely exploded, and, unlike most bands that started three decades ago, the energy of the crowd increased with each song. Mclusky sets tend to be a bit unhinged, but that only accentuates their post-hardcore sound. Their songs are noisy and disjointed, and that's exactly why we love them so much. It's also easy ...

Photo Adrian Buckmaster, design Anna Nikolaenko Unfortunately, Woody Guthrie's iconic "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" is becoming a very popular song to cover. The latest is from The Klezmatics featuring Sofia Rei. This new version is trilingual, with lyrics in English, Spanish, and Yiddish. Eighty years later it's still a timely song, giving the names and dignity back to migrant workers, it may even be more so now. The Klezmatics are also one of the more diverse sounding bands around today, with their bio naming Yiddish soul, punk, gospel, jazz, and folk as their genres. All of those are present in this cover, and the musical diversity only adds to the message of the song. Despite the somber message of the song, this version of "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportees)" is a true celebration of life and music. Vocalist, accordionist, pianist, and guitarist Lorin Sklamberg says of the new single: “ I’ve been singing Woody’s songs since I was a kid, since ...

Photo by Jack Saltmiras Two of my favorite sounds are 90's indie rock and 60's girl groups, so I love any artist that combines those two styles. The latest we've discovered is Body Type. The Australian band have a stripped down post-punk sound mixed with the harmonies of doo wop on "And What Else?" The song grabbed me instantly, with the darkness of post-punk melding with the cheeriness of girl groups perfectly. The song is fairly laid back despite the strong groove throughout. While many artists are combining indie rock and 60's girl groups styles, no one is doing it quite like Body Type. Annabel Blackman (vocals, guitar) says of her band's new single: “The big chorus is a cathartic cry out against feeling insecure in a relationship, those mental twists your brain makes when statements of adoration make you feel sceptical and unworthy, but simultaneously hungry for more of that sweet stuff." You can watch the video for "And What Else?" belo...

Photo by Mayumi Hirata We haven't heard from Otoboke Beaver in a while, but now the Japanese punks are back with a new single from an upcoming maxi-single. "I Don't Need to Be in Your Strike Zone" is a fast and noisy affair coming in at just over one minute. It's hyperactive and almost impossibly fast, with lots of yelling gang vocals and headache inducing tempo changes. Otoboke Beaver are never going to be for everyone, but they do instill an intense devotion from their fans. No one is a casual Otoboke Beaver fan, and songs like "I Don't Need to Be in Your Strike Zone" is exactly why. The best part is that we won't have to wait another four years for new music, since they already have two more singles planned for release in the next week! You can watch the video for "I Don't Need to Be in Your Strike Zone" below. Is the New Album Out Yet? is due for a physical release on June 4 via Damnably, and is available to pre-order through Ba...