If It's Too Loud...

I first stumbled upon The James Rocket on Amie Street, which was at least fifteen years ago. That might as well be five or six lifetimes ago, but the band is still chugging away and is set to release their debut full band album. The first single off that album, "Pharaohs," still sounds like The James Rocket while seeing them change up their sound significantly. The song still has that 90's indie rock influence strongly represented, but it also sees them stretching into an almost New Wave or post punk sound. It's kind of like a secret collaboration between Guided By Voices and Talking Heads. "Pharaohs" is a killer rock song that has us dying to hear what one of our long term favorites is up to next. You can listen to "Pharaohs" below. Seen is due out November 21, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on The James Rocket, check out the band on Facebook  and Instagram . Seen by The James Rocket

As much as we'd love to be bringing you new music from The James Rocket, today we bring you the next best thing. The Brooklyn band have just put their first two albums up on Bandcamp for the "name your price" option! 2012's Launch and 2016's Thrust are both great albums. I first discovered the band back in the Amiestreet days (RIP Amiestreet) where you could download new releases for free if you got their first. I believe I picked up their earlier music for free this way, so the "name your price" option is giving me great nostalgia. The James Rocket have this very particular blend of 90's style indie rock that is indebted to bands like Guided By Voices and Sebadoh. It's very distinctly poppy and hook filled, but it has enough of the best of 90's indie rock noise and choppy guitars to keep it from being even remotely pop. It's truly great rock that is destined to give you the best possible of flashbacks from your college radio days. You ca...

In an email announcing the release of Burnout , The James Rocket write " Here's a new album, released four years after the previous, and 'only' a year later than anticipated. Rather than calling it 'belated', how about we just say it's 'finely tuned'?" Burnout is definitely finely tuned. It's a collection of twelve killer indie rock songs that throw back to the glory days of Sebadoh and Guided by Voices. It's filled with wonderfully lo-fi indie power pop rock songs. A song like "Up All Night" is a bouncy, high energy burst that has the potential to be an absolute anthem live... if we ever get to go to live shows again. Even a mid-tempo semi-ballad like "Dancing In My Paint" has this odd, jerky energy seething under it. What I'm truly enjoying about the songs on Burnout  is how they perfectly straddle the straightforward alt-rock sound with the quirkier side of indie rock. Staying firmly inside of both keeps t...

It's been nearly four years since we've had new music from The James Rocket. Saying things have changed since they released Thrust in 2016 is a slight understatement. The James Rocket has changed a bit, too. Their new single, "Boccaccio," is a little more mainstream style indie rock than we have heard from them previously. It's a fairly upbeat song despite the subject matter being the pandemic we're all living in as we most likely watch the American empire crumbling. James William Roy somehow makes lyrics like " When I read some dead Italian from the plague years /  It can't convey the things we have in store" and " If I believed in such a thing as justice /  Then I might think we maybe had this coming" sound almost cheery. You can watch the video for "Boccaccio" below. The song is currently available on The James Rocket's Bandcamp . For more on The James Rocket, check out the artist's website .

After ten years of following the musical exploits of The James Rocket, one of their rare trips up to the Boston area finally worked out for my schedule. Not to mention that our new discovery Amanda White was also playing the show, and I knew I had to head out, despite unseasonably cold temperatures and showtime confusion made worse by whoever was working the door. Amanda White started off the show with her backing band, which also includes Joe Elliott, drummer for The James Rocket. She had some sound issues for the first two songs, which is a little disappointing since her classically trained vocals are one of the main selling points. She stuck mostly to songs off her latest album, Kittens Give Zero Fucks , mostly so she could say "Kittens give zero fucks" as much as possible. (Her own admission, not my speculation.) As someone who tends to go to very earnest indie rock shows, sometimes it's just fun to see an artist that just rocks out and has fun with it. And live, ...

Brooklyn's The James Rocket are back with their first release since 2012's Launch . It's just a 7" single and not a full length album, but new music is always welcome. The A-side is "We Are Here for You" is 90s style power pop at it's finest, with the sweet melodies of Big Star mixing with the fuzzy guitars of Guided By Voices. The B-side, "Derby Girl," is an ode to roller derby girls, possibly the best kind. It's all just power pop perfection, highly polished with just enough grit to make it interesting. Hopefully they won't be waiting four years between releases for the next one. "We Are Here for You" b/w "Derby Girl" is available today. You can download a digital copy for free on The James Rocket's Bandcamp . You can also order a physical copy there, too. If you live in or around NYC, the band is playing a release party tonight at The Bitter End on Bleeker Street. For more info, check out their website .  ...