If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Panic Shack Roughly a year ago we discovered Panic Shack and became fairly obsessed, and now the Welch punks are back with new music. "grin & bear it" lands somewhere between classic punk and the newfangled, pop oriented punk. It's undeniably catchy, with guitars that both bite and crunch. There are elements of noise punk and pop within the song, making it almost mainstream while still being underground, especially in attitude. "grin & bear it" also grooves just as hard as it rocks, and is surprisingly danceable for something this noisy. Panic Shack are quickly becoming a favorite around here. Panic Shack says of their latest single: “This song has had many iterations, seen many a practice room and taken many forms.  It’s a song that we’ve felt really passionate about getting right, but the music was never fully hitting. We reworked it from the start of the year in any spare time we had around working our jobs and gigging (as we almost always do...

Photo by Marie Dutton Bristol's Grandmas House have a new single out, and we think you're going to love it. Of course, with a lot of music that we cover, "DOG" isn't going to be for everyone. It's an indie rock meets post-punk song that charges right at you. Delivered with raspy vocals, the song has a shockingly melodic sense. And, as much as it may not be for everyone, there is a strong mainstream alt-rock vibe in the song despite the strong noise factor. At times, "DOG" is almost hypnotic, and at others its charging straight at you at a pace that's both breakneck and midtempo. The song is also oddly dance friendly thanks to a strong sense of groove. If the music of Grandmas House works for you, it's going to become a near obsession. Grandmas House say of their latest single: “ ‘DOG’ is about a feeling, written whilst struggling with a chronic illness that no professional could explain. We all have something that burdens us in life, be it me...

Photo by Megan Winstone Hailing from Cardiff are Panic Shack, who just released the first single from their debut album. "Girl Band Starter Pack" is a hyper and bouncy as possible song that doesn't fit neatly in any one genre. Or two genres, for that matter. First of all, I can't tell if it's a rock song or a pop song. It's some blend of both, and your fandom of either genre will determine which one you find it to be. It has a strong punk attitude, but it's far too smooth sounding to be punk, even by the modern definition of the genre. It's kind of like a mixture of artists like Le Tigre, Bis, and Spice Girls. Basically, "Girl Band Starter Pack" is a ridiculously fun track that is dance music for people that both hate and love dance music. Panic Shack say of their latest single: "'Girl Band Starter Pack' was the title of our inspiration playlist on Spotify when we first started the band.  It's had many deaths and rebirths but...

Photo by Paul Grace The amount of noise a duo can generate can be quite impressive. Take the latest single from London's JOHN. It's just John Newton on drums and lead vocals and Johnny Healy on guitar and backing vocals. It may not quite be a Lightning Bolt level burst of noise, but "Stadium of No" is getting comparisons to both Metz and Sonic Youth. It's an intense indie rock rager with growling, metal style vocals. It's the kind of speed and noise you would get in an early 90's Sonic Youth song during their Geffen Records period. It's a giant and loud song that is making me yearn for my college years. John Newton says of the new song: “In parallel to the recurring motif of twenty-four hour work that runs throughout the album’s track listing, stadiums appear as hopelessly redundant monuments when they’re empty - only activated by the bodies that inhabit them. The song’s a nod to the often-overwhelming conditions of our present: a stadium-like crowd of...

Flossing is the new musical project of Heather Elle, formerly of BODEGA. Her new single, "Switch," is a surprisingly catchy electroclash/dance track with some hip hop influences about BDSM. (I have friends that would be disappointed that I didn't pick up on the subject matter based on the title alone...) It reminds me of some of the more mainstream electronica or trip hop of the late 90's mixed with some darker industrial, like Sneaker Pimps mixed with Ruby. It has just the slightest hints of darkness while still being an upbeat song.  Heather Elle says of the new single: "‘ Switch' is the most honest documentation of my psyche in 2020... a messy and perverse mental excavation. In its dual moods, the song represents the complexities of coinciding grieving processes — my mother passing suddenly before tour, ending a five-year relationship, leaving a band, and learning that my city and industry would be on an indefinite hold .” You can watch the video for ...