If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Morgan Kelley In the winter of 2021, Blood moved from Austin, TX to Philadelphia. There the band recorded their debut album, which is set to be released in August. The first single from that album is "One Dimensional Man," and if you have an affinity for certain musical styles from the 90's, you're going to love this one. To me "One Dimensional Man" sounds like a cross between Jeff Buckley and Radiohead's first two albums. It's quiet and intimate while also being an epic song. It's a melodic song with a ton of jangly pop thrown in, and it's undeniably infectious. Although, when a song is as great as "One Dimensional Man," you don't mind it being lodged in your head for an extended period of time. You can watch the video for "One Dimensional Man" below. Loving You Backwards is due out August 2 on Ramp Local, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Blood, check out the band on Instagram .

Photo by Missy Malouf We've been into Tomato Flower for a while now, but we've never heard a single of theirs quite like "Harlequin." The band has this knack of creating these songs that navigate between indie rock and indie pop, and that include a certain level of quirkiness that sets them apart from others in the genre. "Harlequin" definitely fits that mold, but there's just a certain something that makes the song stand out from its predecessors. It sounds like Tomato Flower decided to write a hit song in their own style, and just absolutely nailed it. The song creates a dreamlike sound that is nearly hypnotizing. It's going to be easy to just space out and lose focus while "Harlequin" surrounds you, which could be the best way to listen. Tomato Flower says of their new song: "'Harlequin' is a pop song about a friend who keeps fucking up but you still love them anyway. The social situation becomes distorted and fantastical; t...

Photo by Missy Malouff Baltimore's Tomato Flower released a pair of fantastic EPs back in 2022, and now they're back and set to release their first full length. The first single from the album, "Saint," stays right in the slightly off-kilter indie rock/pop that we came to love from them, but it has a bigger sound than we've previously heard. It's a slightly heavier sound, which is relative since it's not like "Saint" is a hard rocker. If anything, it sounds like Stereolab decided to let loose a bit and rock out. Tomato Flower may have been a wee bit too odd for some people in 2022, but "Saint" could well propel them to much bigger stages sooner than later. Tomato Flower say of their new single: "Frenetic guitars and drums reflect a racing mind, while a slower guitar, cold vocal delivery, and a bass that crashes into the ground reflect the speaker’s failure to articulate herself in time. The outro can be read as rhapsodic, ironic, o...

Photo by Desmond Picotte Brooklyn's Frances Chang just released one of the most thrilling singles of 2023. "Eye Land" starts out as this dreamy and twangy song that has just the slightest hints of grunge hidden behind the twang. It then proceeds to morph multiple times through multiple genres, including dream pop, indie pop, power pop, post-grunge, etc. It's the kind of song that you never know what's coming next, and this is all packed into a just over four minute run time. I checked how long I had been listening at one point and it was less than ninety seconds. It felt like so much longer, only because of how much had already happened in the song. Despite the fact that "Eye Land" feels a lot longer than it is, you're going to end up disappointed there isn't more when it ends. Frances Chang says of her new single: "This song marked a period of change - a big relationship was ending, I was solo touring with my friend around the Ireland and E...

Photo by Caleb Dudley Godcaster continue to be one of the most wonderfully unique bands out there. Their latest single, "Lady Said a Body," is this odd fable of a song propelled by swirling and twinkling synthesizers and near-whispered vocals. The song is both disturbing and charming, menacing and comforting. It is a fable, after all, so that all checks out. It's also a song completely different from what we're used to from Godcaster but fits right in with what we've previously heard. Which also checks out. You can listen to "Lady Said a Body" below. The single is out now on Ramp Local. For more on Godcaster, check out the band's website . Upcoming tour dates are below the song. Sep 20 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Sep 21 - Indianapolis, IN @ Healer * Sep 22 - Detroit, MI @ El Club * Sep 23 - Toronto, ON @ The Baby G * Sep 24 - Montreal, QB @ Bar Le 'Ritz' PDB * Sep 25 - Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom * Sep 27 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made * ...

Photo by Layne Miller You know a band is going to be interesting when their press release compares them to Das Racist, My Chemical Romance, 100 gecs, 311, Insane Clown Posse, and Death Grips. GHÖ SH are digital hardcore, and that's about all we can say for sure. The Philadelphia based band's latest single, "Devil Lady," has metal guitars mixed with electronic noise, hip hop, pop, and... I don't even know what else. As an old school Atari Teenage Riot fan, I'm pre-disposed to enjoying this. GH Ö SH takes that sound and updates it to appeal to a new generation of kids raised on Meghan Thee Stallion and Carly Rae Jepson who are just getting ready to really freak out their parents, and I'm on board for that. Vocalist Symphony Spell says of her band's new song: "I have a difficult relationship with religion.  I grew up Baptist and I hated it. Church was always a place where I felt alienated and judged. I went to the kind of church and was raised by the...

Photo by Missy Malouff We were getting used to Tomato Flower's indie rock meets off kilter pop sound, and then they go and release "Destroyer." It's not like the Baltimore band have completely changed their sound with this new song, but there's a certain venom in this one that previous songs did not have. It's still an indie rock/off kilter pop song, but Jamison Murphy's vocals are just dripping with anger and angst. If you liked what Tomato Flower have done before, you're still going to love this one. It's a slight change in sound that keeps them being one of the more intriguing bands out there. Singer/guitarist Jamison Murphy says of the new song: "Destroyer came out all at once in a period of sleeplessness and turmoil and then was sharpened through collaboration. It's about seeing shadow people, but there's a reversal, and the speaker becomes possessed, becomes the destroyer." You can watch the video for "Destroyer" b...

Photo by Ryann Logeais Ebersole New York's Godcaster are back with more of their foreboding psychedelia. Their latest single, "Diamond's Shining Face," is this has this building menace lurking behind it. Typically psychedelic music is bright and happy, but that's not the case with Godcaster. It's reminding me a lot of that one weirdo freak out song on early Stooges albums. The song is like The Stooges meets a more modern psych band like The Flaming Lips. As the song builds, it eventually breaks out into these cathartic releases of noise bursts before going back to the slow and plodding structure of the song. This is a fairly odd song, but if you know Godcaster that is exactly what you want. Lead vocalist Judson Kolk says of the new song: "This song’s music and lyrics are inspired by the great western novelist Zane Grey and by a heartbreaking man named David Diamond who I met on the internet and who was in the process of losing his mind and becoming increa...

Photo by Lucas Misclevitz Portland, OR noise rock duo Sea Moss are back with a new single and an upcoming album. Their instrumentation includes "... hacked feedback oscillators, colorful Rococo tin boxes, and a contact mic plugged directly onto vocalist Noa Ver's neck." Yeah, "Candy Run" is a weird one. This is noise rock at its finest. It lands squarely in the genre without really sounding quite like anyone else. The closest comparison I can make it maybe Lightning Bolt meets Guerilla Toss, but it doesn't quite sound like that, either. It's bizarre electronic noises done in a more rock way than usual. This will most definitely not be for everyone, but it will be ideal for the right people. You can watch the video for "Candy Run" below. SEAMOSS2 is due out October 28 on Ramp Local. For more on Sea Moss, check out the band's Facebook . Upcoming tour dates are below the video. 9/13 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studio w/ Kim Gordon 9/17 - Port...