If It's Too Loud...

Photo courtesy John Falls While "I Know Exactly What You Mean" may not be new Velocity Girl, it's new to us Velocity Girl, and that's pretty great. Taken from the upcoming 1989-1992  compilation of the Washington D.C. band's pre-Sub Pop music, this track shows that Velocity Girl had a solidified sound even back then. It's perfect early 90's janglepop, and if you've been a decades long fan, you're goint to be thrilled to hear this track. I've long felt that Velocity Girl have been one of the most underrated bands of the 90's, and you'll see why once you hear "I Know Exactly What You Mean." It's from the band's first session with singer Sarah Shannon. This is a great song, and I'm shocked it took thirty plus years for it to be made public. You can listen to "I Know Exactly What You Mean" below. 1989-1992 is due out August 28 on Slumberland Records, and is available to pre-order here . For more on Velocity G...

Photo by Snow Martin The Kitchenettes are a San Francisco indie band comprised of members of The Umbrellas, Telephone Numbers, and The Snogs. They're set to release a new 7" next month, and we can preview the first song from it. "Sunday Best" is a warm and cheery song that combines some of the indie twee of the 90's with classic girl group harmonies. It has that hanging out on the porch and playing music with your friends vibe of folk without being folk. It's the kind of song sure to warm the hearts of even the most cynical indie rock fans, myself included. "Sunday Best" has that feeling of summer drives, where you don't have any solid plans, and gives the kind of warmth we could all use in the northeast as we get obliterated by yet another snow storm. You can listen to "Sunday Best" below. The 7" is due out on March 27 on Slumberland, Galaxy Train, and Meritorio, and is available for pre-order on Bandcamp .  Sunday Best by the ki...

The Cords are quickly becoming our favorite Scottish sister indie pop duo, and their latest single will show you why. "When You Said Goodbye" could be considered folk by some people, or at the very least folk adjacent. But, if you came of age in the 90's, you're going to hear a delightful throwback to that era. "When You Said Goodbye" has just the slightest haze of fuzz over it's jangly guitars which is reminding us of our favorites from The Sundays. The song feels like a warm blanket covering you, and is sheer joy to listen to. There's also a feeling of twee put out by The Cords, giving the song a Belle & Sebastian meets The Sundays feel, which we're going to find impossible to resist. Eva and Grace say of their latest single: "When You Said Goodbye" is about losing someone and still having things to do and say to them before they are gone. It's quite different from other Cords songs but it's our favourite."  You can l...

Scottish sister duo The Cords have released a new single from their upcoming debut album, and if you like your power pop jangly, you're going to love this one. "Fabulist" is an endlessly upbeat song that is simple and fun. This one is reminding me a lot of The La's, just a little more peppy. It has that wonderfully dreamlike quality, and might actually be too catchy. "Fabulist" could end up being the most earwormy song we've brought you all year, with vocals, guitar, and drums all contributing equally to how addictive this song is. With a few more songs like this, and The Cords will quickly become a favorite around here. You can watch the video for "Fabulist" below. The Cords' self-titled debut is due out September 26 on Slumberland/Skep Wax, and is available for pre-order here . For more on The Chords, check out the band on Instagram .

If Christmas songs are supposed to be happy, The Cords have nailed it. The Scottish sister duo released "Favourite Time" earlier this month, and it's a joyous, upbeat indie pop song. Plus, it's the style of holiday song that isn't completely obvious. In fact, it reminds me more of The Vaselines' "Son of a Gun" more than "Frosty the Snowman" or "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." You could easily play this in the middle of June without anyone realizing it was a holiday song as long as they don't pay close attention to the lyrics. It's not very often that you can discover a new favorite band through a Christmas song, but that could be the case with The Cords! You can listen to "Favourite Time" below. The single is out on Slumberland Records and Heavenly Creature Records, and is available now via Bandcamp . For more on The Cords, check out the band on Instagram .

We know, we know... "Say No to Love" isn't a brand new song from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. However, the late 00's heroes are reuniting for some shows and have announced a B-sides album. "Say No to Love" comes from that collection. If you already love the emo-inflected indie rock and dream pop of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, you're going to adore this song, which you may already know. It's catchy and hazy and everything we love from the band. It's much more of a pop song than I ever would have admitted back in 2009, but that fantastic sound that blurs the lines of indie rock and pop. Now let's just hope that their reunion tour makes it to the States... Kip Berman says of the band's upcoming B-sides compilation: "Many of these songs, like those that comprised our debut record, were written in that *now* – making up in wild pop fantasy what we couldn't quite yet achieve through musical ability. But even if that *now* is...

