If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Charlotte Strazis Elena Buenrostro only started Starcharm last year, but the Chicago band is already receiving a huge, well deserved hype. The band's latest single, "Fake Blood," is a hypnotic and foreboding slice of indie rock. The term "haunted" gets thrown around music journalism quite a bit, but "Fake Blood" fits that term impeccably. It starts off relatively straightforward, before it devolves into an experimental, noise soundscape. Buenrostro's vocals are what keeps the song from turning into total chaos, but just barely. Musically, the song hits this strange point where even we have to agree that it's just noise... and we mean that as a compliment.  Elena Buenrostro says of her band's new single: “In short, ‘Fake Blood’ is about the horrors of dating in your twenties. ‘Fake Blood’ is a song about a relationship that resembles something close to what you want, but actually isn't at all. It's about the refusal to voice...

Photo by Jackie Freeman Vermont's Robber Robber might just be the future of post-punk. The quartet's latest single, "Watch for Infection," is an oddly slinky and fully intense song. There are elements of Sonic Youth's No Wave sound, electronic music, indie rock, and punk throughout the song. Musically, the track is foreboding, and you spend the entire song waiting for it to explode. Nina Cates' vocals add a certain sense of beauty and almost a pop sheen to the song. Without being loud or aggressive, "Watch for Infection" is an intense track. Long before the vocals kick in, you're going to be mesmerized by the hypnotic qualities of the song. If you're looking for a burst of positivity and joy, this isn't the right song for you, but that's kind of why we love Robber Robber. Nina Cates says of her band's latest single: “Real emotions and moments inspired the feelings of ‘Watch for Infection,’ but the story is made up. Internal dialog...

Photo by Orion Hastings Starcharm is the new project from Chicago's Elena Buenrostro, formerly of Soft and Dumb. Their latest single, "Wake Up," is this bizarre little burst of near mainstream indie rock. It takes a little bit to get going, but it takes off a little after the thirty second mark. Before that it's more of a indie pop style song, and then the feedback kicks in and Starcharm are off. There is still plenty of an indie pop thing going on in "Wake Up," but it's still primarily a rock song. This song is so close to following a known pattern of immensely popular indie rock meets indie pop, but it veers off the path enough to keep the song unique. This is a good one with enough twists and turns to always make you wonder what's coming up next. You can watch the video for "Wake Up" below. The single is out now on Fire Talk Records/Angel Tapes. For more on Starcharm, check out the artist on Instagram .

Photo by Jackie Freeman Vermont's Robber Robber keep defying our expectations with every single they release. Their latest single, "The Sound It Made," still fits into the indie rock meets post-punk sound we love of theirs, but it veers off wildly. While previous releases of theirs have had a dance friendly element to them, this latest single leaps into dance music. It's still rock based, but "The Sound It Made" owes a lot to the electronic music and drum and bass of the 90's. It sort of sounds like Gang of Four filtered through The Prodigy and Roni Size. Robber Robber have crafted such an interesting and unique sound, which happens to be something that we love here at If It's Too Loud... You can watch the video for "The Sound It Made" below. Two Wheels Move the Soul is due out April 3 on Fire Talk Recordings, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Robber Robber, check out the band on Instagram . Upcoming tour dates are below the...

Photo by Jackie Freeman Burlington, VT's Robber Robber released Wild Guess  last year, which was a musical highlight for 2024. Now, they're back with a new single, their first on Fire Talk Records. "Talkback" keeps the band's post-punk sound, but it's a more dance friendly, almost more poppy version. Of course, calling a song poppy is a relative term, as it's still a fairly dissonant song, but one you're going to want to dance to. It's also perfect for just listening to as you try to dissect all of the elements of the song. As with most songs from Robber Robber, "Talkback" is fairly undefinable, so just sit back (or stand and dance) while you let the song wash over you. You can watch the video for "Talkback" below. The single is out now on Fire Talk Records. For more on Robber Robber, check out the band on Instagram .

Photo by Derrick Alexander Chicago's ira glass have a brand new single out, and it might be one of the most dissonant things we've ever brought you. "that's it/that? that's all you can say?" is an explosion of noise, crashing free jazz, post-hardcore, indie rock, and noise punk into one cacophonous sound. It's all buzzing guitars, hammering drums, and screaming vocals. To say that ira glass isn't going to be for everyone is a massive understatement, but for those of you that will end up loving "that's it/that? that's all you can say?," it will be a complete revelation for you. This is pure musical chaos, and it's absolutely great. You can watch the video for "that's it/that? that's all you can say?" below. joy is no knocking nation is due out November 14 on Fire Talk Records/Angel Tapes, and is available for pre-order here . For more on ira glass, check out the band on Instagram . Upcoming tour dates are below th...

