If It's Too Loud...

The week between Christmas and New Year's is usually a pretty dull one, but it holds what has become one of my favorite holiday traditions: My now annual trip to the House of Blues to see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for their Hometown Throwdown. This year they lessened the usual holiday theme and instead dedicated their entire three show run to The Rat, the legendary Boston punk club that used to be located across the Mass Pike from the House of Blue in Kenmore Square. For their openers, they chose bands they knew from their days of playing The Rat. For Sunday night, their openers were The Real Kids and The Queers. As I walked in, I noticed a list of set times posted at the door. The Real Kids had to drop out at the last minute due to John Felice being hospitalized. It was a huge disappointment, especially because I had never heard of their replacement, Unnatural Axe. Turns out Unnatural Axe are the  Boston punk originators, and started playing shows at The Rat in 1978. As th...

Ever since 2009 when Mission of Burma and Buffalo Tom played the Orpheum, Boston's First Night has had a layer of cool to it. Since then, First Night celebrations have included blog favorites like Mavis Staples, Yo La Tengo, The Magnetic Fields, Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys, and more. This year... not so much. I know their budget is drastically lower this year, but when every single Boston area blog I read has no idea who any of these bands, and most seem to be provided by Berklee, it's not really enough to get us to head into town. Luckily, there are still some If It's Too Loud... approved options in and around Boston to make getting a sitter and staying up far too late worth it. Hallelujah the Hills, Great Scott, Allston, MA Hallelujah the Hills were fantastic when I saw them at this year's Harvard Square Mayfair , and that was playing mid-afternoon on a makeshift stage in front of a beer tent that seemed to be more interested in listening to the in...

I first heard about The Monsieurs since Hilken Mancini is a member. I've been a fan of her work since first hearing Fuzzy back in 1996, and have followed her career ever since. When I heard she was in a new band, I expected more of the cheery alterna-pop that characterized Fuzzy, or maybe something more on the lines of her collaboration with Chris Colburn. Instead what I got was some of the fuzziest, sludged out garage rock I've heard in ages. This album is loud. And noisy. Really, really noisy. But it's also catchy as hell. "Wolves" has  a "bah bah bah bah" chorus followed immediately by a furious thrash of guitar and some kind of vocal. On first listen, you might turn away thinking it's just obnoxious noise, but as you listen, you can peal back layers to find the nuggets of actual songs within. The rest of the band is rounded out by Andy Macbain and Erin King.  I can't stress how pleasantly surprising this album is. Usually as a musician...

Boston's The Sheila Divine are on their 2nd comeback since breaking up in 2003, reforming in 2007 until 2008, and then again reforming in 2010. The classic Sheila Divine sound bordered more on the emo side of things, but more on the Jawbreaker/Sunny Day Real Estate side of emo, while borrowing from the loudquietloud blueprint of the Pixies. "Hum" was a pretty major radio hit, but the band suffered from their label, Roadrunner Records, deciding to shift focus away from the alternative side of the label once nu-metal took off at almost the exact same time as New Parade was released. They just released the first song from their forthcoming album. "Watch Out For Us" drops the aggression and melancholy of their earlier albums, for a more mature pop punk sound. Yes, they somehow made pop punk mature. I wasn't expecting this with a new release. It's different, but fantastic. Considering the lyrics rally against the "1% are the VIPs," coming across...

Somehow we missed this one when it came out last month. Drab has a great Boston/Northampton musical pedigree (Sophia Cacciola is also in Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, Jason Layne is a well-known Boston radio dj) and their sound shows it. Lo-fi in the best possible way, with jangling and fuzzy guitars and catchy as all hell melodies, it's discordant indie pop-rock at it's absolute finest. "Tell It to Me Straight (Tell It to Me Gay)" is sure to get lodged directly in your brain for the next week. Or more. Right now they have only released the Unicorn EP  and Bird EP  earlier this year. They are promising a full length next year. You can listen to Unicorn EP below via Spotify. Also, check out Drab's website for more info. If you're in the Boston area, go out and see them play somewhere near you in the next couple months: Nov 14 - Last Safe & Deposit Company, Lowell, MA Nov 19 - AfterHours at Northeastern University, Boston, MA Dec 10 - Brighton ...

When I heard Tee Jay, the drummer for Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys , had a side project described as "...  early 90's melodic hardcore... blended with some shoegaze..." I knew I had to check Martyrs out. This is about as far from the folk/gypsy/punk/burlesque that defines the Army of Toys, and I'm thrilled to hear something so different come from a member of that band. The description the band uses is perfect, and it definitely has more of a At The Drive-In feel to it than Jawbreaker. Picture Dischord Records signing a shoegaze band. It's heavy and beautiful and just about perfect. The fact that it was recorded last month and is already out for free download is what I love about the current music scene. I can't find any website or social media outlet for Martyrs, but they do have a Soundcloud where you can stream or download their debut for free.

For the inaugural Outside the Box Festival taking place in Boston July 13-21, the organizers have planned an amazing spectacle including just about every art form in and around the Boston Common, completely free of charge. There are family friendly activities, theatre events, world music, and more. Since Boston has always been an amazing rock town, music is one of the main attractions. I’m going to focus on a couple of particular events that I can’t recommend highly enough. The first up is Thursday, July 18 at City Hall Plaza which features David Wax Museum . David Wax Museum take the stage at 6:30 with their blend of Mexo-American indie roots folk hybrid. I’ve seen them at least 5 times in the past 2 years, and they never play the same show twice. They are the rare band that fits perfectly in any stage they take on, from a dark, candlelit basement to a huge summer festival stage. They may just be one of the best live acts out there today.  David Wax and Suz Slezak ha...