If It's Too Loud...

It's been a little while since we last heard from Cold Expectations, but the Boston band are back with a new single. "Our Hearts Need Electricity" was written from a hospital bed after Steve Prygoda was diagnosed with advanced heart failure and needed an immediate pacemaker implant. Cold Expectations have always had a jangly power pop sound which is apparent in this latest single, but there is also an immediacy to this one that we haven't heard from them previously. Songs like "Summer Dress" and "Coat of Snow" had a laid back vibe to them, and that is missing with "Our Hearts Need Electricity." That's been replaced by a sound more leaning into the panic of post-punk. It's an interesting new sound that we only wish came under different circumstances. Steve Prygoda says of the new single: “We are excited to put this track out into the world with our pals at The Sound Cove; this song was a truly collaborative effort with all three of...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday August 23 Somergloom featuring Big Brave, Final Gasp, Spiritual Poison, Lesser Glow, Circus Trees, and Luci Dead Limb at Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA Cold Expectations, The Gypsy Moths, and Girl with a Hawk at The Burren, Somerville, MA Gollylagging, Paper Lady, and Alexander at The Rockwell, Somerville, MA Muddy Ruckus, Julie Rhodes & The Electric Co., and Yonks at Alchemy, Providence, RI Oh the Humanity!, Eric and the Nothing, Scotty Saints and the True Believer...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday June 7 Tysk Tysk Task, Dog 8 Dog, and The Shirt and Shoes at The Overlook at Mill No. 5, Lowell, MA Swansea Sound, Jeanines, and Zowy at O'Brien's, Allston, MA Hand of the Tribe, Catching Hell, Circus Trees, and Cosmic Triumph at Thirsty First, Lowell, MA Saturday June 8 Forever Lager Fest featuring Pronoun, Valleyheart, Grace Givertz, Oldsoul, Cape Crush, Rusty Mullet, and Lee Zangari at Notch Brewing, Brighton, MA A Rock-n-Roll Benefit for Mark Erdody (Afternoon ...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: April 12 STL GLD, ToriTori, and The Blade-Runners at Sonia, Cambridge, MA Minibeast, Major Stars, Rope Trick, and The Endorphins at The Rockwell, Somerville, MA John R. Miller and The Deslondes at Fete Music Hall, Providence, RI Rock and Roll Rumble featuring Never Gonna Make It, The Ghouls, Cold Expectations, and The Roland High Life at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion, Children of the Flaming Wheel, and Pink Lids at Faces Brewing, Malden, MA Matt Charette and The Truer Sound, The Nightblinders, and Old Rochelle at Thirsty ...

Doing Anything Fun this Weekend? is a new feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday, February 2 PonyBoy, Muzzins, Minibeast, and The Z-Boys at The Parlour, Providence, RI Princess Bleach, Miracle Blood, and Burr, DNB Craft Kitchen, New Bedford, MA Baabes, Salem Wolves, Sexx Fix, and Komodo Rojo at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Recent History, Kid Gulliver, and Eyrie House Ruins at JJ's Tavern, Florence, MA The Wolff Sisters and Hush Club at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH Saturday, February 3 Gut Health, Miracle Blood, Fox Canadian, Superjerk, and Berm at Hotel Vernon, Worcester, MA  Happy Little Clouds, Crow Follow, and Cold Expect...

Lou Miami was a garage punk artist in Boston in the 1980's. Cold Expectations are keeping his legacy alive with a cover that's perfect for Halloween. "(I Live With) Ghosts" is a weirdo garage rock song that sounds wonderfully familiar even if you've never heard it before. It has that goth punk rock 'n' roll sound that's perfect if you love bands like The Cramps or X. Cold Expectations' version is completely true to the original, just with maybe a little more melody on theirs. This is pure rock 'n' roll with a hint of a dark side, which helps make this a perfect one for the best time of year. You can listen to Cold Expectations' version of "(I Live With) Ghosts" below. The single is out now via Rum Bar Records and is available for download through Bandcamp . It's also available on the free forty-two song After School Special: Second Semester compilation available here . For more on Cold Expectations, check out the band on I...

The last time we brought you a new song from Boston's Cold Expectations was "Summer Dress" back in May 2021, which we called "... a perfect, laid back summer song." Now they've decided to take on winter with "Coat of Snow." The new single is still laid back although a bit upbeat as well. It's a jangly pop rock song that has a bit of a sonic chill to it despite being mostly warm sounding. The chill is mostly in the keyboards with the warmth coming from fuzzy guitars and wonderfully harmonized vocals. With that dichotomy Cold Expectations may also have perfectly captured the spirit of winter and the holidays in Boston.  Despite the jingle bells towards the end, this is definitely not a Christmas song. Songwriter Steve Prygoda explains the song via the YouTube description: "It’s a pseudo-holiday song. I wanted the lyrics for ‘Coat of Snow’ to capture the soft, almost tender-hearted feeling that arrives in the small pocket of days between Chri...

