If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Mark Oliver We love cosmic country here at If It's Too Loud..., and this appears to be shaping up to be a cosmic country week. Ryan Curtis just released a new single, "Can't Take Back." It's definitely a country song, but it's also filled with more groove than you ever thought possible along with some fabulous psychedelic guitar work. I can't quite place when "Can't Take Back" sounds like it's from, but it certainly isn't 2023. The 1970's seems to be the default when discussing psychedelia, and especially for cosmic country, but that doesn't seem quite right, either. Curtis has created a sound that is both familiar and all his own. You can listen to "Can't Take Back" below. Ain't Ever Easy  is due out July 14 on American Standard Time Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Ryan Curtis, check out the artist on Facebook and Instagram .

Meredith Lane started out in the mountains of Oregon and now resides in Nashville. Her latest single is so close to being just a straightforward singer/songwriter track, but something about "Stranger" just sets it apart from most of that genre. It's a mostly mainstream song that combines the 70's AM sound of an artist like Linda Ronstadt with the 90's alt-rock sound you'd get at Lilith Fair. That being said, "Stranger" is a song from 2023, and it sounds like that. It's a timeless kind of song, but mostly because it lives within multiple times. Meredith Lane has released a very intriguing debut single. You can listen to "Stranger" below. Greyhound is due out on American Standard Time Records. For more on Meredith Lane, check out the artist's website . Stranger by Meredith Lane

You ever just hear a song from a new artist and are completely floored by the sheer talent and natural charisma they have? Prepare to feel that way with this new single from Kendall Lujan. The Portland, OR artist has released "Forget Me Knots," and it is breathtaking. For the most part it's fairly standard modern folk/Americana, but Lujan just has a certain level of "it" that is impossibly captivating. It's an upbeat and kinda dreamy song that is going to have those of us in the frigid Northeast dreaming about Spring. What makes the song even more amazing is that this is the first take of the song. Lujan had just settled into the studio and was testing sound, and this song is the result. I can't imagine what she's going to sound like when she's trying. You can watch the video for "Forget Me Knots" below. Forget Me Knots , the EP, is due out March 17 on American Standard Time Records. For more on Kendall Lujan, check out the artist's...

As much as I enjoy it, I know that the dark Americana/Western noir of This Lonesome Paradise is probably not for everyone. That being said, their latest single might be the closest they've come to being widely accessible so far. "Into the Sun" is kind of like an odd crooner country song. It's closer to artists like Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak than you would expect, albeit through a dark and bizarre lens. My previous observation that This Lonesome Paradise sounds like it's from the soundtrack to a movie that Quentin Tarantino will make in thirty years still works for "Into the Sun." This is an unexpectedly groovy version of their dark Americana that is going to surprise a lot of people. You can listen to "Into the Sun" below. Nightshades is due out October 21 on American Standard Time Records, and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp . For more on This Lonesome Paradise, be sure to check them out on Instagram .

Last year I became enamored with the dark Americana/Western noir of This Lonesome Paradise. Since the Oregon based band released Electric Dreams last Halloween, they've relocated to Joshua Tree, CA and recorded a new album. Their latest single, "Scorpion Song," continues on their sound and expands on it. It's an oddly hypnotic track that seems to meander in at will without anyone truly having control over it. It feels more like a meditation put to a very loose song structure and gives me some serious Leonard Cohen vibes. It's haunting, and a little disturbing, but it's a compelling listen. "Scorpion Song" sounds like it could have been made specifically to be in a Quentin Tarantino movie that will be made in thirty years. You can listen to "Scorpion Song" below. Nightshades is due out October 21 on American Standard Time Records. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on This Lonesome Paradise, check them out on Bandcamp and Instagra...

Oregon's This Lonesome Paradise are back with a new single before their new album comes out on Halloween. "Creatures of the Night" has that "Western noir" we've come to love from the band, but it adds in a crooner element and a doo wop element. If you've always loved those genres but wished they could sound much, much darker, this one is definitely for you. What I'm coming to truly adore about This Lonesome Paradise is how they take traditional and classic American sounds and filter them through a dark sonic prism. Even the sound feels warped on "Creatures of the Night" like you're listening to this on a record you found in a basement closet underneath boxes of junk. And I mean all that as the best possible compliment. You can listen to "Creatures of the Night" below. Electric Dreams is due out October 31 on American Standard Time Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on This Lonesome Paradise, check out the artist...

Last month we brought you the dark Americana of Oregon's This Lonesome Paradise. Their latest single is titled "Hello Darkness," so logic would state that it would be even darker than "Needles & Pines." "Hello Darkness" is indeed dark, but relative to the previous single it's almost downright cheery. That could be because the guitar has an almost surf style twang to it, and it's impossible for a surf song to not be at least a little cheery. There's also a very 50's crooner quality to "Hello Darkness," and maybe it's just that odd 50's nostalgia that I experienced in the 80's but that also adds a level of cheeriness to the song. That being said, this is still a song from This Lonesome Paradise so it is still quite dark. It's just a bizarro world dark version of cheery songs from the past, and who can resist that? You can listen to "Hello Darkness" below. Electric Dreams is due out October 31 on Ame...

Raised on an island in the Pacific Northwest and currently residing in New York City, Melanie Curran recently released a new single. "Say That You Will" is this multi-genre mash up that sounds unique and strangely familiar. The song is this ultra-stripped down country-ish song. I can't even refer to it as Americana since it doesn't quite fit that. At the beginning it's just Curran's not-quite-country twangy vocals with just a little guitar and a very occasional drum beat. Eventually a fiddle darts in out of nowhere to speed things up and turn it into an indie rock song, but not for long. And this might all fit into the slowest party jam of all time. You can listen to "Say That You Will" below. San Benedito Beach is due for release on October 23 via American Standard Time Records. You can pre-order a copy over at Bandcamp . For more on Melanie Curran, check out the artist's website . San Benedito Beach by Melanie Curran

Astoria, OR's This Lonesome Paradise make Americana, for lack of a better term. I only say that because we cover a lot of Americana here, and their new single "Needles & Pines" lands squarely in Americana, but it doesn't really sound like anything we've covered before. The song is an extremely dark version of the genre. Today is the first day of Autumn, and this is a perfect song to post for that. This is the soundtrack to chilly temperatures, earlier sunsets, trudging through leaves in the woods, and all around creepiness. "Needles & Pines" is a combination of dark lyrics with darker vocals, wailing harmonicas, and everything dripping in reverb that has us desperate for more. You can watch the video for "Needles & Pines" below. Electric Dreams is due out on October 31 on American Standard Time Records. You can pre-order your copy over at Bandcamp . For more on This Lonesome Paradise, check out the band's website .

Photo by Sarah Kathryn Wainwright Jeremy James Meyer is making country for people that claim to hate country can still love. His latest single, "Low Gap Swagger," is definitely a country song. But, it's neither a throwback old timey country song or a modern pop country song. It's truly it's own brand of country that will need to fit under the Americana label, even though it's not really folky at all. It's an earnest song that embraces the genre while avoiding the cliches even the best examples can have. Meyer gives us a ramblin' style song that's both modern and timeless. What helps it feel so earnest is that the album is recorded live at the OK Theater in Enterprise, OR. You can listen to "Low Gap Swagger" below. Alive & OK is due out June 11 on American Standard Time Records. For more on Jeremy James Meyer, check out the artist's website .