If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Cole Schmidt You're going to have a hard time finding a song as lovely as Kylie V's "Year of the Rabbit." The twenty year old Kylie Van Slyke has released a stripped down and laid bare new song that lands somewhere between indie rock, folk, and a singer-songwriter track. The song focuses on Van Slyke's vocals which are lovely even while strained with emotion at times. The song has some grounds in the modern alt-pop meets indie rock of Lucy Dacus and the 90's folk-inflected indie rock of Neutral Milk Hotel. Even with instrumentation that includes trumpet and a multi-person harmony, "Year of the Rabbit" always feels confessional and intimate. Kylie V says of her latest single: "'Year of the Rabbit' is a song I wrote while healing from a breakup and reflecting on my (incredible) friends/support system and my feelings after the fact. I was inspired a lot by Andy Shauf and Sufjan Stevens in the writing and production of this one and ...

Photo by E. Zwissier Kylie V has that kind of mixture of folk-adjacent indie rock meets pop sound that we just can't seem to get enough of hear. Her latest single, "Lucky Streak," is an emotionally affecting song that starts off as a folky ballad and eventually builds to a dance friendly indie rock song. It does all that without expense to the emotion of the song, as it hits just as hard as it does at the beginning. "Lucky Streak" feels like a catharsis for both the artist and audience. It's the kind of song that's going to have you diving into Kylie V's catalog, and is going to have a lot of appeal to fans of the Boy Genius collective. Kylie V says of her latest single: "I wrote Lucky Streak during the excruciatingly complex process of getting over someone, while everything else in my life seemed to be speeding up and getting better at a surreal pace. When I started this song in my notes, I was one one hand feeling lost and empty, and on the ot...

Photo by Julio Assis Last month we all had our minds blown by "Nothing to Report" from Fold Paper. Now the Winnipeg band is back with "Idle Idle." This new song is another burst of noisy post-punk, possibly even more so than its predecessor. "Idle Idle" is a fractured mess of a song that doesn't fit together but should. Everything in the song sounds jerky and at odds with every other part of the song. It's incredibly dissonant with Chell Osuntade's vocals almost getting drowned out by the music repeatedly. At times there is the frenzy of post-punk noise happening directly next to some peak 90's slacker style indie rock. "Idle Idle" should not work at all, and yet it's going to end up being one of your favorite songs of the year. You can watch the video for "Idle Idle" below. 4TO is due out July 12 on Royal Mountain Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on Fold Paper, check out the artist on  Instagr...

Photo by Emma Murphy Fold Paper are led by Nigerian-born, Michigan-raised, and Winnipeg-based musician Chell Osuntade. The band's latest single, "Nothing to Report," is a frenzied post-punk track heavy in both noise and groove. The music sounds tangled together, with Osuntade's vocals and the drumming being the only things consistent throughout. In fact, the vocals and the music don't necessarily sound like they are meant to be heard at the same time, but somehow they end up working perfectly. This is the style of song just begging to be heard live, where it is sure to inspire some cross breed of dancing and moshing.  Chell Osuntade says of his band's new single: " It's kind of a reckoning with the notion of people not supporting you or believing in what you’re doing; but then your name lives on their tongue and they always wanna know what you going on…it’s weird, the paradoxical feeling of being talked about yet overlooked so; nothing to report.” ...

Photo by Brandon McClain Atlanta's girlpuppy continues to make music that doesn't squarely fit into a single genre. Becca Harvey's latest single, "Teenage Dream," comes the closest to folk pop, but that barely contains the song. It's far too synth heavy, although it's nothing like New Wave. There are even hints of indie rock noise that come bubbling up, but nowhere near enough to be truly indie rock. It's the kind of song that could easily just be a light and breaazy alt-pop song if you only listened to it in the background, but "Teenage Dream" has a lot going on when you pay attention. Becca Harvey says of her new song: "The song’s about a guy I lead on who looks like Keanu Reeves, and it’s the first one we made for the album. It was, in part, inspired by Caroline Polachek, who said in an interview that her lyrics for 'Bunny Is A Rider' make no real sense, and that they just sounded good to sing. Similarly, the chorus lyrics to ...

Photo by Brandon McClain With the last two girlpuppy singles, Becca Harvey has been straying more into the worlds of indie rock and indie pop and away from her indie folk roots. "Destroyer" goes back in the direction of folk, but it's certainly not leaving her pop side behind. The song is this mesmerizing song that seems to be pulling between being laid back and upbeat. Harvey's vocals are simply hypnotic. "Destroyer" dances on the border of twee, occasionally dipping in without fully committing. Harvey even adds a little twang to the guitar at times that helps keep the song in the universe of folk. girlpuppy is quickly becoming one of the more intriguing new artists out there today. Becca Harvey says of her new single: “I wrote this song in Philadelphia after reading the novel Daisy Jones and The Six .  There’s one part of the book where the character Billy Dunne considers kissing a woman outside of his marriage. He acknowledges that if he decided to make t...

