If It's Too Loud...

2016 has been a pretty rough year for everyone, but luckily it's been a great year for music. This has been such a particularly great year that I've been agonizing over my top 10 this year more than others. In such a great year, I wouldn't normally include an EP in my top 10, but Crushed  by Weakened Friends is too great not to include. For a band that only formed last year, they've had a great year topped off with a mini-tour with a reunited Letters to Cleo. It was a perfect pairing for such a 90s influenced band. Weakened Friends have this amazing indie rock meets power pop punk sound. "95" is one of the most perfect songs of the year. "She's so Cool." truly shows their great pop chops with some of the best "Whoah oh oh"s you'll ever hear, and yes, that's important. "Blankets" might be the hidden gem of the EP in it's almost power ballad sound, but a sped up power ballad. Crushed  might have landed higher up in...

Just when we think we can't love Weakened Friends more, they go ahead and release a song like "95." It's beyond catchy, with this great indie rock meets power pop punk sound. My own theory on the name of the song is that it just feels like 1995.  Sonia Sturino has this powerful effect to her voice where it comes across as both powerful and strained and vulnerable. It's almost like a more sensitive Kathleen Hanna. Plus, the inclusion of hand claps, swirly guitars, distant backing "Woahhh woahhhh woahhhh" vocals, and a gang vocal bridge that ends up mirroring the backing vocals, and you would have the undisputed song of the summer, if such a thing still existed. "95" will be on Weakened Friends' upcoming EP, Crushed. You can pre-order it on vinyl through Counter Intuitive Records , and receive a download of it now. That's pretty great since the album isn't officially out until July. For more information on Weakened Friends, check ...