Photo by Joan Hathaway When a band names a song "Summer Dress," it kinda has to be a summery song. Cold Expectations have released a perfect, laid back summer song. It's a bright and breezy indie rock song that borders on pop but doesn't quite go that far. It has that hanging out by a fire acoustic guitar hang out feel, even though it's an indie rock song. Even without the video, it's a great beach song. In a post on Bandcamp, the band explains the new song: "Summer Dress was written on a Sunday, thinking on how it’s the most peaceful day, and how it kinda puts all the other days to shame with its sense of purpose and clarity. With all our daily doses of chaos, at least you know that on Sunday the noise can be filtered out, or at least it strives to be that, for me. That’s where the opening lines came from. Summer Dress is intended to be earnest and optimistic – themes that aren’t easy to weave into 3-minute indie-rock, which tends to skew more jaded. Thi...

It's been a little over two years since we've brought you any new music from Boston's Cold Expectations, but luckily the drought has ended and we have a new song. Previously their music was a Hank Williams/Rolling Stones mixture, with just a little 90's alternative to it. This time they're describing "Two Blueberries" as "... a contemporary take on a fun 70's-style bubblegum pop song." That does describe the song perfectly. It's a jangly pop song that calls to mind bands like Big Star and the Ramones covering oldies. It's wonderfully sweet in a way that stops just short of being saccharine, and maybe just the slightest edge possible. Cold Expectations explain the meaning of "Two Blueberries": "It’s about the ordinary, everyday stuff that happens, like a pint of berries spilling out, becoming whole universes and planets spinning around on the kitchen floor. It feels like you and me, spinning out in space. Little things. ...

The travelling Whistlestop Rock Festival was derailed along with everything else this spring. The festival featured local New England bands  The Chelsea Curve, Cold Expectations, Field Day, Heather Rose In Clover, Justine and The Unclean, Kid Gulliver, The Knock Ups, Linnea’s Garden, and Tiger Bomb  playing in different cities throughout New England with special guests. Keeping the spirit of that festival alive is "Queen of the Drive-In" which features an all-star line up of Whistlestop Rock bandmembers. Kid Gulliver's Simone Berk takes on lead vocals. This is a wonderfully fun song that is a little too poppy to be garage rock and a little too upbeat to be dream pop, even though it's all of these. Plus, with a chorus that features the lyrics " I'm the Dry Hump Queen of the Drive In /  Squeeze over the handbrake and we'll both win," this is just a simple, fun rock song, just the kind we need in a summer like this one. You can listen to "Queen...

The winter is a fairly dead time for live music in New England. A storm can derail a live show at any time, and who really wants to deal with being cold and carrying around a big, bulky coat inside a sweaty, packed club? Whistlestop Rock Festival is going to change that for the better. Simone Berk (Kid Gulliver, Sugar Snow) reached out via a group message to women in bands about doing a show together. That idea expanded into a regionally touring festival featuring eight bands plus special guests in each city. As you can tell by the name, Whistlestop Rock Festival sticks with the rock side of things and features the retro-mod punk of The Chelsea Curve, the Rolling Stones meets Hank Williams of Cold Expectations, Boston rock veterans Field Day, heavily 90's alt-rock infleunced Heather Rose in Clover, the power pop punk of Justine and The Unclean, Kid Gulliver's power pop, power trio The Knock Ups, the impossible to classify Powerslut, and Tiger Bomb's garage pop. Any thre...

This week we bring you a double header for Friday Freebie. Both bands are from the Boston area, both bands are playing a show on March 7 at Once Somerville with one of our favorites The I Want You, and both bands have releases available for free right now on Bandcamp! Cold Expectaions - Supper Prayers According to their Bandcamp bio, Cold Expectations took their name by combining songs from Hank Williams and The Rolling Stones. Can you imagine that in your head? Yup, that's basically what Cold Expectations sound like. Track 1 on Supper Prayers is called "Waterin' Down the Whiskey (With Our Tears)" and another called "Lately I've Been Wearin' My Heart On My Sleeve" in case Hank Williams/Rolling Stones hybrid didn't quite explain it enough for you. Although it's not all early country and 60's country rock on Supper Prayers. There is also quite a bit of 90's alternative influence here, but more the 90's alternative that was stro...