Photo by Brandon McClain Girlpuppy's songs have always been heartbreakingly beautiful, but her latest is just on a new level. "I Want to Be There" fits Becca Harvey's indie pop sound with more than a little bit of dream pop wistfulness. Harvey's vocals seem to anchor the song while the instruments meander around, almost lost. "I Want to Be There" sounds much more organic than a lot of other indie pop songs. It's not quite folk, but it's also not not folk. Girlpuppy is already a master of songs that sound like a close friend is taking you aside and entrusting you with a deep secret. This one is certainly not an exception. Becca Harvey says of the new single: "I wrote 'I Want To Be There' about the pain I felt when my old landlord kicked me and three of my best friends out of our dream home, and all three of my roommates moved to New York. "I was left all alone in Atlanta and it was a really bad time for me. I was jobless and I fe...

Photo by Brandon McClain Last year we got sucked into girlpuppy's debut EP Swan , so we're obviously thrilled that Becca Harvey has her musical project's debut album coming out. The first single from that album, "Wish," has that combination of indie folk, indie rock, and pop that we loved with girlpuppy's previous releases. "Wish" is a little more guitar heavy and amps up the indie rock side of things, so obviously no complaints here. It's filled with Harvey's gorgeous slacker vocals, fuzzy guitars, and just a mesmerizing, dreamlike vibe throughout. It's an upbeat hazy song perfect for this heatwave we're going through up here in New England. Becca Harvey says of her new single: “ On 'Wish' I was thinking about when friends leave your life and you're not entirely sure why .  It's a pretty universal feeling, I think. And, the thing is—even if you managed to live in the walls of that person's apartment and were able ...

Photo by Brandon McClain girlpuppy (aka Atlanta's Becca Harvey) has been making music that blurs the line between folk, pop, and indie since the pandemic began. On her latest single, she's no longer blurring anything and is diving straight into the world of pop... or at the least alt-pop. "I Miss When I Smelled Like You" is just a pure pop song. It's that kind of light and breezy pop song that is absolutely perfect for summer. It's the sonic equivalent of alight breeze that's just enough to take the edge off the heat and lets you be comfortable for a few glorious seconds. Even if you're like me and try to pretend you hate pop, "I Miss When I Smelled Like You" is a must listen. Becca Harvey says of girlpuppy's new single: “ This song is much more pop-based–it’s so different from what I’ve made in the past and what I’ll make in the future .  For 'I Miss When I Smelled Like You' I was looking to create a summer anthem that people wou...

Photo by Rich Gilligan "Hearts & Minds," the new single from Dublin's Pillow Queens," is a giant alt-rock anthem. This is the kind of song that borders the worlds of alt-rock and pop, but it is a little too guitar heavy to truly be pop. One of the things that helps elevate the song about the usual alt-rock anthems are the harmonies in the song. While the harmonies are beautiful and include guitars to match, there is definitely a rock edge to the song. I hate comparing any Irish band to U2, but "Hearts & Minds" remind me of U2's anthemic rock at its very best, but a little less clean cut. This is a beast of a song from a band poised to explode very soon. Singer/guitarist Pamela Connolly says of the band's new song: "'Hearts & Minds' is about experiencing the feeling of being a teenager again.  The insecurities about body image and ability when it comes to being a musician that’s seeing themselves recorded and pictured, as wel...

Photo by Vanessa Heins Sister Ray has one of the more unique musical upbringings I've heard of. Ella Coyes was raised on gospel bluegrass and 90's country along with traditional  Métis  mu sic. As they grew older, they discovered Loudon Wainwright III, mid-Western emo, and Jeff Buckley. Their debut single, "Crucified," takes from those influences while sounding completely different. It starts off like a relatively standard singer-songwriter track, although "Crucified" has a much more conversational feel to it. It feels like Coyes is more speaking directly to you than following a traditional verse/chorus/verse structure, or even a folk style ramble. And then there's this swirl of noise that just locks you into the song. It makes everything Coyes is singing seem that much more vital. You can watch the video for "Crucified" below. The song is available as a single via Royal Mountain Records and can be streamed or downloaded here . For more on Sist...