Hailing from Manchester, England are Autocamper. The band have just released a double single of "Summertime" (released towards the end of autumn) and "Ken Horn." If you also have a fondness for vintage sounding power pop, you're going to love Autocamper. "Summertime" has the style of organ straight out of the 1960's that just screams classic garage rock, while "Ken Horn" sounds like The Vaselines going garage rock. This is a pair of songs that throw back to both the 60's and 90's in equal parts. They're also the style of songs that have a cheery sound with melancholy lurking just below the surface, peeking out unexpectedly. Autocamper are a bunch of fun and are simply irresistible.  You can listen to "Summertime" and "Ken Horn" below. Both songs are out now on Slumberland Records. For more on Autocamper, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook . Summertime by Autocamper

Photo by Sophia Orhea Hailing from Athens, OH, The Laughing Chimes are going to make you long for the alternative of the 80's, back before it was known as "college rock." Their latest single, "Tomorrow's 87," has that fuzzy sound reminiscent of early shoegaze and what is now known as dream pop. It sounds like that time period when New Wave was starting to morph into what became alternative rock. And then, just to fully hit your nostalgia button, the B-side, "The Apologist Effigy," sounds like a mixture of classic alternative from Athens, GA and Olympia, WA mixed together. As vintage as these two new songs from The Laughing Chimes can sound, they are more modern versions of these styles and not just a pure throwback. You can listen to "Tomorrow's 87" and "The Apologist Effigy" below. The single is available now via Slumberland Records. For more on The Laughing Chimes, check out the band on Instagram and Twitter . Tomorrow...

We absolutely love The Umbrellas, and so do you as long as you're still capable of experiencing joy. The San Francisco band "... are four renegade romantics crafting irresistible pop hymns," and that's evident in their latest single. "Gone" is an impossibly upbeat and endearing indie rock gem. It's gloriously bright and sunny with fuzzy guitars and warmth throughout. To me it sounds like a less polished and more bouncy version of The Sundays. "Gone" is just happiness in song form, and we can use as much as we can get of this in the doldrums of winter. The Umbrellas say of their new single: "'Gone' talks about feeling stuck on trivial matters and chasing escapism to cope, even though you might not know what you’re looking for/what will help you yet. The song never really finds an answer to the question of what to do when you’re feeling stuck, but it does build some acceptance of the feeling, making the “rut” feel all the more human ...

San Francisco's The Umbrellas have this habit of releasing fantastic indie pop songs, and their latest continues their streak. "Echoes" is the kind of song that combines 1960's sunny California pop with 90's indie rock sensibilities. In the 90's, there were a group of bands that drew more inspiration from the 60's than the punk scene, and that's what "Echoes" reminds me of. It's a beautiful song that is going to remind you of a more melodic Beat Happening or a more straightforward The Magnetic Fields. We've been on The Umbrellas' bandwagon for a while now, and there's always room to join us. The band says of their new single: "'Echoes' utilizes that wistful, melancholic feeling of letting go of some of the more unrealistic aspects of your dreams and aspirations. A sense of world-weariness sets in, and when we wrote this song we were all processing that in different ways.” You can watch the video for "Echoes...

We adored The Umbrellas' debut album in 2021. Now the San Francisco retro pop group is back with new music. "Three Cheers!" is going to get a lot of comparisons to The Magnetic Fields, but there is more to the song's sound than just Stephin Merritt's band. As the song goes on there are a ton of 1960's pop sounds to uncover, along with some 90's indie rock guitar. The whole song sounds like an odd little modern day homage to both the 60's San Francisco scene and K Records' 90's classics. "Three Cheers!" is a complete and total joy to listen to. Bassist Nick Oka says of the new song: “It’s a pseudo-political song about power struggles that occur in a job situation, or a friend group. It’s an observational song.” You can watch the video for "Three Cheers!" below. Fairweather Friend is due out January 26 on Slumberland Records, and is available for pre-order here . For more on The Umbrellas, check out the band on Instagram and ...

Photo via Facebook We've always enjoyed the retro 60's sound of Jeanines. Their latest single, "Each Day," still has more than a little of that retro sound, but this time they've added in a little more of a California sound than the groovy London scene. I'm still hearing a bit of London, but they've added in a little Jefferson Airplane and The Carpenters to the mix. You're also going to get some 90's DIY indie rock in here in the jangly guitars, but "Each Day" has such a gloriously retro sound that it's going to be fairly irresistible.  You can listen to "Each Day" below. The song will be released as a 7" on July 7 via Slumberland Records, and is available to pre-order here . For more on Jeanines, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook .

We loved last year's debut album from Bay Area jangle pop band The Umbrellas. Luckily for the universe they're back with a new single. The A-side to their upcoming 7" is "Write It In the Sky," which is just absolutely perfect for all of your summertime listening needs. As you would expect with any jangle pop artist, the song is undeniably jangly. But as sunshiney as the song can be, there is a slight sense of aggression as the song goes on. The guitars move from jangly to buzzy throughout the song, and even end in this near explosion of dissonance at the very end. It's a really fun and unique take on one of our favorite sounds. The band says of their new song: "The instrumental and melody for “Write it in the sky” was improvised one morning by Matt. The song makes use of droning via the guitars' A and high E strings. While recording we strived to  create an abrasive but beautiful production. We even have a track of Morgan just making feedback. Nick a...

