If It's Too Loud...

Album cover by Peter Trainor The Ghouls were the winners of the 2024 Rock and Roll Rumble, and have blown me away every time I've seen them play live. Last Friday the Lowell heroes released their debut album, Handle With Care , and the question I had is if they'd be able to capture their live energy on a studio album, and the answer is a huge yes. The Ghouls have a fantastic ramshackle energy to their live show. It's that 90's style attitude where you don't care if there as mistakes, or if it goes well, just as long as they and their friends have fun. The album starts off with "Pocket of Gold," I song I instantly remembered from their live show. It lands in this perfect area between alt-rock and punk, and as rock based as The Ghouls' songs are, they're as catchy and well crafted as anything currently on the Top 40 charts. "Lovestruck" is an alt-rock mid-tempo crooner with a vibe that incorporates some 1960's love songs. "Hellboun...

Coming back to downtown Lowell for the evening portion of The Town and The City Festival, I knew I had to move between The Old Court and Thirst First. I started out at The Old Court just before Escape Durgin took the stage. The Old Court was a showcase for Lowell artists Saturday night, and Escape Durgin started it off with an eclectic set that spanned multiple genres, usually within the same song. The first song started off as more of a 90's second wave grunge power ballad in the vein of Candlebox, and quickly veered off into 70's psychedelia territory. They reminded me of a modern take on the college bands that dominated central Massachusetts in the 90's, and I don't mean that as a bad thing. Gross Girls were up next, and they may end up being my favorite musical discovery of 2025. You know how most music is either happy, angry, or sad? Gross Girls' songs seem more annoyed than anything else. It's like they took the overall vibe of the 90's and recreated i...

The Town and The City Festival is one of our favorite events of the year. Some of our favorite bands play every year, and wandering from venue to venue always reminds me of going to CMJ during my college radio years. Three nights of music can be tricky to navigate, so here are our recommendations of the must see artists for 2025! Thursday April 24 Lady Lamb (9:30 pm) and Ezra Furman (8:15 pm) Taffeta, 122 Western Ave at Western Ave Studios Lady Lamb and Ezra Furman are two of our absolute favorite artists at If It's Too Loud..., so we're thrilled to see them playing together. As The Town and The City Festival expands to three nights, this is the only Thursday night show, but it would be a huge deal no matter when it was. These are two of the most compelling alt-rock/indie singer-songwriters around these days, and two of the most engaging performers I've had the pleasure of seeing. Friday April 25 The Sheila Divine (10:00 pm) Taffeta, 122 Western Ave at Western Ave Studios I...

We love The Town and The City Festival that takes over downtown Lowell annually, and this year's line up has been extra crazy great. Today they announced the individual show line ups, and there are choices to be made. Thursday is easy not only because there's one show, but because it features Lady Lamb, Ezra Furman, and Class President at Taffeta. After that, good luck deciding. Ken will probably be at Zorba Music Hall at 10:15 for The Sheila Divine, but that night also features performances from Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, Twisted Pine, Lovina Falls, The PA's, The Freqs, and many, many more. Saturday is just as crazy with Girl with a Hawk, The Chelsea Curve, Loudon Wainwright III, Hilken Mancini & Melissa Gibbs, Senseless Optimism, Gross Girls, The Ghouls, and many, many more. Good luck deciding! The Town and The City Festival runs April 24-26 all throughout downtown Lowell. Multi-day passes are on sale now. Individual show tickets go on sale this Friday, Februar...

January is a dead zone for live music in Boston. Everyone is still recovering/broke from Christmas and New Year's, the college kids aren't back in town, and it's cold and miserable. The only good thing about the month is that local bands have a time to shine, and Saturday night there were at least four shows I was debating going to. The one that won out featured two bands I have seen before but knew I wanted to see again: Kooked Out and The Ghouls. Opening the night was a band I was completely unfamiliar with: River Sang Wild. The Boston based trio play a style of blues-based alt-rock that seemed pretty standard at first, but got better and better as their set went on. It seemed like the rest of the crowd agreed with me, as each break between songs was greeted with a stronger applause each time. They're a solid live band that has somehow escaped my attention despite having a strong social media following. My only complaint of their set is that just as I went from "...

The Town and The City Festival once again takes over downtown Lowell this year, and once again it keeps getting bigger and better. Expanding to three days over April 24 to 26, the festival starts on Thursday with Lady Lamb and Ezra Furman at Taffeta Music Hall. That's enough to get us there front and center, but there are also a ton of our friends and favorites playing the rest of the weekend! Playing this year are indie rock stalwarts The Sheila Divine, Maine/Boston lifers Heretix, bluegrass fusion favorites Twisted Pine, garage rockers The Chelsea Curve, genre busting singer-songwriter Senseless Optimism, Hilken Mancini & Melissa Gibbs, Lowell's new favorites The Ghouls, Lovina Falls, Girl with a Hawk, The Freqs, The PA's, Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, and many, many more! The Town and The City Festival runs April 24 to 26 all over downtown Lowell. Multi-day passes go on sale Friday January 17. For more information, check out the festival's website .

