If It's Too Loud...

By now you all know that two of my favorite local bands are Sapling and Tysk Tysk Task, although at this point I should just say that they are two of my favorite bands. The members are friends, and I've been hoping they'd play a show together for a while now. Finally, Friday night one of my dreams came true so I had to head out to The Worthen in Lowell for one of my most wished for double bills! When I first saw this bill, I checked out Red Ledger, the opening band. I really enjoyed their blend of mainstream alt-rock meets melodic hardcore. Friday night's set was a solo acoustic show by frontman James Dee. Dee went between acoustic guitar and ukulele for his set, mostly playing songs that he can't really play with a full, loud band. He also played at least one song off Red Ledger's upcoming album. It was hard to judge the new song based on a solo acoustic performance. This just gives me even more reason to get out to check out Red Ledger down the road! I didn't ...

Red Ledger are a Boston area band that formed in 2014 but are just coming to our attention now. The trio's latest single, "I'm Just Being Dramatic (Ignore Me)," combines a more mainstream alt-rock sound with melodic hardcore. It reminds me of an odd combination of Foo Fighters and Fugazi. The guitars are buzzsaw heavy with choruses that are just begging to be yelled out in an arena. This is just huge local rock that could have been a pretty big hit back in the days when we had alt-rock stations in Boston.  You can listen to "I'm Juist Being Dramatic (Ignore Me)" below. Comfortably Stagnant is due out June 24. For more on Red Ledger, check out the band on Facebook . If you're in the Boston area, they're playing at The Middle East in Cambridge on May 14 with Waiver Wire and on June 3 at The Worthen in Lowell with blog favorites Sapling and Tysk Tysk Task! I'm Just Being Dramatic (Ignore Me) by Red Ledger