If It's Too Loud...

"Snake Charmer" is one of Sapling's more quiet songs, but quiet is relative in the world of music. It's a take on the classic rhyme (you'll know it once it starts), and starts off almost folk like. And then the sonic explosion kicks in, and you just get slammed with a wall of fuzz, which includes bass clarinet by Dana Colley (Morphine). It's a song sung by guitarist/Theraminster Amber Tortorelli who attacks the simple rhyme and melody, giving it more than a little menace. It's a hypnotic force of fuzz and distortion, and it may end up becoming one of your favorite ever Sapling songs. You can listen to "Snake Charmer" below. amor fati is due out May 7 on Sleazy Within Reason Records, with an album release party on May 7 at Starlite in Southbridge, MA with Minibeast and Crow Follow. Tickets for that show are available here . For more on Sapling, check out the band's website . Snake Charmer by Sapling

Photo by Sparxsea. The main reason I gave the latest single from Whitney Walker a shot was that it features Dana Colley of Morphine on saxophone. Turns out even without that guest appearance "Hey Buddy" is a great song. The Portland, ME based singer has crafted a song that lives in the worlds of Americana, pop, and noir. As upbeat as the song may be at times, there's a sense of darkness lurking (more than lurking, really) beneath the whole thing. It creates this weird dichotomy where you can't quite tell if the song is positive or not. It's also the kind of song that's going to grow on you as it goes on. Even if you're not sold on "Hey Buddy" in the first minute or so, trust us on this one and give it a shot all the way through. You're going to thank us if you do. Whitney Walker says of his upcoming album: “My music is for the people who don’t fit in. People on the margins: drug addicts, homeless kids, closeted homosexuals, transgender folks....

Photo via Facebook Back in October, Lowell, MA's Wildcat Slim released the excellent Smorgasbord. If you bought the CD or the Bandcamp download you would have been treated to two bonus tracks (ah... bonus tracks...) which are available today apart from the album. Both are covers, the first being a cover of Morphine's "Buena." For the cover, vocals are provided by drummer Savannah Marshall and baritone sax was played by Matt Bailin, because you need sax if you'e going to cover the legendary Morphine. The cover nails the low rock vibe of the original, but injects a little bit more joy into the song. The second bonus track is a cover of Bob Marley's "The Real Situation." Wildcat Slim transfer the reggae classic into a little bit more of a rollicking country rocker, complete with killer guitar solos. It's always fun to see a band reinvent an iconic song like this, and Wildcat Slim deliver. You can listen to Wildcat Slim's covers of "Buena...

Hailing from Portland, ME, theWorst have been called "... the glorious love child of Joan Jett and Kurt Cobain" by Alternative Press. I hate to just cop what another music writer said, but in the case of their newest single, it fits too perfectly not to. "Yes Regrets" is loud, guitar heavy rock with a little 80's pop sensibility thrown in. It's noisy, but not too noisy. It's driving punk rock in the way that Nirvana were punk, but with Jett's attitude and hit making abilities. Plus, it features Dana Colley of Morphine on baritone saxophone so you know they've got some serious indie cred. You can watch the video for "Yes Regrets" below. theWorst's new album will be out in 2021 on RascalZRecordZ. For more on theWorst, check out their website .