The latest single from Jeanines is one of the most gloriously retro songs you've heard in years. "Who's in the Dark" has a vibe of 1960's London. It sounds like it could have been taken straight from the Last Night in Soho soundtrack. It's pure vintage cool at its highest form. But, this isn't a pure 60's throwback. It also has a little of that mid 90's fuzz, from back when 60's nostalgia was at its peak and bands like Cornershop ruled the airwaves. "Who's in the Dark" is one of the most pure throwback singles that you're going to love this year. I just wish it was longer than eighty four seconds long. You can listen to "Who's in the Dark" below. Don't Wait for a Sign is due out April 22 on Slumberland Records, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Jeanines, check out the band's Facebook and Twitter .

Jeanines first started in the 2010s as an outlet for Alicia Jeanine to deal with work related stress. She brought a classical music sensibility from her childhood to the songs, but the band is playing a brand of indiepop. Her friend Jed Smith soon joined her to help flesh out the project. Their new song, "Any Day Now," is a bouncy slice of indiepop. But, as with any truly great indiepop song, the upbeat vibe shrouds a sense of melancholy. Seeing as it was written during a pandemic, the song definitely reflects that sense of confusion and is fairly dark. It's basically the musical equivalent of saying "I'm fine" while the world seems to be falling apart all around you.  You can watch the video for "Any Day Now" below. Don't Wait for a Sign  is due out April 22 on Slumberland, and can be pre-ordered here . For more on Jeanines, check out the band's Facebook and Twitter .

If you haven't fully joined us on the Artsick bandwagon, the band's latest single is going to make you want to jump aboard. "Look Again" feels like so much of the music I listened to in the mid 90's. It would have been from the post grunge time period when there were tons of power pop bands but everyone refused to use any description that included the word pop. The song would be made to sound a little quirky or punk to rebel against that pop sound, but it was there, even if it took us over twenty years to admit it. That's the kind of song "Look Again" is. It's reminding me of vintage Juliana Hatfield Three or The Muffs, and that is never a bad thing. This is a great mixture of classic mid 90's indie rock crossed with modern indie pop. You can watch the video for "Look Again" below. Fingers Crossed is due out on January 21 on Slumberland Records, and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here . For more on Artsick, check out the band on Twitt...

Artsick hail from the Bay Area and are considered indie pop, but their latest single is well worth a listen even if that label doesn't appeal to you. "Ghost of Myself" is pop, sure, but it's hardly top 40 pop. Instead "Ghost of Myself" is closer to the pop of an artist like Bis. It's hyper fast paced and sugary as it could possibly be with impossibly jangly guitars, but it also has more of a punk edge than you would expect from something labelled pop. It's a great sound that plays in the worlds of pop, punk, and indie rock without committing fully to any of those. You can watch the video for "Ghost of Myself" below. Fingers Crossed is due out January 21 on Slumberland Records. You can pre-order/pre-save a copy here . For more on Artsick, check out the band's Twitter and Instagram .

Artsick is a relatively new band featuring members of Burnt Palms, Kinds On A Crime Spree, and Lunchbox that has this wonderfully upbeat DIY sound. Their latest single, "Despise," has an oddly nostalgic sound for the 90's. I doubt many people are going to agree with this comparison, but to me it sounds like Beat Happening decided to go grunge but got confused and went mid-90's power pop instead. What everyone is going to agree to is that "Despise" is a really fun song. It's bouncy as hell, with a guitar that whines nearly the entire way through and some perfectly placed handclaps. Plus, there are some harmonies between Christina Riley and Donna McKean are far too charming for how punk this is. Yeah, we're almost certain you're going to love this one. You can watch the video for "Despise" below. Fingers Crossed is due January 21 on Slumberland Records. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here . For more on Artsick, check out the artist...

San Francisco musician Andy Pastalaniec started off as a drummer in bands like Pink Films, Cruel Summer, and Seablite. His latest project, Chime School, sees him taking over as singer and songwriter. Chime School's new single, "Wait Your Turn," combines the 60's San Francisco pop/folk/psychedelic scene with 90's indie rock. The song has this irresistibly sunny vibe. Particularly at the beginning you get a strong sense of bands like The Byrds or Jefferson Airplane. As the song progresses, the noise starts to kick in. It's drenched in sunshine and soaked in feedback, combining sounds that could have existed if Nirvana hadn't mocked The Youngbloods in "Territorial Pissings." You can watch the video for "Wait Your Turn" below. Chime School's self-titled debut is due out November 5 on Slumberland Records. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here . For more on Chime School, check out their Twitter .

San Francisco's The Umbrellas make pop music, but not the kind of top 40 music that is considered pop these days. They play pop music more like The Byrds or The Mamas and The Papas. That's not to say their latest single, "Pictures," is a 60's throwback. Sure, the song has some elements of the 60's like their harmonies or a killer surf guitar solo. But "Pictures" has far too much jangle in the guitars. If anything, it sounds like The Magnetic Fields decided to be less snarky and soundtrack a love in, but make it dream pop.  In a press release, the band says of the new song: “'Pictures,' in a vague sense,  explores the soreness one feels teetering in-between infatuation and reality. The majority of the lyrics were written by Nick and Matt composed the music on this one.“ You can watch the video for "Pictures" below. The Umbrellas' self-titled album is due out August 6 on Slumberland Records. You can pre-order/pre-save a copy here ...