For their fourth official release, The Ghouls have a Christmas song out. "Will We Even Have a Christmas Time?" is much more of a traditional holiday song than we'd have expected from the Lowell band. It's an alt-rock power ballad, but it still just sounds like a Christmas song. The Ghouls start this one off as a much more quiet song, and then it explodes into the jangly power pop meets pop punk style song we've come to love them for. It's reminding me a lot of Weezer's 2005 song "The Christmas Song." The alt-rock Christmas power ballad is one of my personal favorite holiday staples, and "Will We Even Have a Christmas Time?" might become a new favorite. You can listen to "Will We Even Have a Christmas Time?" below. For more on The Ghouls, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo via Facebook This one almost slipped by us, but how could we not expect a band named The Ghouls to release a single just before Halloween? Last week one of Lowell's finest and the winners of the 2024 Rock & Roll Rumble released a brand new single. "Lovestruck" is just the third official song from the band, but it sees them moving in a different direction. Previous singles were mixes of alt-rock, pop punk, and power pop. This new one is a little more slick and laid back, and is almost crooned. The guitar is wonderfully jangly, and there are more harmonies than we've heard before. "Lovestruck" stops just shy of being a power ballad, but only because it rocks (slightly) too hard for that distinction. You can listen to "Lovestruck" below. For more on The Ghouls, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram .

Photo by Kira Emery 2024 Rock & Roll Rumble winners The Ghouls just released their first single since winning the prestigious battle of the bands! "Pocket of Gold" is a high energy, upbeat alt-rock track. It stops just shy of being pop punk, but just barely. It sounds like if The Strokes started out in the mid 90's in the wake of Weezer and Fountains of Wayne. It's melodic, and fun, with just enough of an edge to truly set it apart from other bands. If you love jangly guitars, ridiculously catchy melodies, and songs that demand you move, you're going to love "Pocket of Gold." You can listen to "Pocket of Gold" below. For more on The Ghouls, check out the band's website .

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: September 6 Lady Lamb, Hannah Mohan, and Naomi Westwater at Arts at the Armory, Somerville, MA Travels with Brindle at Gilman Park, Somerville, MA Linnea's Garden, TIFFY, Lipsmear, and Lover of Eve at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Haley Heynderickx and LePond at The Word Barn, Exeter, NH September 7 Sweeping Promises and Zowy at Myrtle, East Providence, RI JP Music Fest featuring Merrie Amsterberg, The Ghouls, Prateek, TELL, Travels with Brindle, and more at Pinebank Field, J...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday August 16 Me in Capris, Sailor Down, John Galm, and Cape Crush at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Worshipper, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, Mother Iron Horse, and dropbear at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Savoir Faire at The Galactic Theater, Warren, RI Lions and Lavender, Tysk Tysk Task, Red Ledger, and The Fool's Agenda at Bit Bar, Salem, MA The Ghouls, MOLD, The P.A.'s, and Ralph n' Sean at Sparetime Recreation, Whitinsville, MA Saturday August 17 Save Ferris and Kings of the W...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday July 26 Rick Rude, Qvickdraw, and Tin Fish at The Dance Hall, Kittery, ME Nice, a fest featuring Noble Dust, TIFFY, Jake McKelvie, Hannah Mohan, Mallcops, and more at Crystal Ballroom and The Rockwell, Somerville, MA Eric Gaffney at Shelburne Springs, Shelburne Falls, MA The Shirts and Shoes, The Ghouls, Dee Tension & The Secrets, and Melt at Thirsty First, Lowell, MA Freak Pit, Eight Foot Manchild, and Mister Wonderful at The Boiler Room at Wes's Rib House, Provide...

Photo by Kira Emery The Ghouls just won the 2024 Rock and Roll Rumble, so we should probably let you know about them. The Lowell band appears to only have one official song out, "Hellbound." Their single is a high energy blend of alt-rock, punk, and power pop that doesn't quite sound like they're from Boston. It's a highly polished alt-rock song that sounds like it could get away from the band at any minute, but it's all being held together by a tight melody. It kind of reminds me of a grittier and more punk version of early Arctic Monkeys. It's a fun song that came out way back in September, so hopefully we'll be able to bring you more music from The Ghouls sooner than later! You can listen to "Hellbound" below. For more on The Ghouls, check out the band's website .