If It's Too Loud...

Even though I knew it was coming, when Sleaford Mods cancelled their September 2020 show at The Sinclair, it was devastating. Not only was it my last cancelled show in a long, long series of cancelled shows, Sleaford Mods never come to Boston. I think they played Great Scott once, but that was many years ago. When they finally announced a return to the States and a show back at The Sinclair, of course if was a night that wouldn't work for me. At the very last minute, my plans changed and a sold out show suddenly had tickets available. I was finally going to get to see Sleaford Mods. And what a show. I've watched a ton of live performances of theirs and their documentary Bunch of Kunst , and I was still unprepared for Sleaford Mods live. Jason Williamson is a captivating performer and a true rock star. You can't help but watch him as he stalks the stage moving between being the best punk rock frontman you've ever seen and preening around like this generation's Mick J...

The end of the world is bringing its A game for new music right now. Artist : Nine Inch Nails Album : Ghosts V: Together / Ghosts VI: Locusts Quick Description : Two new surprise entries in the Nine Inch Nails Ghosts canon. Why You Should Listen : It's ambient industrial done right. Overall Thoughts : I was thinking today that if you told me back in high school that the guy behind The Downward Spiral would be one of the best movie scorers in his era and that his more ambient efforts would be the things I'd love the most, I don't know how I would react. But here we are, in 2020, and Nine Inch Nails has quietly become one of the most essential artists of our time and the two surprises this week really show what makes Trent Reznor so important. There's no reason to miss this one anyway, but it's definitely one of the great listens of the week. Recommendation : A must-listen in any week, never mind this one. Artist : The No Ones Album : The Great L...

Madison, WI's The Hussy first formed as a duo in 2008 with Bobby (NOBUNNY, Cave Curse) and Heather Hussy (Proud Parents). No idea if they're actually related or if this is like The Ramones, The Queers, or Screeching Weasel. In 2015 they added a third member, Tyler Fassnacht (Fire Heads, Proud Parents). Their press release calls them "trash punk," but judging by their latest single "Sorry," I hear a lot more fuzzed out power pop and just plain ol' rock 'n' roll than anything trashy or punk. When a band does fuzzed out power pop this perfectly, that isn't a bad thing at all. "Sorry" also includes a few flute solos, so prepare yourself for those. You can listen to "Sorry" below. Looming , the new album from The Hussy, will be out September 27 on Dirtnap Records. You can pre-order the album here . For more on The Hussy, check them out on Facebook and Bandcamp . Current tour dates are below the song. 09/13 - Minneapoli...

Neither Jeff or I could get fully into Lydia Loveless's 2016 album Real . It was just a change in style that didn't work for us. One of the bigger disappointments for me was that the album didn't include "Desire," a song that featured prominently in the documentary Who is Lydia Loveless? Luckily, we can finally get a copy ourselves since "Desire" has been released as a digital single. It's a great mid-tempo song that fits snugly in between her older country rockers and her newer, more pop sound. The B-side of "Desire" is "Sorry," which is apparently a Justin Bieber cover. I may have heard the original version of "Sorry" since I do go out in public every so often, but I've never knowingly heard the song. I'll assume it's an overproduced pop nightmare, but in Loveless's hands it's an intense acoustic rock song, sung with a heartbreaking intensity. It reminds me of the way Evan Dando can take the mos...

This one will make you feel old. Apparently the whole neo-rock/garage movement of the early 2000s that brought us The Strokes, The Hives, etc is now due for its own revival. The latest single from Animal House is filled with the type of garage rock that was all the rage back at the turn of the century. "Domino" is fun and catchy as hell, with the kind of attitude that's going to reinvigorate the term cheeky. Although I had assumed they were British, the band is from Australia, so let's hope they're just the start of a new burst of Australian garage rock. "Domino" is the latest single from the new EP, Sorry , from Animal House. You can watch the video for "Domino" below. For more on Animal House, check out their website .