Photo by Ana Karotkaya Post punk has been having a huge resurgence the past few years, but no one has been doing it quite like Cuffed Up. The Los Angeles based band just released a new single, "Bonnie." It's definitely a post punk song, but it shatters what you would normally consider to be the genre. There's an intensity throughout the entire song, even during the more melodic pop leaning parts. But the song doubles down on the noise with plenty of classic indie rock feedback and forces in some grunge style crunching guitar. Post punk isn't usually this heavy or hard rocking, and it never combines this level of heavy with pop hooks. Cuffed Up are going to have some serious buzz behind them sooner than later. The band explains how the new song is inspired by an alternate timeline Bonnie and Clyde: " "Bonnie” is an anti-love anthem about the grief and pitfalls of a serious relationship crumbling due to lies and deceit. This is explored through the eyes of...

Photo by Juan Blanco Garcia Brooklyn's Gustaf have been blowing us away with their version of absurdly dance friendly post punk. The band's latest single, "The Motions," is a little bit more mellow, but it's still impossibly groovy. The song was inspired in part by Jonathan Richman's vocal delivery, which explains the laid back nature. It still has the bounce and fun of a B-52's song, but at the end it collapses in a cacophony of noise, much like The Dead Milkmen's "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)." In a press release, vocalist Lydia Gammill discusses the song: "The song is about snapping between the perspective of your chaotic inner narrative while following the precut path of the world around you. Like when you’re strutting down the sidewalk to a song and your headphones slip off for a second to reveal the natural soundscape you’d been ignoring, realizing the world you had been wrapped up in is not the one shared by eve...

Photo by Felipe Torres We've been digging Gustaf for about a year now. The Brooklyn band's blend of infectious dance friendly post punk has been impossible to resist. Their latest single, "Best Behavior," changes up their formula a little. "Best Behavior" is more of a groovy, chilled out track. It's mid-tempo and maybe just a little too laid back to really dance to, but you're still going to be beckoned to move to it. It features Lydia Gammell speak singing over some disjointed funk almost like a bizarro world version of Tom Petty where he jammed with George Clinton and Gang of Four. Vocalist Lydia Gammell explains Gustaf's new song: " The song’s ethos is a bit of the old and the new attitude for Gustaf. Our narrator, the ‘ego slob’, is bargaining with itself, scrounging for self compassion and self assurance despite a pile of hurt feelings in its wake. In demanding spoils despite having done nothing to earn them, we see the initial cracks i...

Photo by Felipe Torres Late last year we brought you a pair of singles from Brooklyn based post punks Gustaf. The band recently announced a debut album and released a new single! "Book" is everything we loved about their previous releases. It's an absurdly upbeat and highly danceable version of post punk. It's more B-52's or DEVO than Gang of Four, but it still has a bit more of a punk edge to it while still being as pop as it possibly could be. "Book" is the kind of song that is making me long for packed divey clubs, because this song is going to be such a blast live. Singer Lydia Gammil explains the new song: " 'Book' is a song about the fallacy and fight of getting ahead vs being a head. It is seeking validation in the wrong places and from the wrong people.  The hook, “I got ahead, I got a head” is a fun little taunt that we find either being thrown in our face or coming out our mouth. Everyone gets their moment up on the pedestal and ev...

Photo by Brandon McClain With the second single off her upcoming EP, we're getting more and more rabid for the new release from Girlpuppy. "Miniature Furniture" is a laid back, upbeat indie rock/pop/folk song. The song just feels like a light and breezy summer song, especially with some country meets indie rock slide guitar. It's absolutely perfect for anyone that has been digging anything from Snail Mail or Phoebe Bridgers. "Miniature Furniture" is a masterful song that combines pop, folk, and indie in such a way to draw fans of all three in. As light and breezy as the song feels, there is a sadness to it. Becca Harvey (aka Girlpuppy) explains the song is: "...  a culmination of experiences from a summer where I was traveling back and forth to Chicago and Pasadena all whilst coping with a difficult break up. "I was having a really tough time dealing with the breakup, but instead of addressing the feelings I was experiencing, I distracted myself wi...

Photo by Noah Kentis Making a song this discordant yet this melodic is quite the feat. Cuffed Up has released "Canaries," which is this unbelievably intense post punk song rooted in 90's indie rock and grunge. It sounds like if Sonic Youth had tried to make the hit song that Geffen Records probably wanted them to. It's filled with these gloriously swirling, distorted guitars that seem to be fighting with each other for dominance as much as they're working together towards the same end. It's the kind of song that sounds like it could devolve into chaos at any second, but Cuffed Up hold it all together just enough. All of this with actual killer vocals are what is going to set "Canaries" apart from other current 90's inspired rock. In a press release, the band explains the new song: " "Canaries'" is about going down a path that you know is wrong, yet you keep going because some form of shame is driving you. Sometimes, we become n...