If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Seannie Bryan It's been ten years since Alex Lahey released her debut EP, and she's set to release an anniversary edition in July. The first single is a reworking of "You Don't Think You Like People Like Me" which features a guest appearance from Tegan and Sara. As with most songs from Lahey, this one should be too pop for me, but as always, I absolutely love "You Don't Think You Like People Like Me." The Melbourne born artist always seems to be able to add just enough of an edge to the track to keep it from being too pop, and this one crosses slightly into rock territory to keep things interesting. Plus, you can never go wrong with having Tegan and Sara on a song. Alex Lahey says of her new single: "I vividly remember writing this collection of songs in my childhood bedroom at my mum’s house next to a small window where I could catch glimpses of the ever expanding edges of the Melbourne city landscape in the years I lived there. I sold...

Photo by Lexie Alley For her latest single from her upcoming semi-concept album about a reclusive woman living in an unkempt house, Mitski is going full on crooner. "I'll Change for You" sounds more like a jazz standard than an indie rock or singer-songwriter release. The song is enchanting and captivates the listener more and more as it goes on. It's also a fantastic showcase for Mitski's vocal abilities. It sounds like a song that could have been released nearly a century ago while still sounding fully modern. It might sound like a standard, but it would be a standard through the lens of Mitski's creativity. You can watch the video for "I'll Change for You" below. Nothing's About to Happen to Me is due out February 27 on Dead Oceans, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Mitski, check out the artist's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the video. Mon. March 2 – New York, NY @ The Shed # Tue. March 3 – New York, NY @ The...

Photo by Lexie Alley To us, Mitski will always be one of our "new" artists, even though she just announced her eighth album. The album is something of a concept album about "... a reclusive woman in an unkempt house." The latest single, "Where's My Phone?," is a huge, epic song playing in the worlds of rock and pop. It's ridiculously catchy, and is almost demanding the listener to start pogoing. Mitski is crooning the track that would make singers of the 50's and 60's jealous, and the song keeps the guitars just noisy enough to not fall too far into the realm of pop music. "Where's My Phone?" is an incredibly creative track that is much more complex than your typical rock or pop song. If you're still unsure about jumping on the Mitski bandwagon, now is a perfect time. You can watch the video for "Where's My Phone?" below. Nothing's About to Happen to Me is due out February 27 on Dead Oceans, and is availa...

One of the themes of 2025 has been artists we've loved for a while breaking out, and none have done that quite like Wednesday. The indie rock meets country artists blurred those genre lines even further with Bleeds , and blew up with their April 2026 show at Royale moved to the much larger Roadrunner. When you listen to Bleeds , you'll know why. As someone who has always loved albums that swing wildly between genres while still sounding like a cohesive collection of songs, this latest is a dream come true. You go right from the loud and noisy "Reality TV Argument Bleeds" into the twang-filled "Townies." Wednesday are settling firmly into their sound on this one, and we're all well rewarded with this album. Alt-country and indie rock are arguably our favorite genres, and Bleeds mixes both of those sounds into one for a dozen songs unlike anyone else. The songs alternate between being perfect for moshing to heartfelt and earnest head nodders, and that'...

Photo by Graham Tolbert We're fully into everything Wednesday puts out, and love seeing if their songs go more towards the indie rock side or alt-country side of their sound. Their latest, "Bitter Everyday," definitely fits into their indie rock side of theirs, with intensely whining guitars and a generous layer of fuzz over the entire shebang. It's a loud and noisy song, so if you love that sort of thing, this one is for you. Their more country side comes out more in the lyrics, and has quite a bit in common with the subject matter of their sometime tour mates Drive-By Truckers. In fact, sonically "Bitter Everyday" sounds a bit like Drive-By Truckers meets Built to Spill. Karly Hatzman says of her band's latest single: “‘Bitter Everyday’ is a song formed around my desperate desire to tell the story about how in 2019 this lady came up on our porch at like 3 in the morning when Jake and our friend Andrew were out there drinking and playing guitar. She ask...

Photo by Martina Gonzalez Bertello Wednesday have always skirted the line between alt-country and indie rock, and the North Carolina band blurs that line even more on their latest single. "Pick Up That Knife" starts off with twang in both Karly Hatzman's vocals and guitar. It's a little DIY sounding with a generous fuzz layered on, but it's still a country song. And then the noise erupts for a bit until the song morphs back into country, going back and forth a bit, without truly having a pattern. It's more quiet/loud/less loud/more quiet than the typical moud/quiet/loud. No one does the alt-country goes indie rock thing quite like Wednesday does, and "Pick Up That Knife" pushes the boundaries even more. Karly Hartzman says of her band's upcoming album: “ Bleeds  is the spiritual successor to  Rat Saw God,  and I think the quintessential ‘Wednesday Creek Rock’ album." You can watch the video for "Pick Up That Knife" below. Bleeds is...

Photo by Graham Tolbert If you've been here for a while, you probably know how obsessed we are with Wednesday. Maybe you've been wondering what the big deal with the North Carolina band is, and, if so, their latest single is the perfect introduction to why they are so great. "Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)" starts out more on the Americana side of things. It's not exactly alt-country, but Karly Hartzman's vocals will always have just enough twang to make things at least a little country. Slowly, the noise begins to take over the song, and what started out as a mellow (if a little noisy) track ends as a raging indie rock noise collision. This is all while still maintaining the roots of the song's original Americana base. Wednesday are one of those bands that deserve all their accolades, and possibly more. Karly Hartzman says of her band's upcoming new album: “ Bleeds  is the spiritual successor to  Rat Saw God,  and I think the quintessential ‘Wednesday C...

Photo by Graham Tolbert Rat Saw God was my #3 album of 2023, so I'm clearly going to be thrilled to hear new music from Wednesday. The North Carolina band's latest is "Elderberry Wine," which leans more into the Americana side of their indie rock meets Americana sound. There are a lot of bands combining those two genres these days, but no one quite does it as well as Wednesday. They seem to be able to move between and blur the two genres adeptly, and even an almost purely Americana song of theirs puts just enough indie rock fuzz to it to keep things interesting. "Elderberry Wine" also features some of the finest vocals we've heard from singer Karly Hartzman to date. As of right now this is a standalone single, but hopefully we'll be hearing more from Wednesday in the near future. Karly Hartzman says of the band's latest single: “‘Elderberry Wine’ is about the potential for sweet things in life (love, family, success) to become poison if not prepa...

Photo by Pak Bae Japanese Breakfast is one of those artists we haven't covered anywhere near enough, so we're making a plan to change that this year. Luckily Michelle Zauner is releasing a new album this Spring which will make it much easier for us. This marks the band's first proper studio album (previous ones were recorded in improvised set ups in warehouses), and the first single is "Orlando in Love." This new song is an absolutely lush and gorgeous track. It holds the kind of beauty that is nearly painful, and packs almost an entire album's worth of sound and emotion into two and a half minutes. We've obviously been aware and enjoyed Japanese Breakfast for a while now, but it's well past time to fully board the bandwagon. You can watch the video for "Orlando in Love" below. For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is due out March 24 on Dead Oceans, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Japanese Breakfast, check out the arti...