Photo by Athena Merry Sleeper's Bell started off as the lo-fi bedroom folky pop of Chicago's Blaine Teppema, and has now grown into a duo including Evan Green. Their latest single, "Bored," still has all of the intimacy of a lo-fi bedroom recording while being much more lush and fleshed out. At times, "Bored" is almost painfully intimate. You get the feeling that the song wasn't quite made for an audience to listen to even though it's obviously fully fleshed out. The song is gorgeous in its simplicity. Even as it gets bigger and more involved as it goes on, it never loses that intensity.  You can listen to "Bored" below. Clover is due out February 7 on Fire Talk Records/Angel Tapes, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Sleeper's Bell, check out the artist on Instagram . 

Photo by Cal Moores Hailing from Manchester, UK, Mandy, Indiana aren't going to sound like anything you expect. The quartet's new single, "Pinking Sheers," sounds like the most wonderfully bizarre combination of hip hop, industrial, funk, and French New Wave you've ever heard. Valentine Caulfield's vocals are rapped in French over a metallic sounding collection of instruments and one of the most killer beats around. It's a noisy and probably not very accessible sound, but if this works for you it's going to bury itself straight into your brain. It's also unexpectedly dance friendly in its own odd way. You can watch the video for "Pinking Sheers" below. i've seen a way is due out May 19 on Fire Talk Records. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on Mandy, Indiana, check out the band on Bandcamp and Instagram . Upcoming tour dates are below the video. Wed. Mar. 1 - Manchester, UK @ Soup Wed. Mar. 15 - Sun. Mar. 19 - Austin, TX @...

Photo by Annalie Bouchard Based out of Brooklyn, Weeping Icon have a very specific sound crafted from a few related yet different genres. Their latest single, "Two Ways," has the edge and metal adjacent sound of L7 mixed with the angst and driving punk of riot grrrl. What really makes a song like "Two Ways" stand out is that is also has some of the noise and sound quality of art rock or noise rock. All of this is with a post punk beat, which creates a fantastic mix of familiar sounds shot out in a unique blend of sound. Despite the anger involved, this is a really fun song that fans of straight up punk and metal as well as noise rock are going to get really into. Sara Fantry of Weeping Icon says of the new song: "' Two Ways' is about people who want to appear virtuous in their public facing personality, but live a contradictory shadow life in which they do whatever they please, no matter how harmful their actions are to others.  It’s told through the vo...

Photo by Connor Fields Mamalarky are continuing to make some of the more unique versions of indie rock out there today. The band's latest single, "Shining Armor," is this bizarro version of R&B mixed with indie rock. It has this light yet funky feel to it, and unlike most indie rock, this one is actually a fun song. It's very danceable, as long as you don't mind dancing awkwardly to a rapidly changing beat. "Shining Armor" is reminding me of a more laid back version of Guerilla Toss. It's a noisy and chaotic song that is oddly pleasant and almost soothing at times. Singer Livvy Bennett says of the new song: " This song goes out to conveniently anonymous YouTube haters . ' Shining Armor' is an invitation for anyone who has shit to say about how I play guitar to go ahead and reveal themselves and play a little song for us! When I wrote this I was getting a bunch of comments about my gender and appearance and how that corresponds with h...

Photo by Alexa Viscius Jess Viscius started Bnny after someone left a guitar in her apartment. She started teaching herself to play and found songwriting to be therapeutic. The Chicago based artist started Bnny which also features her twin sister Alexa and three of her best friends. The band's newest single, "Ambulance," is amazingly sparse. Viscius' vocals are just over being a whisper with a softly played guitar and minimal bass. Because of this, "Ambulance" feels impossibly intimate and more than a little discomforting despite being beautiful. It almost feels like a friend asking you to listen in to recordings of their therapy sessions with them. The subject matter of the album adds to this, as it was written as Viscius was processing the death of her partner. Jess Viscius says that the new song "...  is about wishful thinking. It’s about guilt and forgiveness. It’s about reconciling with your past. It’s about saying goodbye. ” You can watch the vide...